Peychaud's Cocktail Bitters

Created in the 1830s in New Orleans, Peychaud Bitters is a gentian-based bitters still used today for mixed drinks, in particular the Sazerac cocktail. People were sipping Sazeracs in New Orleans before the Civil War. This is an advertising card, announcing the visit of a salesman, R.L. Purnell, who is going to stop by sometime in 1904. L.E. Jung, the sole proprietor of Peychaud Bitters, was also a big New Orleans absinthe distiller.

We were eating dinner at a restaurant a few days ago and I decided to order a Sazerac for research purposes. The original drink was made with cognac, but since then many different versions have been developed. The one I had was made with rye whiskey. The Sazerac is also sometimes made with absinthe. I am not a big fan of whiskey, but I appreciated that this drink was not sweet as cocktails so often are. Here's a link for a Sazerac recipe.