Description
Embossed on glass 'Roi de Rome' & 1811', Fine Champagne.
Sazerac was named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac that was its original prime ingredient. Sometimes called the oldest cocktail in America with it's origins dating from pre-civil war. Later the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated France's wine grape crops.
1811 was regarded at the time as the greatest vintage in living memory, and is now universally held to be the finest vintage of the 19th century throughout the vineyards of Western Europe. In the same year, Napoleon himself visited the region, and was presented with a barrel of cognac as a gift for his young son.
DETAILS:
- Vintage: 1811
- Bottled: 1970
- Region: Fine Champagne
- Classification: Roi de Rome
- Fill Level: Mid Shoulder
- Shape: Mallet
- ABV: 40%
Bottle Size: 700 ml
SAZERAC DE FORGE & FILS
Sazerac de Forge & Fils was once a well-known cognac brand. Established in 1782 in Angoulême. Sazerac de Forge was a descendant of Louis II Sazerac des Roches. A prominent Angoulême based family with a documented history dating back to 1317. It was probably Bernard Sazerac (1742-1791) who started the Sazerac de Forge brand, but his family was granted the privilege of exporting eau-de-vie much earlier.
Louis II was in the first place a potter, and when Bernard started his own business in 1782, it too was pottery. The year before he had bought an old mill in Mouthiers-sur-Boëme that had in turns operated for forging iron, for grain and nut-oil, but Bernard turned it into a paper mill. So he had three different trades going on: pottery, paper, and eau-de-vie.
The mill was called De Forge, and now Bernard Sazerac des Roches was entitled to change his name into Sazerac de Forge. The buildings still exist and have beautiful - and now very famous - gardens that are open for visiting. Besides being merchants, the family had other professions. Bernard Sazerac de Forge was a lay-judge as was his father, Louis. Bernard’s son has been a major of Angoulême as was Laurent-Paul Sazerac de Forge in the 1860s.
THE SAZERAC COCKTAIL
Sazerac de Forge exported its cognacs overseas, and the US was an important market. In New Orleans, this cognac gave its name to one of the most famous - and probably one of the first ever - cocktails: the Sazerac. Today it is made with whiskey instead of cognac because around 1875 there was a short of cognacs due to the phylloxera crisis, but the original Sazerac cocktail additive was cognac from Sazerac de Forge & Fils.
In 1957 Sazerac de Forge & Fils merged with Emile Engrand and in 1970 Engrand Sazerac de Forge is sold to Edgard Leyrat who in turn was bought by Abécassis in 2003. Abécassis decided to continue the production of the Leyrat brand, Engrand, but the output of Sazerac de Forge cognacs stopped around 1970. Sazerac de Forge vintages from 1811 till 1893 are still around, though not very often seen.