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The Sazerac


Banco

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Not bad at all.

Unfortunately they were out of Peychaud's, so no saz for me. But props to the bartender for saying no to my request instead of trying to fake it.

They have it now. Thanks to a friend.-me.

Billy makes a fine one, and this is from someone who is one short streetcar ride (not a trolley, Goddammit!) from some of the best in the world. And, believe me, a streetcar is the play after a few of those things. Driving is a dangerous option.

I'm constantly doing what I can to straighten out our nation's capital. You guys need the help. We watch the news. We know. Uggh.

On the other hand, we had a late dinner at the Gastropub the other night, the one in Columbia Heights (near the house) and it was stunningly surprising. I loved it. Food was damned good. Wish they had called me about the beer, but, aside from that, really good. Big crowd,even late, and service was excellent. Highly recommended. Make sure that, for an app, yoiu get the scotch eggs. Well cooked and enticingly served.

Oh, and while I'm at it. Pete's Appizaria is putting out a great pie. Seriously delicious crust.

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They have it now. Thanks to a friend.-me.

Billy makes a fine one,

Hmmm. I tried one a few days ago, and it was not good. Actually, it was the worst of all I've tried since starting this search. It didn't even taste like a Sazerac. I don't know the name of the bartender who made it, though.

One thing's for sure: it's the bartender, not the bar, that counts.

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A heavy hand with a pastis that tasted more of alcohol than licorice, very harsh bourbon, no simple syrup, too much Pechaud's, no Angostura at all and the twist was either too dry to release any oil or the rest of the flavors were so overwhelming as to make the delicate citrus undetectable. Sazeracs are deceptively simple to make, which makes for a lot of mistakes. The ones at Palena are most to my taste, so I think the Sazerac search is over for me.

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A Sazerac is a fairly simple, straightforward cocktail. What did they do to it to make it unpleasant?

It seems to me that in either cooking or drink mixing, the fewer ingredients/simpler the preparation, the more exacting you have to be. Complexity hides mistakes. Simplicity makes things transparent.

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No problem at all. Galatoire's and Napoleon House bars use Angostura, Arnaud's and Tujague's bars do not.

Galatoire's also serves their over ice, something I happen to like, but many consider to be a sin of some sort.

The basic is easy to make and a refreshing evening bump. Here's how you do it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfhaxHYb46E

They're not hard to make right, but you do need the right stuff. I had one at 11 Madison Park made with Lucid to coat the glass, Peychaud's, some fine sugar, and some Rittenhouse Rye, and it was about as good as it gets.

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Got a new contender for you: Founding Farmers, the new place in the IMF building on Pennsylvania between 19th and 20th.

Went to a media dinner there on Wednesday and Bar "Executive Chef" Joe Arroyo claimed to make "the best Sazerac in Washington." Several of us gave him a hard time for such a grandiose claim, so he actually brought the ingredients over and made one tableside.

He spun the glass in mid-air to coat with the St. George absinthe, and his ingredients - including Peychaud's bitters - seemed to be by the book. Not served over ice.

Taste was good, too...lacked the acrid bitterness that a poorly blended sazerac can often pick up.

If you haven't checked them out yet, you may want to.

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Got a new contender for you: Founding Farmers, the new place in the IMF building on Pennsylvania between 19th and 20th.

Went to a media dinner there on Wednesday and Bar "Executive Chef" Joe Arroyo claimed to make "the best Sazerac in Washington." Several of us gave him a hard time for such a grandiose claim, so he actually brought the ingredients over and made one tableside.

He spun the glass in mid-air to coat with the St. George absinthe, and his ingredients - including Peychaud's bitters - seemed to be by the book. Not served over ice.

Taste was good, too...lacked the acrid bitterness that a poorly blended sazerac can often pick up.

If you haven't checked them out yet, you may want to.

Did he use a sugar cube or simple syrup?

While I like the St. George Absinthe Verte alright, in a Sazerac I'd prefer to have Pernod Absinthe or Kübler. Just personal taste, not a value judgment.

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Finally got 'round to trying the Founding Farmers sazerac, which was not made by Joe Arroyo.

It was not good. :D

Also, the little cheesy-pouf things (Heirloom Cheese Puffs, I believe they were called), were not good. My friend and I ambled over to Central for gougeres and more cocktails and were much happier.

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Finally got 'round to trying the Founding Farmers sazerac, which was not made by Joe Arroyo.

It was not good. :D

Also, the little cheesy-pouf things (Heirloom Cheese Puffs, I believe they were called), were not good. My friend and I ambled over to Central for gougeres and more cocktails and were much happier.

I had a sazerac there a few months ago that was great, although not made by Jon. Jon later did come out and make some fantastic cocktails for my wife and I, including one that he developed for a cocktail competition (forget what it was, all I remember was that it was great). Sitting at the bar and having Jon just "make us stuff" was a great experience IMO.

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Don't know the gentleman's name, but I had a fantastic Sazerac at Inox in Tyson's a few months ago. Chilled glass, coated with absinthe, tossed in the air, then I believe Sazerac rye, Peychaud's bitters, and simple syrup. Served neat, very smooth, quite nice.

I had another nice Sazerac in Charleston, SC at FIG if you happen to be down south. I didn't see the drink being made to not the ingredients but the product was nice.

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I can't believe that it's taken this long for P.X. to get mentioned here, but really, my Sazerac at P.X. Lounge last night was a thing of beauty. Jason made it for me, and I think that Mr. Thrasher would have been proud.

Jason prefers to use Sazerac 6-yr Rye, but they were out (thanks, Virginia ABC :rolleyes: ) but Old Overholt didn't disappoint.

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