Muddle the sugar and bitters, then add the whiskey

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled, Jade Nouvelle Orleans Absintherinsed rocks glass

Pinch a lemon peel over the surface and discard

No garnish

Origin

According to Imbibe, the Sazerac was popularized by William H. Wilkinson around the turn of the 20th century at the Sazerac House Bar owned by Thomas H. Handy & Co., “who also dealt in liquors and made Handy’s Bitters from the formula they had purchased from A. A. Peychaud.” (238)

Logic

This preparation is a perfect example of how a bartender layers flavor in a glass spatially, like a chef arranges ingredients and sauce on a plate. By rinsing the glass with absinthe instead of dashing it in with the bitters, its aroma envelops the glass and integrates with the cocktail once they come in contact. The interior of the glass receives a second coat of aromatic “paint” from the lemon oil sprayed from the pinched twist, which coats the surface of the liquid and intermingles with the absinthe above the cocktail’s wash line.  The lemon oil masks the ABV of the cocktail beneath it just long enough for the imbiber to acclimate themselves to the beguilingly complex mixture, whose ingredients continue to marry with each sip.  Many guests are finicky about the preparation of their Sazerac, so always ask if they want Angostura Bitters or just Peychaud’s, and see if they prefer it to be sweetened with a sugar cube or syrup. 

Hacks

Before absinthe was legalized in 2007, Sazeracs were prepared with New Orleans own Herbsaint, which stands in admirably for the green fairy.  Offering to prepare the cocktail with Cognac in place of rye whiskey, or as its partner, to honor the city’s French heritage is typically met with Francophilic glee.  

This recipe is one from Meehan's Bartendars Manual which you can find online at Mixography.com or at a local book store.