The story
Around 1850 Sewell Taylor sold his New Orleans bar to import a cognac called Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils, and the new owner, Aaron Bird, renamed the place the Sazerac Coffee House. There he served a Sazerac Cocktail of that cognac and sugar, reportedly seasoned with bitters from Antoine Peychaud, a local apothecary. By about 1870, when a vine blight made French brandy scarce, owner Thomas Handy had switched to rye whiskey. An absinthe rinse finished the glass, replaced by local Herbsaint after absinthe was banned in 1912. In 2008 Louisiana lawmakers named the Sazerac the official cocktail of New Orleans.
Also known as Sazerac cocktail.
On the Meridish menu
Sazerac was the aperitif course on menu No. 29 on October 29, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Rye whiskey, a sugar cube and local bitters in a glass rinsed with absinthe. Named, like the 1850s bar that served it, after a French cognac, it's now this river port's official cocktail.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
