Cocktail hour: A stiff drink after yesterdays heavy post!

 I'm not big on super sweet candy type cocktails.  In fact I'm not a fan of sweet drinks at all really.  So my favourite cocktail of all time is a little bit bitter and has a good kick to it thanks to the whiskey and absinth!    The Sazerac originates from New Orleans and was around since before the prohibition days.  I figure that I'm not the only one who thinks that it's pretty great, otherwise it wouldn't have been around for so long right!  It is actually fairly simple to make, but it requires some specific ingredients that  you probably won't find floating around every household liqueur cabinet. 
The Sazerac 
1 sugar cube
2 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (we don't use ounces in NZ but seeing as how this is an American drink I thought I would leave it in, but basically it's your average 60mls).
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters 
absinthe 
lemon peel

In an Old-Fashioned glass (not a mixing glass; it's part of the ritual), muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes and the rye whiskey, the Peychaud's bitters, and the Angostura bitters.
Stir well and strain into a second, chilled, Old-Fashioned glass in which you have rolled around a few drops of absinthe (no substitute really works, but you can try either a mix of Pernod and green Chartreuse, or Absente) until its inside is thoroughly coated, pouring off the excess. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel (some insist that this be squeezed over the drink and discarded; Handy wasn't so picky).
* This recipe was borrowed from here.

This is a drink to be sipped and enjoyed  slowly, not shot back and slammed on the bar like a cheap tequila!  It seems to taste particularly good on hot summer evenings with some good friends telling stories about the old days.
Enjoy x

P.S I used some slices of pink grapefruit and a bit of mint in these photos, but they are more for aesthetic reason than anything else.