SEELBACH
The Seelbach Cocktail: A Modern Classic with a Fake History
The Seelbach Cocktail has one of the most interesting origin stories in cocktail history - because it's completely made up. In 1995, Adam Seger was managing beverage operations at Louisville's Seelbach Hotel when he created this drink. To give it credibility, he invented a backstory claiming he'd rediscovered a lost pre-Prohibition recipe from around 1917 while searching through old hotel menus.
The Louisville Courier-Journal ran the story, legitimizing Seger's fabrication. Gary and Mardee Regan published the recipe in their 1997 book "New Classic Cocktails," and Ted Haigh included it in his 2009 book "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails." The myth spread fast. Seger finally confessed the truth to Regan, and Robert Simonson debunked it publicly in The New York Times in October 2016.
Despite the fake history, the drink itself is real and legitimately good. The recipe combines one ounce bourbon, half an ounce Cointreau, seven dashes Angostura bitters, seven dashes Peychaud's bitters, and topped with champagne. That's a lot of bitters - way more than most cocktails use - but it works.
Build it directly in a champagne flute. Add both bitters first, then the Cointreau and bourbon, and top with cold champagne. Garnish with an orange twist expressed over the drink.
The Seelbach is essentially a champagne cocktail beefed up with bourbon and an aggressive amount of bitters. The finished drink is spicy, effervescent, and complex. The bitters give it a strong presence that keeps the bourbon from feeling out of place among all that bubbly.
What's interesting is that despite being a fabrication, the drink earned its place. The Seelbach Hotel still serves it as their signature cocktail, and bars around the country keep it on their menus. Sometimes a good lie creates something worth keeping around.
RECIPE:
1 oz bourbon
½ oz Cointreau
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Champagne (top)
Orange peel (garnish)
Method:
Stir bourbon, Cointreau, and bitters with ice.
Strain into a flute and top with Champagne.