Pichot (Peychaud’s) is an American bitter that appeared in 1830. The drink is named after its creator, Creole pharmacist Antoine Pichot. The young man was born in Haiti, but in 1795 he moved to Louisiana, where 35 years later he began to produce a gentian-based liquor. The taste of alcohol is closest to Angostura, but notes of anise and mint predominate in the bouquet. Bitter Pichot is one of the main components of the Sazerac cocktail.
While Angostura is made in the Caribbean and therefore not affected by American Prohibition, Pichot production was suspended from 1920 to 1933. The exact composition of the drink is unknown, since Monsieur Pichot made it according to a secret family recipe. The apothecary later sold the brand and prescription to Sazerac.
Features
Bitter has a strength of 35%, it is a bright scarlet liquid with aromas of licorice, anise, orange peel and cherry. Some tasters claim that the drink smells like cough syrup. On the palate, quinine bitterness is combined with the sweetness of caramelized sugar; notes of cherry, mint and citrus can be distinguished. Overall Pichot is sweeter than Angostura, with a fruitier profile. The long aftertaste is entirely concentrated on the cherry.
Pisho is not intended to be consumed in its pure form, this bitter is found in almost every bar in the world, but is used exclusively as a cocktail ingredient.
Sazerak cocktail
Three years after the invention of his bitter, Antoine Pichot tried adding it to brandy and found that both drinks benefit from such a blend. They say that the pharmacist mixed alcohol using a special measuring cup called “coquetier”, from which the modern word “cocktail” is derived. It is believed that the New Orleans Sazerac was the first American cocktail from which this type of alcohol became fashionable.
Against the beautiful legend about the origin of the word “cocktail” is the fact that the first documented use of the term occurs in a New York newspaper from 1806, long before the appearance of Pichot bitter and drinks based on it.
By 1850, the Sazerac cocktail (named after the brandy of the same name) became extremely popular, and in 1873, due to an epidemic of phylloxera, grape brandy had to be replaced with rye whiskey, later a few drops of absinthe were added to the recipe. In the XNUMXth century, in a number of European countries, the “green witch” was banned, and it was replaced by anise pastis.
The modern final recipe looks like this: put a cube of sugar into an old fashion glass, drip 3 drops of Pishaud bitter onto it, pour 45 ml of Sazerac rye whiskey. The second old fashion is filled with ice, add 5-10 ml of Herbsaint (or any other) anise liqueur, or simply “rinse” the glass with anise, pour the contents of the first glass into it. The finished cocktail is decorated with lemon zest. Instead of rye whiskey, you can take cognac.
Other cocktails with Pisho
Old Square (French Quarter). Mix equal parts of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and cognac in an ice-filled glass, add a couple of drops of Pichot and Angostura, half a teaspoon of Benedictine liqueur, pour into an ice-filled old fashion, serve with a cocktail cherry.
Cocktail à la Louisiane (Louisiana Cocktail). In an ice-filled glass, mix equal parts Benedictine liqueur, sweet vermouth and rye whiskey, add 3-4 drops of Pichot and any anise liqueur, pour into a chilled cocktail glass, serve with a cocktail cherry.
The Peach Monster (Peach monster). 2 parts single malt whiskey, ¾ parts St Germain elderberry liqueur, 4 drops Pichot bitters. Mix everything, serve with ice.
Pisho also successfully replaces almost any bitter, especially Angostura, and gives the cocktail an interesting red tint.