Let us set the scene – it is somewhere around the late 1830’s in New Orleans.  All along the waterfronts and throughout the narrow, congested streets, saloons disguised as “coffee houses” have begun to spring up, tied to the deep history and popularity of France’s Cognac.  All manner of folks make their way through the doors of these establishments, in search of libations.  In 1869, a Louisianan named Thomas H. Handy purchases a popular coffee house located in the Metairie district of New Orleans. He names it the Sazerac Coffee House, in honor of the now-famed Sazerac Rye, and the Sazerac cocktail created in the mid-1800s by French immigrant and apothecary, Antoine Amédée Peychaud. 

Handy capitalized on the popularity of the cocktail and the liquor; he began acquiring and marketing specific brands of liquor, laying the groundwork in establishing Sazerac as a lasting kingpin in the liquor business.  Today, the Sazerac Company is one of the largest existing spirits companies in the United States.  From the humble beginnings of a vineyard in France to the nine distilleries and world-wide distribution it now enjoys, the Sazerac Company continues to produce its excellent spirits.

The Alto 7500 Lounge proudly serves Sazerac Rye, and our own recipe of the Sazerac Cocktail.

The Alto Sazerac:
Ice Cubes
2 Parts Courvosier Cognac
⅓ Part Simple Syrup
3 Dashes Absente Absinthe
2 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1 Dash Bitters
1 Twist Lemon Zest