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Liquor Review: Sazerac Rye 6 Year

Published on March 10th, 2008 in Liquors of the Month, Whiskey & Bourbon by Kevin

Sazerac Rye Whiskey Many liquors claim distinctions to set them apart from the other bottles they share shelf space with. While claiming to be the the world’s oldest single barrel bourbon is impressive, I think bearing the name of America’s first cocktail is even more distinguished. So what exactly was America’s first cocktail? The Sazerac of course!

The cocktail was originally mixed up by an apothecary named Antoine Amadie Peychaud in his New Orleans shop around 1803. It was used as a remedy for the ails of his clients. The initial version of the concoction was a mix of Cognac, Peychaud’s own bitters, water, and a little sugar. I have no idea what specific ailment this was used to treat, but I bet one of those would make anyone feel better just about anytime. But wait, you say, there is no whiskey in there; how is Sazerac Rye associated with it? Well, it didn’t take too long for the demand for Peychaud’s drink to grow to the point that it was served throughout the city’s coffee houses. One of the largest of these coffee houses was owned by Sewell Taylor and named the Sazerac Coffeehouse. In the early 1850s, Sewell decided that he needed to brand the drink and declared that in his coffee house, the beverage would be made with only the Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils, which was the namesake of his business. At some point, a bartender there added a few drops of absinthe to the recipe, creating the classic version of America’s first cocktail. Hmmm, still no whiskey involved.

Thomas Handy took over the Sazerac Coffeehouse around 1870 and made a change to the recipe by substituting Rye Whiskey for the Cognac. This drink was more suited to the American tastes. This recipe persisted until Absinthe was banned in the U.S. and was replaced by the anise flavored Herbsaint. The final version, consisting of rye whiskey, Peychaud bitters, Herbsaint, sugar, and water exists today as the modern version of The Sazerac. Hold on though, Thomas Handy’s link to the drink is not over yet. One of his former secretaries chartered the Sazerac Company, which eventually purchased a struggling distillery known now as Buffalo Trace. The Buffalo Trace Distilleries produced the Sazerac Rye, Peychaud bitters, and Herbsait needed to make America’s first cocktail.

Ok, now that the history lesson is over, let’s move on to the actual whiskey at hand. We got our hands on a bottle of the junior version of the Sazerac Rye which has been aged for about 6 years. The big daddy Sazerac has been aged 18 years and is just a little more expensive than the $25 or so that it costs for the 6 year. Released in 2005, the 6-year version we tasted might be a little tough to find if you don’t live in the New Orleans area, as most of the product was slated for that region. Your first sip will tell you that this is no bourbon, and it is not a liquor for sissies, either. It has a strong spicy flavor that really warms you up as it goes down. It finishes with a little peppery sweetness, yet it’s dry at the same time. Sazerac Rye is 90-proof, and it lets you know. That pleasant warming sensation will be with you long after the flavors have left your pallet. It has been aged 6 to 7 years, but the oak flavors do not come through much unless your are so much of a Nancy that you let it sit with ice until it’s watered-down. Honestly, we all agreed that it was just a bit too harsh to put it up there as a great sipping whiskey. Do I enjoy drinking it on the rocks? Absolutely, but we at Boozebasher think there is a much better way to enjoy this tasty whiskey.

No, we aren’t going to suggest a Sazerac but instead a similar drink called The Old Fashioned. You may have never heard of it, and I bet many bartenders would just stare blankly at you if you ordered one. Fortunately, our forum member stochasticjack had provided us with easy to follow directions. Simply put, this drink is amazing. It is like a sunny afternoon, a front porch with comfy rocking chairs, a healthy serving of what is known in the South as “sweet tea,” and a refreshing nap all rolled into one. The bonus here is that since an Old Fashioned is mostly Sazerac rye whiskey, it will get you nice and toasty with a quickness. All good things must come to an end, and that end was the next morning for me. I would like to place blame for the headache that persisted for the entire next day squarley on the sugar in The Old Fashioned, but I know that the Sazerac had a little something to do with it too.

Even though I am mostly a bourbon drinker, I really enjoyed this bottle of Sazerac Rye. It is a bit sharp at first, but the spirit wins you over with the big bold flavors for which ryes are known. If you are a big whiskey fan, this is a bottle you definitely have to get your hands on to, at the very least, just enjoy an Old Fashioned or a Sazerac. The only problem will be the sad day when your bottle of Sazerac runs dry.

Sipability – 7.5

Mixability – 8.5
March 08
Drunkability – 7.0