An Excellent SAZERAC Riff, the Colonial Ties

Today we're making a riff on the Sazerac, the Colonial Ties. This was created by Eric Alperin from The Varnish Bar. It's very similar in format to a Sazerac. We're splitting the spirit base. So a Sazerac is either a rye whiskey or a cognac or a split of the two. We're doing a split base here for this particular drink. So a split base of rye whiskey and a Jamaican rum. And instead of using Pachaud's bitters, we're using orange bitters. So there's a couple of small tweaks, but it's still served neat in a chilled glass. It's like an old-fashioned where it's got sugar and bitters, but let's get onto the drink because I've got a chilled mixing glass and it's starting to defrost. So equal measures. No, before I do that, actually, I'm going to do the sugar and bitters. Recipe does call for brown sugar. I'm actually using Demerara, which is going to impart a little bit more flavor, a little bit more richness. Teaspoon. So Demerara sugar is an unrefined sugar as opposed to brown sugar, which is refined sugar. And then it has a little bit of molasses added back into it, but it's still going to be in the same sort of realm, I guess. Orange bitters, unlike the classic Sazerac, which has a split of Angostura and Pachaud's bitters. Now I'm using orange bitters, but a blend of Regan's bitters and Fee Brothers. Reason being is you want the best of both worlds. Fee Brothers being a little bit sweeter and Regan's being a little bit drier and spicier. Recipe calls for two dashes of orange bitters. I'm using the dasher bottle, so I actually needed a 3X that, so six dashes. And to help that sugar dissolve, I'm adding a bar spoon of soda water. Now, the disadvantage of making this in a mixing glass is that you're potentially not going to get all that sugar into the finished drink. So you want to try and dissolve that sugar as best as you can, or just mix the drink in the glass. No, you can't, because you want it chilled. You want to serve it with ice. I'll serve it without. Ignore me. So as best as you can, dissolve that sugar, make it into a paste, and then add your choice of rye whiskey. I'm using Rittenhouse rye, one ounce, 30 mil. It's going to bring that spiciness to the drink. And then you've got a Jamaican rum. Now you can use Smith and Cross if you like. This sits at 57%, and it's really strong, typical Jamaican funk, over-ripe bananas, those kind of flavors. I think that would potentially overtake the drink. I'm not sure about the, I tried to find out what the original rum was, but I couldn't find it. So I'm using Plantation Zamarca, which is in the same realm as Smith and Cross, but it only sits at 43%. So a little bit lower on the ABV, one ounce, 30 mil, but it's still got that sort of similar flavor profile to the drink. Then I'm going to add ice to the mixing glass, ice above the liquid level, and then give it a stir for 20, 30 seconds. Now I'm already getting those aromas specifically from the Jamaican rum. They have funkiness, and so I'm kind of glad I didn't use Smith and Cross, because I think that flavor would take over quite quickly. I'll be straining that into a chilled, absinthe-lined glass. I'm just going to put a couple of dashes in the glass and then roll the glass around so it coats the glass. I'd much prefer to use an atomizer and give it a couple of sprays, but my atomizer seems to be broken. Nicely chilled glass, strain of the top. Before we continue on with today's cocktail, I want to take less than 30 seconds to talk to you about my cocktail book, Steve the Bartender's Cocktail Guide. It was published in November 2022 and has gone on to sell over 20,000 copies. It is also currently the highest rated cocktail book on amazon.com with 4.9 stars. It deep dives into an introduction into cocktails, a brief history, spirits 101, glassware, barware, before it dives into cocktail recipes. I've got 125 modern and classic cocktails that I think everyone should know, and each one has a full page photo as well as a QR code. You can scan that QR code on your phone and watch a quick video. I try to make it as clear and concise and easy to follow as possible. If you'd like to grab yourself a copy, head to cocktailguide.com for a stockist near you. Let's get back to the cocktail. I have tried this earlier because I filmed an hour ago and then discovered that my microphone wasn't on. You do want to make sure that your sugar is integrated and dissolved as much as possible. So in this case I've got quite a bit of sugar held back there. Then you want to express the peel of a lemon, twist over the top and discard if you like. Of course if you prefer you can put it in the glass, completely up to you. I think this drink is a great way to experiment with your bitters. So if you want to introduce something a little bit different, if you want to play around with Poshaw, Zangostura, hell like a chocolate bitters, I think this would be a great drink to do so because it would stand out quite well. Nice and bright but you get those, on the nose you get the anise and the lemon, that nice citrus note to it. It smells delicious and then you get the underlying Jamaican funky rum. It smells good. I like the combination of the lemon with that anise note from the Absinthe. I think that's a good choice of rum as opposed to the Smith & Cross. I should do a side-by-side comparison but I didn't want to be sipping on a 57% rum right now. It's a good balance of flavors between the Jamaican rum and the spiciness from the rye. I think that the spice factor would be a little bit more hidden if you use the Smith & Cross which is the overproof rum. I'm really loving the nose on this. If you like a Sazerac, let me know in the comments below if you prefer a cognac or rye or a blend of both and if you like a Sazerac then this is 100% for you. You'd love this. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next Wednesday. Cheers!