Spiritless Bayou Sour

Simple at Home Whiskey

Ingredients:

2 oz. Spiritless Kentucky 74
1 oz. Peychaud's Bitters
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
3 oz. N/A sparkling amaro or tonic water

Recipe:

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT sparkling water in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake cold for 10 seconds. Pour into a rocks glass over fresh ice and top with N/A sparkling water of choice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Story:

Hailing from the bayou, I absolutely adore all things colorful and Creole. Peychaud's Bitters was created by Antoine Amedée Peychaud, an apothecary in New Orleans’ French Quarter starting in the 1830s. Born in Haiti, he migrated (as many did) to NOLA after the revolution. He carried his family recipe and placed a mark in the flavor world and helped to establish one of the first cocktails documented, the Sazerac.

Seeing a person of color — let alone an immigrant — be recognized during this time period is a major accomplishment. Plus, the bitters are just delicious. These are all reasons why Peychaud’s is one of the top bitters brands today.

Uplifting his name and adding it to my creation for Spiritless allowed me to merge value, limitless flavor and the same boldness that culture does. The effervescence is there to help express and balance, which is something culture and cocktails do very well together.