As much as we'd like to, Team Spirit can't take credit for The Inception. For this recipe, we're going all the way back to the first time one spiritous liquor was introduced to another, in the same glass. Sometime around 1830 Antoine Amadie Peychaud, the world's first mixologist, dressed up some French brandy with sugar, water, and a few dashes of his own proprietary brand of bitters, and the Sazerac was born. After yesterday's donnybrook of a cocktail, we could sure use something traditional.
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The Inception (ok, the Sazerac)
- 2.5 oz Old Overholt Rye (feel free to use better rye whiskey if you have it)
- one splash of Lucid Absinthe (hey look! something else to do with that bottle you bought to make the Black Swan pousse-cafe!)
- 4-5 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
- 1 tsp simple syrup
Pour the absinthe into a chilled, heavy Old Fashioned glass and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of the glass; pour out any excess absinthe. Combine the other ingredients in a pint glass, add ice, and stir until well-chilled, then strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass. Twist a lemon peel over the cocktail (rub it on the rim of the glass if you like) then discard. As you enjoy, think of the mind-blowing chain that links your glass to the first cocktail ever poured.
**Not to spoil anyone's fun, but Chuck Taggart of the Gumbo Pages eloquently points out that the word "cocktail" and, indeed, spiked brandy drinks, were being enjoyed years before Mr. Peychaud debuted his famous concoction. And yet, the Sazerac is attributed as the first cocktail. I suppose the only answer is that someone hacked into our collective subconscious and planted the idea. Best picture!