Originating from New Orleans, the timeless cocktail known as Sazerac is made with a combination of cognac or rye whiskey, bitters, absinthe, and sugar. Rye whiskey and absinthe can sometimes be replaced by bourbon whiskey and Herbsaint or Pernod.

Sazerac is probably the oldest known American cocktail, and in his 1937 book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, Stanley Clisby Arthur claims that Sazerac was invented by Antoine Amedée Peychaud, a Haitian-born pharmacist who produced his eponymous bitters.

He served the bitters in eggcups, known as coquetier in French, and Americans began to slur the word into cocktail, so Sazerac might just be the grandaddy of all cocktails. The method of preparation involves two chilled glasses: one rinsed with absinthe, and the other one used for stirring the other ingredients with ice before the cocktail is poured into the first glass, which is typically garnished with a lemon twist.