We had a great time on the complimentary tour of the Sazerac House on Canal Street in New Orleans. There are a couple cocktail tasting tour packages but we chose the free experience that does include little tastes of three cocktails based on the history of the Sazerac company and New Orleans traditions. Reservations for time slots can be made online, though I think that walk-ins are unlikely to need to wait long.
The House tour covers three floors and includes historical displays and artifacts covering Peychaud’s Bitters and some of Sazerac’s spirits including Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Sazerac Rye. Production and cocktail recipes are well covered in this facility that was acquired and completely renovated in the last ten years, so everything looks fresh and includes some modern high-tech displays. The best of these are some stations where you have a bartender on screen in front of you making one of New Orleans’ many classic cocktails, such as Ramos Gin Fizz or Sazerac.
The cocktail samples included the Sazerac cocktail, made now with Sazerac Rye rather than cognac that was used in the original cocktail. There were also rum and bourbon-based cocktail samples provided. Pretty informative and enjoyable to spend an hour or so.
There’s a small distillery on the first floor making Rye, plus a well stocked and very reasonably priced souvenir shop. You can pick up basically anything in the Sazerac portfolio, including Myers’s Rum and Jung & Wulff luxury rums Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados. I picked up a nice little bottle of Herbsaint.
Sazerac House is a fine option in the tourist corridor of New Orleans and is far from a tourist trap. Be sure to check it next time you’re in NOLA.
