Taylor Bird Sazerac

New Orleans bartender Abigail Gullo pays homage to the inventors of the Sazerac—importer Sewell Taylor, bar owner Aaron Bird and apothecary Antoine Peychaud—with a pour of Cognac, the spirit originally used in the drink that eventually became the city’s official cocktail. “Our bar, SoBou, is housed in what used to be an ice house in the 1800s, possibly storing ice that chilled those early Sazeracs,” Gullo says. “I like to think we have good cocktail juju here because of that.” Check out Wayne Curtis’ guide to New Orleans cocktail bars in the May/June 2013 issue.

1 oz. Cognac
1 oz. Rye whiskey
1 barspoon Steen’s cane syrup (or extra-rich 3:1 demerara syrup)
2 dashes orange bitters  
4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Absinthe rinse
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: rocks
Garnish: lemon twist

Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe to coat. Stir the remaining ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice and strain into the rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist after expressing its oils over the drink.

Abigail Gullo, SoBou, New Orleans