Tuesday, January 18, 2011

reverse sazerac sour

1 1/3 oz Absinthe (La Muse Verte)
1/2 oz + 1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 oz + 1 tsp Simple Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a cocktail glass pre-rinsed with a smoky single malt Scotch (Caol Ila 12 Year). Garnish with a lemon twist and 3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters (note: I wonder if the recipe originally was 3 drops, see below. Also, if the metric to English system conversion seems a bit awkward given your bar tools, converting to 1 1/2:3/4:3/4 will keep the same proportions and a similar size.).

One of the drinks that had caught my eye in Absinthe Cocktails was the Reverse Sazerac Sour, and it felt like the time to make it on Friday night. The drink was created by Ales Olasz of Montgomery Place in London; Ales inverted the Sazerac and fashioned it into a egg white-laden Sour. The concept of tinkering with this classic reminded me of the Gerty I created which was not inverted, but a wacky yet tasty equal parts affair.
With the dashes of Peychaud's Bitters as a garnish, the drink rather looked like strawberry cheesecake. While the recipe called for 3 dashes, I wonder if it should have been 3 drops which would have been not only more aesthetically pleasing, but more in line with how bitters are used as garnishes and how the drink appears in the book's photograph. Aesthetics aside, the abundance of bitters was not an issue flavor-wise for it had to compete with the large amount of absinthe in the mix. The Reverse Sazerac Sour greeted the nose with lemon from the twist and smokiness from the Scotch. While the sip contained lemon and a lightly spice from the absinthe, the swallow was full of anise and other flavors from the absinthe and Peychaud's Bitters. Overall, the drink did not remind me much of a Sazerac save for the ingredients list itself, but I have no complaints for the drink was quite delicious. Definitely worth trying if the concept of an Absinthe Sour floats your boat.

2 comments:

Epigenomicon said...

Might it be more Sazerac-like if instead of coating the glass with scotch, it were instead coated with Rye? It would also fit the name more appropriately.

frederic said...

Symbolically, it would be perfect, appropriate, and necessary. In reality, there is so little in the rinse, that rye would be lost. The only part of the Scotch I could pick up was the aroma from the smoke/peat which rye lacks.