The recipe

How to make it

1Rinse a chilled rocks glass with the absinthe, fill it with crushed ice and set it aside.
2In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar with the bitters, add the Cognac and stir with ice.
3Empty the ice and extra absinthe from the rocks glass.
4Strain the drink into it.

Garnish: Lemon peel.

Variations: Made with rye whiskey in place of Cognac, it’s the other classic Sazerac.

The ratio

8 : 1

In parts, a Sazerac is 8 brandy and 1 sugar. Plus a touch of absinthe. Change one part and you have a cousin; the closest are below.

Brandy · 8Sugar · 1

Find the Sazerac on the ratio map →

Built the same way

Brandy → Whiskey

Benton’s Old Fashioned

8 : 1

Brandy → Whiskey

Old Fashioned

7 : 1

Brandy → Tequila

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

3 : 1 : ¼

Also brandy

Japanese Cocktail

4 : 1

Head to head

On screen

Another Round (2020)

Martin and his three teacher friends

Four schoolteachers testing a blood-alcohol theory make Sazeracs four at a time, with the recipe (bourbon, absinthe, sugar, bitters) flashed on screen, and get very drunk.

Sources: Uproxx: Here's The Iconic Sazerac Recipe From Mads Mikkelsen's Oscar-Winning 'Another Round'; Cheryl Charming (Miss Charming): Cocktails in Film

Live and Let Die (1973)

James Bond / Felix Leiter

At the New Orleans Fillet of Soul, Bond starts to order bourbon with no ice but Leiter talks him into a Sazerac.

Sources: The James Bond Dossier: Live and Let Die at 50; Cheryl Charming (Miss Charming): Cocktails in Film; Cocktail Society: 22 Cocktails famously featured in Film and TV

Cocktails in movies and TV →

More Old Fashioneds & Duos

Art of Choke — White rum and Cynar with a little green Chartreuse, stirred with mint: bittersweet, herbal and cool.
Black Russian — Vodka and coffee liqueur over ice. Two ingredients, sweet and strong.
Brandy Old Fashioned — The Wisconsin supper-club Old Fashioned: brandy over muddled orange, cherry, sugar and bitters, topped with lemon-lime soda.
French Connection — Cognac and amaretto over ice: warm, nutty and sweet.
Godfather — Scotch and amaretto stirred over ice: a smoky-sweet duo named for the 1972 film.
Hot Toddy — Whiskey and honey topped with hot water: the simplest warm drink there is, for cold nights and sore throats.

All 18 Old Fashioneds & Duos →

By the numbers

Estimated per drink, as served

Calories

≈ 132

Sugar

≈ 4 g

Strength

≈ 25%

Std. drinks

≈ 1.2

Cognac ≈ 110Sugar ≈ 15Absinthe ≈ 3Peychaud’s bitters ≈ 3 How we estimate