chai sazerac
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Ready for the perfect holiday drink? Here is the chai sazerac. It’s spicy, it’s bright, its spirit forward. The spices of the chai warm you up, the absinthe wakes you up, and the bourbon brings it all together. I love it so much. It’s perfect for the chilly desert nights we’ve been getting lately, where it’s not quite cold enough to demand a hot toddy, but the chill is definitely felt.
Maybe it’s all the oat milk chai lattes I’ve been getting to treat myself through the stressful holiday season, but I was really determined to use chai in a holiday cocktail. I was turning this one over in my head for a few weeks when it hit me - chai would work perfectly with one of my absolute favorite drinks - the sazerac.
What is a sazerac?
The sazerac originates in New Orleans in the mid 1800s. It was originally made with cognac but has since evolved into a cocktail that usually involves rye (sometimes bourbon), absinthe, sugar, bitters, and a lemon or orange peel. Now, I know you know how I feel about absinthe after my deep dive on the absinthe frappé, and honestly my love for the sazerac is right up there with it. A good sazerac is aromatic, intense but smooth, a little sexy, and super delicious.
This is obviously a departure from the classic sazerac - instead of a muddled sugar cube we have a delicious and complex brown sugar chai syrup to complement the flavors of the bourbon and the anise of the absinthe. I absolutely love these flavors together!
Brown sugar chai syrup for a chai cocktail
This syrup is delicious, complex, and super easy to make. You just boil the brown sugar and water until dissolved, remove from heat, and steep with chai tea bags for 10 minutes. I think it is pretty versatile too and a fun syrup to get creative with. I can see it working well in old fashioned, with rum drinks, with amaros, and more! I am excited to test it. If you make it make sure to leave a comment below with how you used it!
Flavors of a chai and cardamom bitters cocktail
This cocktail, like all good sazaracs, is aromatic, strong, smooth, and delicious. The spices from the chai are just an amazing complement to the anise of the absinthe and the smooth vanilla and caramels of the bourbon. Warm and delicious and perfect for hunkering down with.
Cardamom bitters vs. peychauds bitters
You’ll notice I have two possibilities listed for bitters, and that’s because I couldn’t make up my mind! They both work so well with this drink but in very different ways. Peychauds bitters were invented by a man in New Orleans named Antoine Peychaud. It is the classic and necessary bitters for the traditional old fashioned, and is a huge part of what brings the flavor profiles together. Peychauds has notes of a ton of amazing warming spices including anise, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, with a bit of a medicinal edge. It is the brighter of the two options and really brings out the absinthe.
Meanwhile, cardamom bitters pair nicely of course with the chai tea, as cardamom is a major ingredient for both. Cardamom bitters will give you a darker, richer drink and will really sink you into the herbs and spices of the chai. However, it will overpower the absinthe a bit, so it is all a matter of preference.
Hopefully, one is available easily to you and you can go for it!
How to make a chai sazerac
A traditional sazerac is made by icing a rocks glass and rinsing it with absinthe, dispensing of the liquid. I love absinthe too much to pour it down the drain so I kept it to a small amount and left it right in the drink! Traditionally, you next muddle a sugar cube with Peychauds and stir in all the remaining ingredients. Since we went the syrup route for this beauty, it is actually much simpler.
Add all the ingredients together in a mixing glass or shaker, add ice, stir or mix, and strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Express an orange peel overtop, garnish with an orange peel and maybe a stray anise star, and enjoy!
Recommended Tools
Whether you want a warming cocktail, an adventurous cocktail, a holiday cocktail, or a simple one - the chai sazerac fits the bill! If you try it make sure to let me know by commenting below or tagging me on Instagram!
Chai Sazarac
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- .25 oz absinthe
- .5 oz brown sugar chai syrup (recipe below)
- 1 dash Peychauds bitters or cardamom bitters
- garnish with orange peel
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 bags chai tea
Instructions
- chill a rocks glass
- combine all ingredients except orange peel into a mixing glass
- add ice
- stir
- strain into chilled rocks glass
- boil water and brown sugar until dissolved
- remove from heat
- steep chai tea bags for 10 minutes and then remove
- store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks
