Cocktail of the week: The Sazzaquack

One of London's most forward-thinking cocktail bars has given a nineteenth-century cocktail an innovative update with the use of premium rye whiskey from WhistlePig

Words: Aobh O'Brien-Moody

In association with:

Max Venning is the co-founder of Three Sheets, a London cocktail bar that first threw open its doors in Dalston in 2016 and quickly garnered a cult following among industry insiders – so much so that it has featured on the World’s 50 Best Bars list five times. Last year saw the successful opening of a second Three Sheets outpost in Soho, offering even more Londoners the opportunity to sample the bar’s iconic cocktails.

One such tipple is the Sazzaquack, a playful take on the classic Sazerac cocktail, which hails from New Orleans and is typically made with rye whiskey, absinthe, bitters and sugar. In typical Three Sheets fashion, Venning takes things up a notch. He combines Seven Tails XO, WhistlePig 10-year, Five Spice and Rooibos Tea, all of which are mixed over ice and, as the name suggests, served in a quaint rocks glass with a duck in the bottom – a novel touch that encourages imbibers to take themselves a touch less seriously. A fragrant lemon absinthe spray is spritzed over the concoction as a final flourish.

The rye that Venning chooses to use for his inventive iteration is WhistlePig’s 10-year, one of the highest-rated rye whiskeys of all time and WhistlePig’s flagship rye whiskey, which it started its journey with almost 20 years ago. Made using 100% rye, it is distilled and initially matured in Canada before being aged further at the WhistlePig Farm in Vermont. The result is a bold, spice-forward flavour profile of clove, mint, barrel char, creamy caramels and butterscotch, which lend the Sazzaquack a serious sense of depth.

Should you wish to play mixologist at home, follow the recipe below to make your own Sazzaquack. While the duck certainly isn’t required, it’s guaranteed to get your guests talking.