The classic New Orleans cocktail, originally made with Cognac or Brandy, nowadays much more common to be made with rye whisky. New Orleans has always had strong French influences, it itself being founded by French settlers. Some say the Sazerac was the original cocktail, made by mixing brandy with the local medicine, bitters made by French Pharmacist Dr. peychaud. And to help the medicine go down smoother, a bit of sugar. It itself fits the category of a spirit, a bitter, sugar and water, being a cocktail made the old fashioned way. Rye whisky became the dominant choice for making a Sazerac after the phyloxera crisis in France made cognac unavailable.
