Sazerac House Celebrates Culture and Cocktails at Sazerac Cocktail Week June 20th Through 26th, 2022
Festivities will include fundraising, pop-ups and performances in honor of the official cocktail of New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, LA (May 10, 2022) No cocktail is more central to New Orleans culture than the Sazerac Cocktail, and the Sazerac House is a thriving headquarters of the official cocktail of New Orleans. This June the Sazerac House is hosting a week of special guest experiences and creating a national network of special features with bars and restaurants, all to benefit the incredible Feed the Second Line foundation. The celebrations will begin at the start of June with fundraising efforts around the country and conclude with a week-long party at the Sazerac House June 20th through 26th.
“We are honored to help to tell the story of New Orleans to visitors and residents each day through our signature tours, tastings and traditions at the Sazerac House,” said Ashlee Mixson, assistant general manager of the Sazerac House. “As we commemorate the Sazerac Cocktail as the official cocktail of New Orleans, we honor the culture and personalities that make our city so special, and welcome guests to experience the delicious flavors and unique creativity along with us.”
A deceptively simple cocktail featuring just five ingredients – sugar, Peychaud’s Bitters, Herbsaint, Sazerac Rye Whiskey and a fresh lemon twist, the Sazerac Cocktail has delighted visitors and residents of New Orleans for nearly two centuries. Throughout the week of June 20th through June 26th, 2022, the Sazerac House will host an enhanced visitor experience featuring special ways to both learn about and sample the individual ingredients of the Sazerac Cocktail, including special experiences for:
- Sugar
- In the second-floor Rum Room, a special experience will be added for guests to explore the many forms of sugar, from cane to syrup, cubes and crystals. Guests will have the opportunity to taste sugar cane sticks, sampling the origin of the flavor.
- Peychaud’s Bitters
- In the permanent Apothecary exhibit on the third floor, guests will be transported to an 1860’s era apothecary, designed in the spirit of Antoine Amedee Peychaud’s apothecary where he created Peychaud’s Bitters. They will have a chance to smell and taste ingredients found in Peychaud’s Bitters, the official bitters of the Sazerac Cocktail, and experience an enhanced bitters tasting.
- Sazerac Rye Whiskey
- In the Sazerac Rye Distillery exhibit, guests will be walked through the process of making Sazerac Rye Whiskey, learning more about the ingredients and steps to making, aging and bottling Sazerac Rye Whiskey – the official rye whiskey of the Sazerac Cocktail, and will then sample Sazerac Rye for themselves.
- Herbsaint
- The Herbsaint rinse is a critical step in the construction of the perfect Sazerac Cocktail, and guests will enjoy samples of Herbsaint Bon Bons in the Sophisticated Spirits exhibit, while learning about Herbsaint’s history as a New Orleans-made answer to Absinthe.
- Lemon
- The final touch on a Sazerac Cocktail is a fresh twist of lemon. The citrus oils and spritz of acid open up the cocktail’s flavors, making it feel even more fresh and vibrant. In the Café Culture exhibit, guests will sip fresh lemonade from a full Limonadier, enjoying the sweet tang of the Sazerac House’s signature lemonade recipe.
- Sazerac Cocktail
- It wouldn’t be Sazerac Cocktail Week without an opportunity to sample the final product. In the Mr. Boston exhibit, where the Sazerac House celebrates the techniques behind cocktails, guests will have a chance to sample expertly- made Sazerac Cocktails, with a toast to the history and the future of the official cocktail of New Orleans. For those who wish to learn more about how to make a Sazerac Cocktail, the Sazerac House will be hosting a complimentary virtual class, complete with step-by-step instructions, on Thursday, June 23rd.
In addition to these experiences driven by the ingredients of the Sazerac Cocktail, the Sazerac House will also be celebrating the flavors and culture of New Orleans through a delicious sampling of Columbo Coffee Liqueur at the French Quarter Flavor exhibit and through spirited pop-ups from Drink & Learn, Cubs the Poet and more. A signature “Feed the Second Line” lounge will host New Orleans culture bearers who will showcase their work and discuss New Orleans culture with guests.
For those unable to join the events in New Orleans in-person, there are many ways to participate from afar, including the virtual Sazerac Cocktail Class on Thursday, June 23rd, a specially curated Spotify playlist by Joseph Boudreaux Jr. perfect for sipping a Sazerac, a social media contest awarding a piece of custom-beaded artwork made by New Orleans culture bearers and Sazerac Cocktail Week merchandise.
To support the culture bearers of New Orleans – artisans, craftspeople and performers who sustain the unique cultural landscape of New Orleans, The Sazerac House and parent company Sazerac Company will be partnering with Feed the Second Line throughout the month of June. Bars and restaurants throughout the country will be featuring the Sazerac Cocktail on their menus, and for every cocktail sold, $1.00 will be donated to Feed the Second Line, with up to $25,000 being matched by the Sazerac Company, with the total possible donation equaling $50,000.
In New Orleans, the Sazerac House will donate $1.00 for each guest who visits the Sazerac House in person in New Orleans, $1.00 per bottle (of any brand) sold onsite, and 10% of sales of Sazerac® Cocktail Week Commemorative items sold online and in person at the Sazerac House, up to $10,000.
To learn more about Sazerac Cocktail Week and to book a visit to Sazerac House, order a Sazerac Cocktail Kit or sign up for the virtual Sazerac Cocktail tasting, please visit www.sazeraccocktailweek.com.
About Sazerac Cocktail Week
To cocktail enthusiasts everywhere, the Sazerac Cocktail has long served as the full-bodied embodiment of New Orleans history in a glass. On June 23, 2008, it was made official when the state of Louisiana made The Sazerac Cocktail the Official Cocktail of New Orleans. In celebration, The Sazerac House will salute this spirited milestone during Sazerac Cocktail Week, June 20th through 26th, 2022. For more information on Sazerac Cocktail Week 2022, please visit www.sazeraccocktailweek.com.
About Sazerac House
Standing proudly in a historic building at the corner of Canal and Magazine, and just a short stroll from the original 1850s era Sazerac Coffeehouse, the Sazerac House is an immersive exploration of the spirited culture of New Orleans. Featuring three floors of interactive exhibits across 48,000 square feet, including private event venues, an on-site Sazerac Rye distillery, and Peychaud’s Bitters production facility, the Sazerac House welcomes visitors to experience New Orleans history through the stories of its cocktails. For more information on the Sazerac House, please visit www.sazerachouse.com
About the Sazerac Company
Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in the United States in Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Maryland, California, and global operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, India, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.
