Welcome To Wonkette Happy Hour, With This Week’s Cocktail, The Whiskey Rebellion!

Hello from the Editrix: We’re calling a lid today for traveling home from the RNC. We’ll be back tomorrow!

Greetings, Wonketeers! I’m Hooper, your bartender. For the last two weeks I’ve been suggesting light, summery, low ABV drinks to ease us through summer. Yeah, screw that. The news keeps raising my heart rate, and it’s time for the hard stuff. Here’s that punk, spirit-forward drink I promised you a few weeks back. Only it’s still a steamy hot summer, so let’s work some summer flavors into a big glass of rye whiskey. It’s called a Whiskey Rebellion. Here’s the recipe:

2 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey

2 oz Pimm’s No. 1

1 oz St.-Germain

½ oz lime juice

6 shakes Peychaud’s bitters (or other Creole bitters)

Splash of ginger ale or seltzer

Shake all ingredients and pour into a double old fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with lemon and lime slices. 

When I wrote up the Pimm’s Cup a while back, I stumbled across a picture of then-Prince Charles holding a double old-fashioned glass with a slice of lemon in it. Nominally this was a “Pimm’s Cup,” but the presentation looked much stiffer than the average cup. I filed away that tidbit for later perusal; Pimm’s is too tasty to be limited to just one cocktail. 

Later on, I saw a bartender mention in passing that Pimm’s and Peychaud bitters worked very well together. That knowledge alone gave me the key to making a solid cocktail. Sazerac Rye is a natural match for Peychaud’s, so Pimm’s, Peychaud’s, and Sazerac seemed like a solid trio to build with. A little searching found several cocktails called the “Whiskey Rebellion” that were 50/50 Pimm’s and whiskey, married in a whiskey sour with lemon and sugar. Lemon, sugar, and whiskey are the basis of a lot of good whiskey cocktails. The Pimm’s and Sazerac really didn’t want to cooperate without some sweet and acid to bring them together. Taste as you build the cocktail and you’ll see what I mean. Pimm’s and Sazerac alone in a glass taste like “Pimm’s … and Sazerac” with this awkward gap in between the flavors. The Creole bitters manage to bridge the flavor profile, providing some interesting harmonies between the two sides. 

As I kept tasting — and the news kept providing reasons to drink — I became less satisfied with the lemon and sugar. The lemon was too acidic, and simple syrup always feels like a wasted opportunity to me. There are plenty of sweet cordials that can take the place of sugar water. I decided on some St-Germain to provide floral notes backing up the Pimm’s, and swapped the lemon for less-acidic lime juice. The end result tasted like a war between a delicate flower and strong, peppery whiskey. A perfect way to describe a turbulent week. 

Let’s talk ingredients:

Sazerac Rye: Easily my favorite rye whiskey — peppery, but barely sweet, strong but not too much alcohol burn. It also reminds me of New Orleans, my favorite city in the world, and is traditionally paired with Creole bitters. I would use any high-proof rye whiskey here; Rittenhouse Rye and Old Grand Dad 100 Proof High Rye both come to mind as options. Bourbon is corn-based as opposed to rye-based; it will be too sweet and unctuous for this aggressive cocktail.

Pimm’s No 1: Yes, there is a Pimm’s No. 2. Or, at least, there was. It had a Scotch base as opposed to a gin base, and while I’ve seen pictures of the bottle I can’t find anyone who sells it. Some things don’t need sequels, it seems. Pimm’s is sweet, delicate, and fruity. It’s got no business sitting in a glass with rude, aggressive rye whiskey, but it’s 2024 and here we are. 

St.-Germain Elderflower Liqueur: Sweet elderflower notes in this syrupy liqueur reinforce the Pimm’s and give it something to cling to as it approaches the Sazerac.

Creole Bitters: Peychaud’s is the standard, but the bottle from Bitter Truth is excellent as well. Be generous with this stuff. Bitters are great for bringing opposing tastes together in a glass. 

Lime Juice: I tried lemon here, but it was so assertive and acidic that it wiped out the Pimm’s. Lime juice is less sharp and less potent, bringing acid to the drink for balance instead of dominance. 

Ginger Ale: After all’s said and done, the Sazerac still has enough of an alcohol bite to make the drink a bit harsh. Some ginger ale — another old friend of Pimm’s — tamps down the burn. I like seltzer here for a drier drink.

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