Sazerac Company
Encyclopedia
The Sazerac Company is a large privately held and family-operated alcoholic beverages company with headquarters in Metairie, Louisiana
.
It owns and produces a large and diversified portfolio of beverage brands, and it owns and operates a number of distilling companies. Its distilleries include the Tom Moore Distillery
(in Bardstown, Kentucky
— formerly known as the Barton Brands distillery), the Buffalo Trace Distillery
(in Frankfort, Kentucky
), and the A. Smith Bowman Distillery
(a microdistillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia
)." The products of the company and its subsidiaries include various types of whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, rum, brandy, cognac, cocktails, cordials, liqueurs, "shooters", and wine. The company is reportedly controlled by the chairman of its Board of Directors, William Goldring.
In June 2009, Sazerac brand manager Kevin Richards said that the main focus of the company business is bourbon
(a product that is primarily distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky
) and the company's activities in New Orleans are mostly administrative.
called the Sazerac
that was created in the mid-1800's by a Creole immigrant named Antoine Peychaud, who operated a pharmacy on the French Quarter
's Royal Street in 1838. The company publishes a Sazerac recipe and produces a Peychaud's Bitters
named after Peychaud, which is an essential ingredient in the Sazerac cocktail.
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
.
It owns and produces a large and diversified portfolio of beverage brands, and it owns and operates a number of distilling companies. Its distilleries include the Tom Moore Distillery
Barton Brands
Barton Brands, Ltd. was a company that produced many distilled spirits and liquors. In 2009, it became part of the Sazerac Company of New Orleans....
(in Bardstown, Kentucky
Bardstown, Kentucky
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,700 people, 4,712 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,113 housing units at an average density of...
— formerly known as the Barton Brands distillery), the Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery located in Frankfort, Kentucky. It has historically been known by several names, including most notably, the George T. Stagg Distillery and the O.F.C. Distillery. Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced...
(in Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
), and the A. Smith Bowman Distillery
A. Smith Bowman Distillery
The A. Smith Bowman Distillery is a distillery that was originally based on the Bowman family's Sunset Hills Farm in Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, in what later became the planned community of Reston...
(a microdistillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
)." The products of the company and its subsidiaries include various types of whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, rum, brandy, cognac, cocktails, cordials, liqueurs, "shooters", and wine. The company is reportedly controlled by the chairman of its Board of Directors, William Goldring.
In June 2009, Sazerac brand manager Kevin Richards said that the main focus of the company business is bourbon
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
(a product that is primarily distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
) and the company's activities in New Orleans are mostly administrative.
History
The company primarily traces its founding to the purchase of a bar known as the Sazerac Coffee House in 1869 by Thomas H. Handy (and Bloomberg Businessweek similarly lists the founding date of the company as 1870). After this purchase, Handy's company began to acquire and market brands of liquor. According to the company, the Sazerac Coffee House itself was named after a cocktailCocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
called the Sazerac
Sazerac
The Sazerac is a local New Orleans variation of an old-fashioned cognac or whiskey cocktail, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac that was its original prime ingredient. The drink is some combination of cognac, rye whiskey, absinthe or Herbsaint, and Peychaud's Bitters and...
that was created in the mid-1800's by a Creole immigrant named Antoine Peychaud, who operated a pharmacy on the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
's Royal Street in 1838. The company publishes a Sazerac recipe and produces a Peychaud's Bitters
Peychaud's Bitters
Peychaud's Bitters, originally created around 1830 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, who settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1795, is distributed by Sazerac. It is a gentian-based bitters, comparable to Angostura bitters, but with...
named after Peychaud, which is an essential ingredient in the Sazerac cocktail.
See also
- Barton BrandsBarton BrandsBarton Brands, Ltd. was a company that produced many distilled spirits and liquors. In 2009, it became part of the Sazerac Company of New Orleans....
- Buffalo Trace DistilleryBuffalo Trace DistilleryBuffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery located in Frankfort, Kentucky. It has historically been known by several names, including most notably, the George T. Stagg Distillery and the O.F.C. Distillery. Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced...
- A. Smith Bowman DistilleryA. Smith Bowman DistilleryThe A. Smith Bowman Distillery is a distillery that was originally based on the Bowman family's Sunset Hills Farm in Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, in what later became the planned community of Reston...
- Sazerac CocktailSazeracThe Sazerac is a local New Orleans variation of an old-fashioned cognac or whiskey cocktail, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac that was its original prime ingredient. The drink is some combination of cognac, rye whiskey, absinthe or Herbsaint, and Peychaud's Bitters and...
- Pappy Van Winkle's Family ReservePappy Van Winkle's Family ReservePappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve is the flagship brand of bourbon whiskey owned by the “Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery” company , and is distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.-History:Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr...