Happy Friday, everyone!

Since our TBT classic cocktail this week (The Seelbach Cocktail!) included the distinctive and delicious Peychaud’s bitters, we decided to focus our liquor spotlight on that little bottle of magic, since we have found that outside of New Orleans many people are unaware of the brand, the flavor, and the history.

So let’s change that, shall we?

As we mentioned yesterday, Peychaud’s bitters were created by a Creole apothecary in the 1800s. More specifically, they were created using a secret family recipe by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, who had fled Haiti for New Orleans some years before.

Antoine started offering drinks made with the bitters to his friends, and soon enough the flavor caught on and the bitters became incredibly popular around the area.

Most famously, Peychaud’s bitters were used to create the Sazerac around 1850, and they remain one of the most important elements to the drink today.

Peychaud’s is in the petite bitter category, like Angostura. Similarly, Peychaud’s is also a floral-based aromatic bitters, but despite those comparison with Angostura, the flavor varies significantly. Peychaud’s is much sweeter and lighter than Angostura, with the floral flavor much more central to the overall profile than it’s more intense cousin.

Although these bitters are hugely popular in New Orleans and other parts of the south today, we have found that many people living outside of those regions–unfortunately–do not have much knowledge of them.

And that is a shame! These bitters are great, and are included in some really delicious cocktails. So take this as your moment of illumination, world: get on the Peychaud’s train, it is all Mardi Gras celebrations and zydeco bands on here!

So go grab yourself a bottle this weekend, and celebrate with some delicious southern drinks.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, we’ll see you on Monday!

Cheers!