![Peychauds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Peychauds.jpg)
Peychaud's Bitters is a
bitters
Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are ...
distributed by the American
Sazerac Company
Sazerac Company, Inc is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by billionair ...
.
It was originally created between 1849 and 1857 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a
Creole apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...
from the French colony of
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
(now
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
) who traveled to
, around 1793.
It is a
gentian
''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...
-based bitters, comparable to
Angostura bitters
Angostura bitters () is a concentrated bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) based on gentian, herbs, and spices, by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. It is typically used for flavouring beverages or, less often, food. The bitters we ...
, but with a predominant
anise
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia.
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...
aroma combined with a background of mint.
Peychaud's Bitters is the definitive component of the
Sazerac cocktail.
It is currently produced at the
Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
References
Further reading
* Toledano, Roulhac . ''The National Trust Guide to New Orleans'', Page 226. New Orleans, LA: John Wiley & Sons, 1996. .
{{Alcoholic drinks
Bitters
1830 introductions
Sazerac Company brands
1830 establishments in Louisiana
New Orleans cocktails