The Worst Sazerac Ever Made

I don't know what can top this.

I went to a small bar in Lincoln Park with a friend of mine this evening. It was doing absolutely no business, which should have been warning enough. But it'd gotten decent reviews and we picked it anyways.

I ordered a Sazerac (which was on the menu). When the bartender asked me if I would prefer it up or on the rocks, I should have suspected I was in for it. At any rate, from what I could observe, here's what this particular cocktail consisted of:

3 oz Maker's Mark (bourbon, not rye, but I'm not here to be persnickety.)
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters (okay, so far, we're okay)
1.5 oz Vya sweet vermouth (wait, I said Sazerac, not manhattan)
1 oz Lucid absinthe (dear god, man the escape pods!)

After the bartender spilled half of this abomination transferring it from the tin to a martini glass ("sorry man, party foul"), he then set it aflame.

It was the first drink I've ever sent back.

jsagoff wrote:1.5 oz Vya sweet vermouth (wait, I said Sazerac, not manhattan)

Recently read about a variant of the Sazerac called a 'Scotch Saz'. It does contain sweet vermouth, though nothing close to the relative proportion used here. Apparently it was popular in the 70s...

One of the hardest things today is to know what to order in which bar. Restaurants are easier. Order sushi in a sushi restaurant, don't order the fish in a steak house... Some bars are trickier. Wine bars are easy, as are Irish Pubs and beer meccas. But bars that look nice, have a cocktail list (instead of a Martini list) and have a bottle of Rittenhouse and a bottle of St. Elizabeths Allspice Dram on the back bar can, sometimes be a great disappointment. Sometimes they wont make a highball without attitude, sometimes their vermouth has turned to vinegar. Often times "I'll have your shittiest beer and your best whiskey" is the way to go.

I was not trying to disparage the bar that is mentioned above as I don't know which bar was being alluded to.

Cheers,
Toby