For tonight (and last night too) The Gibson is donating 100% of all profits from their Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds to the Red Cross to help the relief effort in Haiti. (hat tip to DCist)
I was going to write a snarky title like “assuage your white liberal guilt through rye whiskey” but honestly? I think this is a great idea. No snark necessary. Every little bit helps. Way to go, Gibson.
In honor of them I’m rerunning this piece from last year on the Sazerac. I want to see each and every one of you there tonight.
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We’re bringing in a true classic, a cocktail that’s been around since before the Civil War and the official cocktail of New Orleans. A true Sazerac calls for absinthe (or Cognac for you old timey sticklers). Until fairly recently this was a little difficult to procure. (if I were at a bar drinking this with you I’d relate the story of the time I tried to hide a duct taped bottle of absinthe in my luggage and got into a bit of trouble at the Madrid airport a few years ago. now’s not the time)
Pastis (Pernod, Ricard, Chartreuse) has been used in its stead. Now that absinthe is back in the nation’s good graces, the green fairy runneth over and every high brow bar in town wants to lure you in with the promise of good Sazerac.
The history is too intense for the brevity of this column, but I can provide some tidbits and recipes:
Sazerac (option 1)
- 1 sugar cube
- dashes Angostura (or Peychaud) bitters(If you’re wondering, the drink was invented by Antoine Peychaud whose bitters bear his name. For authenticity stick to Peychaud, but Angostura is more common and forgivable)
- 1 ½ rye whiskey
- ¼ oz Pernod (or absinthe)
- water or soda
Saturate sugar cube in bitters. Place into an old fashioned glass, crush with a barspoon, add liquors, mix well and fill with water or soda.
FYI: it’s considered bad form to put the lemon rind in the glass
As with all classic cocktails there are variations on the theme. As with all cocktails, someone is going to fight me on the correct recipe. This one looks closer to the original and also sounds like a lot more work which is about right for this drink:
Sazerac (option 2)
- 1 sugar cube
- 1 1/2 ounces rye or American whiskey
- 2 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
- Dash of Angostura bitters
- Dash of absinthe (can substitute Herbsaint, Pernod, or Ricard)
- Lemon peel
Fill an Old Fashioned glass with ice. Put the sugar cube in a second glass with just enough water to moisten it; then crush the cube. Add the rye, the two bitters, and a few cubes of ice, and stir. Discard the ice from the first glass, and pour in the absinthe. Turn the glass to coat the sides with the absinthe; then pour out the excess. Strain the rye mixture into the absinthe-coated glass. Twist and squeeze a lemon peel over the glass. Rub the rim of the glass with the peel, discarding it when finished.
The first recipe comes from Schumann’s American Bar (the basis for this column), the second from Wikipedia (God bless you, Wikipedia!), and here’s yet another one from Portland Mixologist Jeffrey Morganthaler who firmly believes that his is the most authentic (and I’m tempted to believe him. His thoughts on shaking cocktails: “Do not shake your Sazerac. Remember, shaking a clear drink is like shaking a baby: first there’s going to be a lot of foam, and then you’ll be staring death in the face.”).
I say you should try them all and discover it on your own terms. The Sazerac elicits feelings of nostalgia and admiration in a lot of people. It’s not the hardest cocktail yet it’s so easy to screw up. Just one hiccup in the ingredients can make it taste like a completely different drink. A good bartender who can make an authentic and damn fine Sazerac is hard to find. If you find a good one, shake their hand.
If your “mixologist” dumps some Chartreuse and Crown Royale into a martini glass with a lemon twist I think it’s ethically and legally acceptable in some states (Lousiana, maybe Mississippi) to throw the glass in the general direction of their face. This isn’t a call to violence. Just sayin’.
*Searching for a good DC Sazerac? So was Don Rockwell.com, apparently< –>
The Gibson made me a mean one of these a few weeks ago.
February 17, 2009 at 3:33 pmCheck out another great article on the Sazerac http://inretentis.com/drinks/classic-cocktails-the-sazerac
October 22, 2009 at 12:31 amDoodoo Brown made me one of these at the Cat months ago that was great. You can get good drinks at the Cat, you just have to show up before the crowds.
Also yeah: white liberal guilt. Someone has to say it – where was everyone when Haiti has been the poorest, most undeveloped country in the Western Hemisphere for the past few decades with a population density that is crippling and untendable arable land since they destroyed 98% of their forests by clear-cutting? They’ve been dying and starving and suffering by the tens of thousands yearly, why is it suddenly different that the tens of thousands that would have taken weeks to suffer and die died overnight?
January 14, 2010 at 10:44 amTacking a charitable cause onto a luxury amusement activity does seem like guilt assuaging, but as you said, help is so desperately needed and charity is charity. So, yeah, good on you gibson.
I’m sure they’ve been up before, but:
http://aidwatchers.com/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-help-navigating-complex-terrain-of-disaster-relief/
And
Texting “HAITI” to “90999″ will donate $10 to Haiti Red Cross Relief.
Thanks for the heads up
January 14, 2010 at 10:47 am’cause it’s on the news, and in our faces.
otherwise we don’t care. if they don’t export something we need, or something we don’t need (terrorism), we don’t care.
January 14, 2010 at 10:49 ammichael: because it is. they’re two different things. stop looking for excuses not to help people. (not that i am capable of helping anyone, i just think making people feel bad about their charitable efforts is shitty)
anyway more ways to donate, including by text message: http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/
January 14, 2010 at 10:51 amI kind of agree with you Michael, but not 100%. People have been helping in Haiti for a long time. Providing humanitarian aid, nutrition assistance, education and infrastructure development to Haiti isn’t a new thing. Whether or not they’re helping in the “right” way to get them at least halfway close to sustainable is up for debate.
And it’s different because this shit came out of left field. Yes Haiti tends to get this stuff a lot but Christ almighty. This is just proof that God has a sick sense of humor.
Yes, quoting Depeche Mode on that last sentence.
January 14, 2010 at 11:03 amThat’s just my point. Haiti has been a disaster area for decades. I’ve been there a number of times on relief efforts: it is a genuine shithole. Unless you have been there you can’t possibly imagine how horrible a place it is. Unfortunately the best thing (well for the remainder of Haitians) would be for about 60% of their population to be wiped out (hear me out before you start replying):
They have no resources, they’ve destroyed their land, and their population density is so much that people live on top of each other IN garbage dumps – that’s right, they carve out homes/caves in the dumps. There is no way for them to get ahead given their density. If 60% of their population were to disappear there -may- be help for them. Even with the relief efforts from the recent earthquake they will still be in their same situation: no resources, too many people, abject poverty and disease, no education, a corrupt ruling class.
January 14, 2010 at 11:43 amOK, let’s lighten the mood here courtesy of Cher in “Clueless”
“So, like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, “What about the strain on our resources?” Well, it’s like when I had this garden party for my father’s birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. ’cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that, like, did not R.S.V.P. I was, like, totally buggin.’ I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion, may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much.”
January 14, 2010 at 12:06 pm
This is a savory drink
February 17, 2009 at 2:01 pm