Why is a Sazerac rinsed with absinthe, not mixed with it? The spec and a rinse builder

A glass that smells of anise, a drink that doesn't taste of it

A Sazerac looks like an Old Fashioned in a hurry: spirit, sugar, bitters, a lemon peel. The odd part is the absinthe, and the odd part of the odd part is that it never goes in the drink. You swirl it round a cold glass, tip it out, and pour the stirred drink into what is left. The goal is perfume, not flavour.

It is a New Orleans classic, named after a cognac brand and made with rye whiskey for most of its life. Cognac was the original base, and in 2008 the Louisiana Legislature proclaimed it the official cocktail of New Orleans. The sources disagree on who first mixed it and when the absinthe joined, so treat the neat origin stories with a pinch of salt.

The spec

Method: stirred. Glass: a rocks glass, chilled, with no ice in it when you pour.

1. Fill the rocks glass with ice and water, or put it in the freezer, and let it get properly cold.
2. In a mixing glass, crush the sugar cube with the bitters and a teaspoon of water (or add the syrup and bitters), then add the rye.
3. Add plenty of ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass is frosted and the drink is cold.
4. Tip the ice out of the serving glass, add the absinthe, and roll it so the inside is coated. Tip out what is left.
5. Strain the drink into the coated glass. Squeeze the lemon peel over the top so the oil lands on the surface, then drop it in or set it aside. Bars differ on this.

Build your rinse

This is the part people get wrong. A rinse should whisper. Choose a base and a rinse, and see how much anise ends up in the glass.

Why the rinse works

Anise aroma comes mainly from a compound called anethole, which dissolves in strong alcohol. A thin film of absinthe on cold glass gives off that smell every time you lift the drink, so the first thing you notice is the nose. The sip itself is rye, sugar, bitters and lemon oil.

Pour the absinthe into the mixing glass and the effect changes: it becomes one flavour among four, it adds sweetness and it muddies the colour. Sharing it out as a coating is cleaner. It is also why the serving glass must be cold and have no ice in it: ice would melt into the film, wash it away and water the drink down.

Peychaud's bitters do the other half of the job. They are lighter and more floral than Angostura, with a gentle red colour and a cherry-and-anise edge that sits well with the rinse. If you only have Angostura, the drink still works. It just drifts towards an Old Fashioned.

Anise is the perfume. Rye is the drink. Don't let the perfume pay the bill.

Variations, including one without alcohol

• Cognac Sazerac: swap the rye for cognac. It is softer, fruitier and a little rounder, and it is the older recipe in several histories.
• Split base: 35 ml rye and 15 ml cognac keeps rye's spice and borrows some of cognac's fruit. This is a modern habit, not a rule.
• Anise liqueur instead of absinthe: perfectly traditional in New Orleans. Use the same light touch; liqueurs are sweeter, so be more careful, not less.
• No alcohol: stir 50 ml of cold, strong black tea with about 5 ml of rich syrup, and strain it into a cold glass rinsed with cold fennel-seed tea or an alcohol-free anise spirit. It isn't a Sazerac, but it keeps the shape: dry, spiced and aromatic. Bitters contain alcohol, though a few dashes is a tiny amount; leave them out if you avoid alcohol altogether.

It is a strong drink, almost all spirit, so pour it slowly and enjoy one. Absinthe is typically a high-strength spirit, so measure rather than splash, and never drink and drive.