Time Again to Storm the Sazerac

Take a trip back in time and enjoy New Orleans's official cocktail!

James Brown sang about it being a man’s world but you know women don’t sit down for that nonsense. Case in point The Roosevelt Hotel in downtown New Orleans. Only men were served in the hotel’s classy Sazerac Bar—except for Mardi Gras day (gee thanks for throwing us that bone)—but in 1949, a group of local women were thirsty and looking for sustenance. They stormed the Sazerac Bar demanding equality and a stiff drink.

Storming the Sazerac at The Roosevelt Hotel in 1949.

To celebrate that spirited revolution, the hotel honors the anniversary of the “Stormin’ of the Sazerac” on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. The 76th event includes a three-course luncheon in the world famous Blue Room; doors open at 12:45 p.m. and the celebration begins with the traditional ladies lunch at 1 p.m. Live entertainment will be provided, and the event will feature a fashion show showcasing vintage styles with a best-dressed competition. Women are invited to dress in post-war New Orleans style, such as hats, veils, peep-toe shoes and gloves.

The Sazerac Bar sports several Paul Ninas murals from the 1930s. The large curvy one on the end of the bar contains several famous people, including the late Louisiana governor and U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long.

Following the Blue Room festivities, the Reigning Spirit of the Sazerac will lead attendees in a second line to “storm” the world-renowned Sazerac Bar, where the spirited day continues with Sazerac cocktails in-hand. This year's honoree is Michelle Cheramie, Founder of Zeus’ Rescues and owner of the viral and elusive rescue dog, Scrim.

The Roosevelt is also selling limited-edition merchandise for the annual celebration, including hats, shirts and an exclusive poster, with a portion of the proceeds going to Zeus’ Rescues. 

Tickets are now on sale HERE, which include:

• Ladies-only three course luncheon

• Complimentary welcome beverage and cash bar

• Live entertainment

• Juried best-dressed competition (as attendees are encouraged to dress in post-war New Orleans style)

Tickets are non-refundable. Guests must be 21+. Communal seating only.

Guests must be 21 years of age to enter the bar and to join the festivities.

Want to know more about the Sazerac Bar?

The Sazerac’s menu features signature cocktails — like the namesake Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz — along with carefully crafted seasonal specialty cocktails, whiskey selections from the bar’s barrel program, wines and beers, and an extensive list of Cognacs and other liquors. Click here for a full menu.

Want to know more about Sazerac, the drink?

Here’s a history I wrote that was previously published in DeSoto magazine of Mississippi:

This may come as a surprise to many but back in the 19th century alcohol was available throughout New Orleans—in saloons and taverns, naturally, but also coffee houses, pharmacies, and other establishments. Sarcasm aside, this lax attitude towards imbibing spirits in the always eclectic Crescent City produced a rich environment for the development of cocktails.

Antoine Amédée Peychaud, for instance, operated an apothecary on Royal Street in the French Quarter. He created a recipe for bitters around 1830 that combined spirits infused with botanicals, an elixir to help the medicine go down. This delicious assemblage of flavors was seized upon in the city’s coffeehouses, many of which operated as much like a saloon. Peychaud’s Bitters and spirits—mainly Laurent Sazerac de Forge’s French cognac with a dash of absinthe, an anise-flavored spirit popular in New Orleans in the 19th century — made for interesting combinations. The drink became known as the “Sazerac,” named for the cognac maker.

By the 1870s, however, a devastating wine year in France decreased the availability of cognac so rye whiskey was substituted in the drink. The trace amounts of wormwood in absinthe, thought to create addictions among their followers as well as hallucinations and other mental issues, prompted American officials to outlaw the spirit. Another ingenious New Orleanian, J.M. Legendre, created Herbsaint to take its place, a spirit similar in nature to absinthe but minus the wormwood.

Today, the Sazerac cocktail contains Peychaud’s Bitters (sold in stores using the same recipe as Antoine’s), sugar, Herbsaint, rye whiskey, and lemon, and it’s as popular today as it was a century ago. Which is why the Sazerac was named the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008.

The Sazerac is also one of the many arguments historians use to declare New Orleans and its many creative spirit-makers for the origin of the cocktail.

Visitors to New Orleans may sample this potent drink throughout the city’s bars and other establishments (the city hasn’t changed in that regard) but also tour the Sazerac House on Canal Street, a lovingly restored building located 350 yards from the coffeehouse that first served the combination. The Sazerac House — run by the Sazerac company which produces numerous spirits and Peychoud’s Bitters — offers free admission to exhibits that explain the Sazerac cocktail, as well as other local and national libations, plus the history of the company’s products. Special tours and programs that include mixology lessons and drink samples are offered as well, but with a fee. All on-site tours require reservations through the company’s website.

Sazerac

1 cube sugar

1 1/2 ounces Sazerac Rye Whiskey (or your own brand)

1/4 ounce Herbsaint

3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Lemon peel

Directions: Pack on Old Fashioned glass with ice. In a second Old Fashioned glass place the sugar cube and add the Peychaud’s Bitters, then crush the sugar cube. Add the Sazerac Rye Whiskey to the second glass containing the Peychaud’s Bitters and sugar. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat the glass with the Herbsaint, then discard the remaining Herbsaint. Empty the whisky/bitters/sugar mixture from the second glass into the first glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

A favorite memory of Weird, Wacky & Wild South blogger Cheré Coen was bringing her mother to The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans in the last years of her life to enjoy her favorite drink, a Sazerac. She believes the Sazerac is most definitely the official cocktail of her hometown.