Chantal Tseng, a bar consultant and cocktail educator based in Washington, D.C., often incorporates tea into her cocktails. But when it came to the Sazerac, she opted for a different flavor profile. “The aromas of coffee and espresso are intoxicating, and the combination of coffee with spices, sugar, and chocolate is next-level,” says Tseng. “I adjusted the sweetener of a classic Sazerac slightly to enhance that effect.” Tseng offers two options for incorporating a sweet coffee flavor: Either prepare a coffee-infused simple syrup with equal parts fresh-brewed coffee and sugar, or substitute with a coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa.
2 oz. rye whiskey (Tseng uses Rittenhouse or Old Overholt)
1/2 oz. coffee-infused simple syrup or coffee liqueur
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
absinthe rinse
2 oz. rye whiskey (Tseng uses Rittenhouse or Old Overholt)
1/2 oz. coffee-infused simple syrup or coffee liqueur
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
absinthe rinse
Tools: mixing glass, strainer
Glass: rocks
Garnish: express lemon peel over glass and discard; chocolate bitters (optional)
To make the drink, in a mixing glass filled with ice, combine all the ingredients except the absinthe. Stir and strain into a chilled, absinthe-rinsed rocks glass. Express a lemon peel over the glass and discard, then add an optional dash or two of chocolate bitters, such as Bittermens Xocolatl Mole or Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters, for extra oomph.
Chantal Tseng, Washington, D.C.
