New Orleans nightlife can feel a little naughty and so can this delicious hemp-based Sazerac spinoff, the Grasserac cocktail! As a bonus, it is tasty and fun.
You guys. I just couldn’t help myself with this one. While pondering the mysteries of life and thinking about the Sazerac cocktail, the idea for this drink came to me… the Grasserac. So I toiled and stewed over my mixing cauldron and came up with what I think is a great drink that celebrates the Sazerac and makes great use of hemp-based vodka. Enjoy The Grasserac!
Ben. Why? Why You Do This?
To me, it actually makes a lot of sense that this should be a cocktail. One of a Sazerac’s key ingredients, absinthe, has been demonized for a very long time. As we learned while looking at absinthe history, the drink was banned in the US in the early 1900s. Somewhere along the way, they figured out the demonization was a bunch of hooey and in 2007 was reinstated as a legal spirit in the US.
Look, I choose not to partake in the wacky tobaccy, but I think it is easy to come to the conclusion that marijuana has been demonized for a very long time. It shares this past with absinthe and the Sazerac. We are not even using the real thing, but it’s THC free cousin, hemp.
I just think the combination of the ingredients, hemp and absinthe, make for a great marriage in a story of troubled pasts.
Hemp Vodka
I knew the Grasserac needed hemp in it. I called down to my local Bottle Barn to see what they may have had in terms of hemp infused alcohol. Fortunately enough, the first shipment of Colorado High Vodka was on its way. I literally could not have made the drink I wanted had it been a week earlier.
So, I picked up a bottle of this vodka, which was reasonably priced, and brought it home. The first step was to just taste the booze and get a feel for it. It tastes good. I am not a vodka connoisseur, but we did look at vodka a bit in our Moscow Mule series. A straight-up classic vodka should impart no flavor, but I didn’t expect that from this spirit and that is what I got. It advertises a subtle nuttiness and that is what I got. There was no strong flavor, but a decent one that would serve as a good alcohol base with a twist of hemp.
Straight Vodka or Mix
While developing this cocktail, one thing I struggled with a bit is whether to use just vodka or to also use whiskey. I didn’t really want to alter the cocktail in a way that would make it unrecognizable and wanted to pay appropriate homage to the original cocktail. After testing the cocktail out, I decided it needed both.
The Grasserac contains the Colorado High Hemp vodka and Sazerac Rye Whiskey. The whiskey gives the cocktail the flavor that people expect from the Sazerac. The vodka does dilute the flavor of the rye just a tad, but adds the subtle hemp flavors from the vodka.
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The Grasserac - Sazerac's Hemp Based Cocktail Cousin
- Prep Time: 2 Minutes
- Cook Time: 3 Minutes
- Total Time: 5 Minutes
- Yield: 1 Drink 1x
- Category: Cocktails
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: New Orleans
Description
The bad boy of the Sazerac is its absinthe. Pair that with hemp infused vodka for a double dose of bad boy with The Grasserac!
Ingredients
- 1 Old Fashioned Glass
- 1 Mixing Vessel for muddling, mixing, and straining
- Ice
- Water
- 1 stick of lemongrass
- 1 Sugar Cube (SEE NOTES)
- 4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- Dash Water
- 1 ounce of hemp vodka
- 1 ounce rye whiskey
- Splash of absinthe
Instructions
- Fill Old Fashioned Glass with Ice and cold water
- In mixing vessel, add 1 sugar cube and add bitters
- Add 1 " of the stick of lemongrass
- Add a splash of water
- Muddle
- Add ice to mixing vessel
- Add vodka and whiskey
- Add whiskey
- Empty the glass filled with ice water
- Add the splash of absinthe and swirl around to try and coat inside of glass
- Dump any remaining absinthe
- Using mixing spoon, stir whiskey vodka concoction for about 10 seconds
- Strain into empty glass
- Garnish with remaining lemongrass stick
- SERVE
Jeff the Chef
This sounds pretty interesting! I had no idea there was hemp-based vodka. I need to do more drinking!
Kat Jeter
Very interesting! I've never tried absinthe and I didn't even know there was hemp vodka. Now I want to try both!
Ben
Absinth is super interesting and, IMO, something a person has to try at least once.
Madi
I have to try making this cocktail! Hemp based vodka sounds so interesting!
Michelle Barsness
What an interesting combination of spirits! Love your story about how you experimented and came up with this great cocktail. It sounds both interesting and refreshing.
Ben
Thank you, Michelle. The name and ingredients just FIT!
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
I love this twist on the sazerac. I'm going to show this to my husband because he loves different types of drinks and this one is definitely different and sounds awesome!
Ben
Why not?! It is definitely different. 🙂
Rachel
I'm going to have to share this cocktail with my husband as he loves sazeracs. We have absinth. The challenge will be finding some hemp vodka. I live in Philly and Pennsylvania is such a weird state about it's liquor imports. If all else fails I bet I can get it Jersey!
Ben
It is hard to get some kinds of booze in PA? Huh... did not know this. P.S. In Wentz We Trust. 😉
Paige
This sounds so interesting and probably just perfect for the weekend! I think the way you describe it sounds tempting-makes me really want to taste it!
Ben
Well, you should! it is a fun drink.
Anne Lawton
This is such a unique cocktail. I did not know that hemp based vodka was a real thing! I'm not a vodka drinker, but might have to give it a try.
Ben
I was pretty pumped to find this. lol. It is always fun to try interesting things, right?
Cleo @ Journey to the Garden
Wow, I have no idea about cocktails but this sounds interesting. I use hemp but I haven't heard of hemp vodka. I'm definitely going to check it out.
Rezel Kealoha
ooh. I love learning about new cocktails. I will need to try this out or try to scour some bars for some hemp vodka!