Your Hunt for the Perfect Halloween Cocktail? Nevermore.
Today’s post is a tribute to Edgar Allan P
oe, a master writer whose eerie tales give me the Halloween willies worse than any slasher flick!
Like most great writers, Poe enjoyed a good, stiff drink. Here is his favorite cocktail, the Sazerac, as cataloged along with that of 42 other classic American writers in Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers:
“Poe had a great affection for absinthe. Sixty-eight percent alcohol mixed with a toxic herb called wormwood, absinthe was the drink of choice for poets and artists of the mid- to late nineteenth century. Until banned in 1912, absinthe was a key ingredient of the Sazerac. One of the first cocktails created in America, the Sazerac originated in New Orleans in the early 1800s. We have replaced the absinthe with Pernod. We hope Poe will forgive us.
- 3 dashes of Pernod
- 2 oz. rye whiskey
- 1/4 oz. simple syrup
- 3 dashes of Peychaud bitters
- Lemon twist
“Pour Pernod into a chilled Old-Fashioned glass. Swirl until entire inside of the glass is coated, then discard excess. Pour rye, simple syrup, and bitters into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into the Old-Fashioned glass (no ice). Garnish with lemon twist.”
Mix one up and then hunker down with a spooky story. (May we recommend this creepy fiction collection that details the evolution of often grotesque, old-world medical science, or this true-life 1900’s murder mystery?)
And if you’re planning a less-quiet Halloween, the Sazerac would be awesome served up with these creepy candy apples at any costume party! Get the how-to here.
-christina
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I just had a Sazerac at the Sazerac Bar in New Orleans’ Roosevelt Hotel. Lovely.
I just had a Sazerac at the Sazerac Bar in New Orleans’ Roosevelt Hotel. Lovely.
I love this book – especially for the anecdotal stories, but the drinks make it that much more enjoyable!
I love this book – especially for the anecdotal stories, but the drinks make it that much more enjoyable!