Saz-air-ak — Origin Bar's Sazerac Riff with Absinthe Air

The actual specs of the Saz-air-ak, served at Origin Bar in Singapore (one of the world's best bars), shared by beverage director Adam Bersig. This riff on the classic Sazerac keeps the drink's DNA but completely rethinks its least-present ingredient: absinthe, usually just a rinse, becomes the star as a light, fluffy absinthe air made with an aquarium pump. The result is a beautiful, classy, well-thought-out and surprisingly approachable cocktail where the absinthe aroma stays present from the first sip to the last.

smart_display Published 2026-02-01 download Extracted 2026-05-18

10m Prep

48h 10m Total

1 Servings

cocktail sazerac whiskey rye-whiskey absinthe no-cook spirit-forward stirred molecular-mixology advanced

Ingredients

Absinthe Air (batch — ~20 cocktails)

50 ml Bohemian-style absinthe (use the Bohemian-style absinthe of your choice)
115 ml water (description states 115 ml; creator says ~150 ml on camera — use 115 ml per the bar's written spec)
0.5 g sucrose fatty acid ester (sucro / E473) (emulsifier that turns the alcohol into a light air-style foam)

Cocktail

50 ml rye whiskey (Origin Bar uses Michter's; substitute the rye of your choice)
7.5 ml Merlet Crème de Pêche (French peach liqueur) (stick to this for its natural peach flavor)
5 ml lemon oleo saccharum (see component recipe below)
4 dashes Peychaud's Bitters (generous dashes; stick to the classic Peychaud's)
for garnish absinthe air (see component recipe below; a nice amount, served in a small rocks glass)

Lemon Oleo Saccharum (batch — ~20 cocktails)

100 g lemon zest (organic, unwaxed) (from organic unwaxed lemons)
100 g sugar
25 ml water (for rinsing the zest) (used to rinse the zest after straining)

Steps

Absinthe Air (batch — ~20 cocktails)

1

Make the absinthe air (batch for ~20 cocktails): combine 0.5 g sucro, 50 ml Bohemian-style absinthe, and 115 ml water in a tall container. Blend a couple of seconds with a stand mixer or blender.

Tip: Sucro is also sold as sucrose fatty acid ester E473 — searching that name can find cheaper alternatives than the Sucro brand.

~2 min
2

Fully submerge the airstone of an inexpensive aquarium pump in the liquid, turn the pump on, and let it generate a light, fluffy air. If not used the same day, the liquid can be stored in the fridge and re-aerated — it keeps for up to 2 weeks (or more, being alcohol-based).

Tip: Any cheap aquarium pump with an airstone works — the creator used one bought for about €12.

Cocktail

1

Build the cocktail: in a mixing glass, combine 50 ml of your chosen rye whiskey, 7.5 ml (1/4 oz) Merlet Crème de Pêche, 5 ml lemon oleo saccharum, and 4 generous dashes of Peychaud's Bitters.
2

Add ice and stir until nice and cold.
3

Right before serving, add a nice amount of the absinthe air to a small rocks glass. Pour the stirred cocktail through the air so it beautifully rises to the top. Serve immediately and enjoy — the absinthe aroma stays present throughout.

Tip: Pouring through the air, rather than rinsing the glass, keeps the absinthe on the nose from the first sip to the last.

Lemon Oleo Saccharum (batch — ~20 cocktails)

1

Make the lemon oleo saccharum (batch for ~20 cocktails): zest organic, unwaxed lemons and reserve 100 g of zest. Add the zest and 100 g of sugar to a sous-vide bag (or a sealable glass container such as a Tupperware if you don't have a vacuum sealer).

Tip: Use only organic, unwaxed lemons since the oil is extracted directly from the zest.

~10 min
2

Seal the bag and leave it resting at room temperature until the sugar has fully dissolved — about 48 hours.

~2880 min
3

Once the sugar has fully dissolved, fine-strain the syrup. Add 25 ml of water to the bag to rinse the zest, fine-strain that as well, mix it into the syrup, and bottle it. Yield: about 110 ml, enough for a little over 20 cocktails.

Nutrition (per serving)

180

Calories

Carbs

Cultural Context

The Sazerac is one of the oldest known American cocktails, originating in New Orleans in the 19th century, traditionally built on rye whiskey (or cognac), Peychaud's Bitters, sugar, and an absinthe rinse of the glass. The Saz-air-ak is Origin Bar's modern reinterpretation: rather than discarding most of the absinthe as a quick rinse, Origin's team turned it into an 'air' — a stable, aromatic foam created by emulsifying absinthe with sucrose fatty acid ester (sucro / E473) and aerating it with an aquarium air stone. Pouring the stirred drink through the air keeps the absinthe perpetually on the nose, the part of a classic Sazerac that fades fastest. The build also swaps the classic sugar for a lemon oleo saccharum (a cold oil-and-sugar extraction of lemon zest) and adds Merlet Crème de Pêche, shifting the lemon from aroma to palate and making peach the standout flavor. Origin Bar in Singapore is regularly ranked among the World's 50 Best Bars; the drink is presented here from the bar's exact specs rather than reverse-engineered.