An Old Fashioned contains Bourbon, while the Sazerac favors rye whiskey. Both contain sugar and bitters, but a traditional Old Fashioned tends to use Angostura bitters. while the Sazerac demands New Orleans’s own Peychaud’s Bitters, which was integral in the creation of the drink.
What’s the difference between a Sazerac and an Old Fashioned?
Both the Sazerac and the Old Fashioned are based on a balance of whiskey, sugar, and bitters. However, they begin to diverge with the primary spirit. The Old Fashioned is known to traditionally call on bourbon as its base, while the modern Sazerac favors rye whiskey. Bourbon tends to be sweeter, while the rye offers a more peppery profile.
The reason this choice works so well for the Sazerac has to do with the drink’s absinthe rinse. Absinthe’s notes of anise and licorice integrate well with the spicier profile of rye whiskey, adding depth without creating the illusion of additional sweetness, as can happen when anise spirits combine with bourbon. The combo also works well with Peychaud’s bitters, which tends to have a lighter and brighter profile than many other types of bitters, but still has a strong backbone of anise that’s accentuated through the absinthe rinse.
There’s nothing quite like a well made Old Fashioned. Trouble is, a good Old Fashioned is hard to come by. Not unlike the margarita, it’s, at heart, a great cocktail that has been ruined for decades of unnecessary tinkering. The result is an inconsistent and often disappointing experience.
The history of the Sazarac is also as deep and rich as the old fashioned. Tracing its roots back to 1830s New Orleans, the cocktail was devised by a pharmacist named Peychaud as a delivery system for his proprietary brand of bitters. As it gained popularity with local revelers, the concoction soon found its way into NOLA barrooms. Though originally made with brandy (which is a variation worth trying), the 1870 phylloxera epidemic in France put the spirit in short supply so bartenders pivoted to rye.
Ingredients 2 oz. rye whiskey 1 tsp. simple syrup 1/2 tsp. absinthe 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters 1 dash Angostura bitters Lemon peel
And that’s how the recipe stayed until 20th-century meddling (and muddling) turned the cocktail into a cloying and complicated mess. The practice of muddling fruit is the most unfortunate development (the addition of soda water is a close second). Prohibition is over. You’re not drinking bathtub hooch so why hide good whiskey under all that unnecessary sweetness? Let it sing!
So you can roll the dice on an Old Fashioned, or simply order a Sazerac instead — a classic cocktail similar to the Old Fashioned, but made vastly more interesting and delicious through the addition of absinthe and Peychaud’s bitters, which give it a more complex, herbal character.
The Sazerac Cocktail
FAQ
Is the Old Fashioned the same as Sazerac?
What is a Sazerac similar to?
Is Sazerac a bourbon or whiskey?
Why is a Sazerac called a Sazerac?
What is the difference between old fashioned and Sazerac?
And yet, there are some distinct differences. An old-fashioned is a bourbon-based cocktail with Angostura bitters, a sugar cube, and an orange peel. Rye whiskey is also common in place of the bourbon. A Sazerac is a rye whiskey-based cocktail. It also has absinthe, Peychaud’s Bitters, a sugar cube, and a lemon peel.
What is the difference between Sazerac & Old Fashioned whiskey?
Both the Sazerac and the Old Fashioned are based on a balance of whiskey, sugar, and bitters. However, they begin to diverge with the primary spirit. The Old Fashioned is known to traditionally call on bourbon as its base, while the modern Sazerac favors rye whiskey. Bourbon tends to be sweeter, while the rye offers a more peppery profile.
What is the difference between a Bourbon and a Sazerac?
Rye whiskey is also common in place of the bourbon. A Sazerac is a rye whiskey-based cocktail. It also has absinthe, Peychaud’s Bitters, a sugar cube, and a lemon peel. So you can see how these two are very close. If you like one, odds are, you’ll like the other.
What is a Sazerac cocktail?
The Sazerac is a close cousin to the Old Fashioned that traditionally consists of rye whiskey or brandy, bitters, sugar, and absinthe. The drink has reportedly been consumed in some form as far back as 1838, with the cocktail itself becoming trademarked in 1900 by the Sazerac Company.