The sazerac is one of my favorite cocktails. So I was hesitant to mess with it.
But I had some raspberries in the fridge and a funny name in my head — Razerac … sounds like Scooby Doo saying “Sazerac.”
Thus the Razarac was born. And it is awesome.
It’s still quite a stiff cocktail. Just like a sazerac, it’s just rye, simple syrup and bitters. However, it has a little sweet twist.
Accounting for the extra sweetness from the raspberries, I skipped the Peychaud’s bitters and stuck with the slightly more dry Angostura bitters. Also, rosemary is a more subtle herbal flavor than anise, making it a better match for the fruit note. It doesn’t cling to the glass the way a liqueur would, but it does impart a nice flavor.
The “special” syrups and waters used here are really just things you can make easily at home by boiling some water.
Razerac
Ingredients
2 oz. rye whiskey
Rosemary water (recipe below)
1/2 oz. raspberry simple syrup (recipe below)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Lemon peel
Instructions
Chill a rocks glass by filling it with ice and a little water, letting it sit for a minute, then dumping it out. Then pour rosemary water into the glass, coating the bottom and sides, and empty the glass. In a cocktail shaker with several ice cubes in it, pour in the rye and simple syrup and add the dashes of bitters. Stir gently. You do not want to shake this one. Strain into the chilled, coated rocks glass. Squeeze the lemon peel over the drink. Unless you want the drink to have a Lemon Pledge kind of finish, don’t drop the lemon peel into the drink. Enjoy!
Raspberry Simple Syrup
Boil equal parts sugar and water along with some raspberries. Strain into container, disposing of the smooshed raspberry leftovers. Chill until ready to use. I used 1/2 cup each water and sugar, with 10 raspberries — making enough for several cocktails.
Rosemary Water
Boil equal parts water and fresh rosemary. Strain into container, setting aside the rosemary. Chill until ready to use. (I used 1/2 cup each water and rosemary. You can use the rosemary in soups or sauces still.)
More Drink of the Week cocktails.
