Peychaud's Bitters Guide: What It Is, How Much to Use & Substitutes

Peychaud's is the ingredient that makes a Sazerac a Sazerac. Take the rye away and you can still argue about Cognac; take the absinthe away and you have an Improved Whiskey Cocktail; take the Peychaud's away and the drink is gone. Every reputable spec we checked calls for it, by name, and no other bitters tastes like it — bright red, anise and cherry on the nose, a clove edge behind, lighter and sweeter-seeming than Angostura.

This guide covers what Peychaud's is, where it came from, how many dashes the serious recipes use, how it differs from Angostura, and what to do when the bottle is empty. For the whole ingredient set see the Sazerac ingredients guide; for how the dashes fit the rest of the build, Sazerac ratios.

The Short Version

• Peychaud's is a red, anise-and-cherry aromatic bitters from New Orleans — the signature of the Sazerac, the Vieux Carré and the Cocktail à la Louisiane.
• Dashes: 3 is the New Orleans figure. The documented range runs from 2 (PUNCH, IBA) to 6 (PUNCH's 2024 blind-tasting winner).
• Angostura: some recipes add one dash alongside; it is not a substitute. Arnaud's doubles the Angostura when Peychaud's is missing; we think the result is a different drink.
• Substitutes: Difford's allows "other Creole-style bitters." Nothing replaces it outright.

What Peychaud's Bitters Is

Peychaud's is an aromatic bitters in the New Orleans style, sold today as Peychaud's Aromatic Cocktail Bitters. Where Angostura is dark brown and driven by clove, gentian and baking spice, Peychaud's is a clear bright red and leads with anise and a cherry-like sweetness, clove and a gentle bitterness underneath. Difford's files it under "Creole-style bitters," a small family of which it is the only widely available member.

In a Sazerac it supplies the aroma, with the absinthe rinse and the lemon oil, and the color — three dashes tint a rye Sazerac a faint pink-amber. The station's full guide to the bottle is Peychaud's bitters — complete guide; this page is the Sazerac view.

Antoine Peychaud and the 1834 Apothecary

Antoine Amédée Peychaud (c.1803–1883) was born in Saint-Domingue and opened his pharmacy at 123 Royal Street, New Orleans — today's 437 Royal — in 1834. That date comes from the Sazerac Company and from Philip Greene's entry in the Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails; New Orleans & Company's legend text gives 1838, and the two have never been reconciled. Between 1849 and 1857 he began selling his own bitters, and in June 1857 he advertised in the New Orleans Bee that his "American Aromatic Bitter Cordial" was in general use at the Sazerac House and other leading coffee houses. That advertisement is the first firm link between the bitters and the bar.

The story that Peychaud served Cognac and bitters in an egg cup — a coquetier — and so coined the word "cocktail" does not survive the dates: "cocktail" was defined in print in 1806, when Peychaud was an infant. David Wondrich and Philip Greene (a Peychaud descendant) have both taken it apart. The whole tangle is in who invented the Sazerac.

From Peychaud to Handy to the Sazerac Company

By the late 20th century, per the Oxford Companion, Peychaud's was nearly unavailable outside New Orleans; the craft revival brought it back with the drink. Today the bitters, the rye and the Herbsaint in the city's official recipe all come from the company that descends from the bar.

How Many Dashes

Three is the figure to start from: the Sazerac House prints it, Cure measures it by dropper (23 drops, for consistency) and Difford's uses it. The recipes that depart from three do so on purpose:

Two things decide where you land: the sugar (more syrup can carry more bitters) and the rinse (Herbsaint is sweeter and lower in proof than absinthe, so a Herbsaint Sazerac takes more Peychaud's before it tips). If the drink tastes flat, add a dash before you change anything else. The interplay is in Sazerac ratios and sugar in a Sazerac.

Peychaud's vs Angostura

They are not interchangeable, and the Sazerac proves it. Angostura's weight and clove would pull the drink toward an Old Fashioned with an absinthe rinse; Peychaud's anise-cherry note is lighter and sits naturally beside the absinthe. A single dash of Angostura in addition does have a pedigree: Stanley Clisby Arthur's 1937 recipe added one, Wondrich found both bitters in the Sazerac House's 1890s whisky cocktail, and Morgenthaler, Macy and the Ticonderoga Club use it today. PUNCH, Difford's, the IBA and the Sazerac House leave it out. Treat it as seasoning. The companion guide is Angostura bitters — complete guide.

Substitutes When the Bottle Is Empty

• Another Creole-style bitters. Difford's spec reads "Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters," and William Elliott of Maison Premiere used Bitter Truth Creole Bitters alongside Peychaud's in his third-place 2018 PUNCH build.
• Double the Angostura. Arnaud's French 75 Bar recipe says to do exactly this if Peychaud's is unavailable. A good drink; not a Sazerac.
• Make something else. Rye, sugar and Angostura is an Old Fashioned; dash absinthe and maraschino into the drink and it is Jerry Thomas's 1876 Improved Whiskey Cocktail, the Sazerac's structural ancestor, which used Boker's or Angostura.

Once open, the bottle earns its place: two dashes go into the Vieux Carré, three into the De La Louisiane. For the spirit it was made to meet, see the Bottle Library and the rye Sazerac recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Peychaud's bitters?

A bright-red, anise-and-cherry aromatic bitters created by New Orleans apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud, whose Royal Street pharmacy opened in 1834 (one source says 1838). They were advertised as in use at the Sazerac House by 1857 and are made today by the Sazerac Company, which regained the brand in 1970.

How many dashes of Peychaud's go in a Sazerac?

Three is the New Orleans standard — the Sazerac House, Cure and Difford's all use it. Reputable recipes range from 2 dashes (PUNCH, IBA) to 6 (the 2024 PUNCH blind-tasting winner).

Can I use Angostura instead of Peychaud's?

Arnaud's French 75 Bar says to double the Angostura if Peychaud's is unavailable, but in our view the drink will taste like a different cocktail. Many bartenders use both: 3 to 6 dashes Peychaud's plus 1 dash Angostura.

What is the difference between Peychaud's and Angostura?

Peychaud's is red, lighter and led by anise and cherry; Angostura is dark brown and led by clove, gentian and baking spice. In a Sazerac Peychaud's sits alongside the absinthe rinse; Angostura would pull the drink toward an Old Fashioned.

Who makes Peychaud's bitters?

The Sazerac Company of New Orleans, which descends from Thos. H. Handy & Co., the owners of the Sazerac House bar. The company reacquired the brand in 1970 and now bottles it at the Sazerac House on Canal Street.

Did Peychaud invent the word 'cocktail'?

No. The egg-cup (coquetier) story comes from Stanley Clisby Arthur in 1936–37; 'cocktail' appears in print by 1803–1806, when Peychaud was a baby. Wondrich and Philip Greene have both debunked it.