Sazerac and "Sazerac"

As you can see, I am a poor photographer and my camera sucks. Not like you're missing much. This is a supposed Sazerac made with Lemon Bitters and Sweet Vermouth to boot. Hell, let's just throw some Fresca in there while we're at it.

Even more boggling is why such a well-known spot for cocktail drinkers would put the name of the drink on the menu without the drink actually being the drink! (?) Does this annoy anyone else? This is a common sin among bartenders I know, and I think it's a topic worth discussing at some point: When is a name already a drink, and therefore out of the pool of potential drink names? The Sazerac is obviously already taken. But what about... say... The Knikerbocker? A more obscure drink, but still printed in one of the most famous drink books ever published, and before that, published in every good bartender's bible. How many times have you seen The Kinckerbocker on a drink menu? And how many times has it been the actual drink?

Getting back to the point, The Sazerac is the greatest model for cocktails that do not contain juice. It is balanced, strong, simple, and proven. Try one at Red Feather in Boise or any hotel bar in New York. (They're surprisingly bad in the cocktail's origin, New Orleans...) and you'll understand why the Sazerac is still on great cocktail menus, (and some not-so-great cocktail menus) today.

Old Lore (whatever the hell that is,) tells us that the drink was probably invented in early-1800s New Orleans by Antoine Amedei Peychaud, the proprietor of Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters. Long story short, the drink became a staple at the nearby Sazerac Coffeehouse, and took its name shortly thereafter. At this time, the drink was made with Cognac and drops of absinthe. In 1870ish, a feller named Thomas Handy bought up the Sazerac Coffeehouse and started making the drink with Rye. The use of absinthe in the Sazerac is one of the only examples of pre-prohibition anisette cocktails.

Sazerac:
2 oz. Old Overholt Rye
1 healthy splash of simple syrup
3 dashes of Peychaud's bitters
Stir.
Rinse a chilled old fashioned glass with Absinthe or Herbsaint.
Strain. Zest a tiny peel of lemon over the drink and discard.

Drink quickly, "While it's still laughing at you."