Charlie Knows Best: Sazerac, The World's First Cocktail

In 1838, Antoine Amedie Peychaud, owner of a New Orleans apothecary, treated his friends to brandy toddies of his own recipe, including his “Peychaud's Bitters,” made from a secret family recipe. The toddies were made using a double-ended egg cup as a measuring cup or jigger, then known as a “coquetier” (pronounced “ko-k-tay”), from which the word “cocktail” 🍹 was derived. Thus, the world's first cocktail was born!

By 1850, the Sazerac Cocktail, made with Sazerac French brandy and Peychaud's Bitters, was immensely popular and became the first “branded” cocktail. In 1873, the recipe for the Sazerac Cocktail was altered to replace the French brandy with American Rye whiskey, and a dash of absinthe was added.

Time went by and the original recipe suffered multiple small changes, creating arguments, controversy and cold wars between bartenders that used to be friends once… ok, ok, this paragraph was a bit dramatic 😁

But come and taste the amazing Sazerac at Charlie. Our recipe is THE ONE 😎

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Fun Fact: Wooed by the prestige and controversy that surrounds the Sazerac, filmmaker James Martin determined that the best way to explore the drink’s curious history and current relevance was to make a film about it. A documentary called: 🎥 “The New Orleans Sazerac”