Sazerak

Around 1850, Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, the Merchants Exchange Co ee House, in order to become an importer of spirits. He began to import a brand of Cognac named Sazerac de Forge et Fils. Meanwhile, Aaron Bird took over the ownership of the Merchants Exchange and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House.
Bird began serving the Sazerac Cocktail, made with Sazerac Cognac imported by Taylor, and, allegedly, with Bitters made by the local pharmacist, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The Sazerac Coffee House subsequently changed owners several times, when, around 1870, Thomas Handy became its owner. It was around this time that the primary ingredient changed from Cognac to Rye Whisky, due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France.