Bananarac
Recipe:
- 30ml rye (originally Old Overholt)
- 30ml armagnac (originally Tariquet VSOP)
- 15ml banana liqueur (originally Giffard Banane du Brésil)
- 1/2 tsp demerara syrup
- 1 dash aromatic bitters (originally The Bitter Truth)
- absinthe (for rinsing/aromatizing)
Coat your prechilled rocks glass with a layer of absinthe (rinse or aromatize). Stir everything else with ice until sufficiently chilled (about 30 seconds with clear ice, precise dilution is key here), strain into your prechilled and absinthe coated rocks glass. Express a lemon zest over the surface, drop into the drink.
Optional: one large ice cube (we prefer it like the original Sazerac without one, make sure to really freeze your glass in that case)
Split base as far as the spirits are concerned, light fruit sweetness to it, some tart aromatics and/or spice as well, stirred. Meaning 100% my taste, all boxes are checked, no more questions.
To elaborate, we have once again a rough interpretation of an ancient drink, one of the probably 3 most famous forefathers, the Sazerac. Natasha David has transformed it in a quite exciting twist, a little banana won't hurt anybody?! Especially if you use a good liqueur, Giffard is used in the original, with the quite different but equally good Tempus Fugit I have been able to archieve equally good results though.
With the rye and armagnac you can also play around a bit, Rittenhouse is still my standard most of the time and worked great too and in the case of armagnac I could test both the original Tariquet, as well as the new Grapediggaz XO, both created exciting drinks that bring nothing but enjoyment. Christmas spices, delicate banana, fresh grapes, oak and forest floor, plus the light anise, complex and sophisticated, yet simply delicious.
In the original, according to Liquor.com, it's served with ice, on Diffordsguide and some Insta-posts it's like a Sazerac without ice (funnily enough, although in some of those posts it's called Old Fashioned Twist...?). I actually prefer it Sazerac style without ice, but I'm also a big fan of scaffa drinks, which are drinks served straight at room temperature. In the case of the Bananarac I would freeze the glass really ice cold, stir well, use high quality ice for the stirring and then just enjoy the evolution of the drink without ice in the tumbler...
Source: Natasha David, Nitecap Bar, NYC, USA
