Peach Brandy Sazerac

New Orleans's oldest cocktail, rebuilt around a single-source Georgia peach brandy aged in bourbon barrels.

Recipe by Miles Macquarrie, Kimball House, Decatur, Georgia.

The Sazerac is the oldest named cocktail in America with a credible continuous history. It was born in New Orleans in the 1830s, originally made with Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils cognac, Peychaud's bitters (invented by Antoine Amedie Peychaud, a Creole apothecary), and absinthe as a rinse. When phylloxera devastated French vineyards in the 1870s and cognac became scarce, American rye whiskey stepped in — and stuck.

The modern canonical Sazerac is rye (Rittenhouse 100 proof being the bar standard), Peychaud's, a dash of Angostura, sugar, and an absinthe-rinsed glass. It is a stirred, spirit-forward drink that asks you to pay close attention.

Miles Macquarrie's Peach Brandy Sazerac at Kimball House replaces rye with something more specifically Southern: High Wire Distilling's bottled-in-bond peach brandy, distilled September 8, 2021, from a single variety of July Prince peaches grown at Titan Farms in Ridge Spring, South Carolina. Aged four years in Jimmy Red bourbon barrels and bottled at 100 proof (267 of 491 bottles). This is a brandy with a biography.

The effect is a Sazerac that retains all the structural integrity of the original — the absinthe rinse, the Peychaud's, the sugar, the stirred concentration — but whose base spirit tells a story about Georgia and South Carolina peaches rather than Louisiana rye fields. It's historically aware and deliberately local at the same time.

Peach Brandy Sazerac in a rocks glass, no ice, amber-gold with lemon peel twist

Single Serve

2 oz

High Wire BIB Peach Brandy

Bottled-in-bond, July Prince peaches, 100 proof — or quality peach brandy

1 tsp

Gomme Syrup

House-made — adds body and mouthfeel beyond simple syrup

1 tsp

Peychaud's Bitters

Non-negotiable — this is the Sazerac's signature

4 dashes

Angostura Bitters

Spice and depth to complement the fruit brandy

0.5 tsp

Crème de Pêche

Amplifies the peach — subtle, not sweet

—

La Muse Verte Absinthe (rinse)

Rinse the glass and discard — anise backbone

—

Lemon peel (expressed, not dropped)

Essential aromatic finish

Steps

Chill a rocks glass. Rinse it with La Muse Verte absinthe — swirl to coat and discard the excess.

In a separate mixing glass, combine brandy, gomme syrup, Peychaud's, Angostura, and crème de pêche with ice.

Stir for approximately 30 seconds — the Sazerac is stirred, never shaken.

Strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass, no ice.

Express a lemon peel over the surface to release oils. Run it around the rim. Do not drop it in the glass.

Gomme Syrup

Gomme syrup (from the French gomme arabique — gum arabic) is the sweetener used in 19th-century cocktail bars before simple syrup became the standard. Gum arabic is a natural emulsifier derived from acacia tree sap; it gives the syrup a silky, almost creamy mouthfeel that plain sugar syrup lacks. This is what a proper pre-Prohibition Sazerac would have used.

80 g

Gum Arabic powder

4 g

Xanthan Gum

250 g

Boiling Water (for gum solution)

1000 g

White Cane Sugar

1000 g

Raw Sugar

1000 g

Boiling Water (for syrup)

Gum solution: In a blender on low speed, slowly pour 250g boiling water. With the blender still running, very slowly sift in gum arabic and xanthan gum. This takes patience — rushing causes clumping. The mixture should become smooth and viscous.

Syrup: Add both sugars and remaining 1000g boiling water to the blender. Increase speed until fully dissolved and uniform. Cool before bottling.

Home simplification: a 2:1 simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water by weight) works fine. Add 0.5% xanthan gum if you want the mouthfeel without sourcing gum arabic. Still excellent.

Flavor Notes

The absinthe rinse

Before the drink touches your lips, anise and wormwood from the rinse meet you. This is not a flavor so much as a context-setter.

First sip

The peach brandy is upfront — ripe, slightly floral, stone fruit without being sweet. The Peychaud's bitters layer in cherry and anise immediately behind.

Mid-palate

Angostura's warm spice (clove, cinnamon, bark) builds. The gomme syrup's mouthfeel makes the drink feel substantial without being sweet. The peach note deepens rather than fades.

Finish

Long and dry. The bourbon barrel aging on the peach brandy shows here — there's a whiskey-adjacent warmth on the finish that typical fruit brandy doesn't have. The lemon peel oil expression lingers.

Variations

Classic Sazerac

Replace peach brandy with 2 oz Rittenhouse 100 proof rye. Drop the crème de pêche. This is the canonical version — everything else built here serves as a template for understanding how the classic works.

Cognac Sazerac (original)

Replace with a VSOP cognac. More floral and stone fruit than rye, though less structurally punchy. Closer to the 1830s original.