Instructions
Pack an Old Fashioned glass with crushed ice to chill it. Muddle bitters and sugar in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and whiskey to the shaker and stir for gently for 15-20 seconds. Dump the ice out of the Old Fashioned glass and rinse the inside with the Herbsaint. Coat the entire inside of the glass and pour out the excess. Strain the whiskey, bitters, and sugar into the Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and make sure you get the lemon oil onto the surface of the drink.
Notes
This is the traditional ritual for making a Sazerac cocktail. You can streamline it somewhat by using simple syrup instead of sugar to avoid the muddling. I would advise you stick to the traditional method because if you use bar sugar (superfine), you really don't have to muddle it at all. Just swirl the shaker for 20 seconds or so and sugar will dissolve.
If you don't have access to Herbsaint, you can substitute Pernod or some other anise-flavored liqueur. Be careful with the Herbsaint or Pernod. You only want a hint of anise flavor in a Sazerac. If you have excess in the glass, pour it out unless you're a big fan of the anise flavor.
Old Overholt is traditionally used in the bars in New Orleans. It is a fine rye whiskey with a lot of character, but you can improve upon it by using Wild Turkey Rye, Van Winkle 13 Year Family Reserve Rye Whiskey or Sazerac 18 Year Rye Whiskey. If you use one of the better rye whiskeys, and you want to taste more of it, shorten your stirring time to 10-15 seconds. This allows more of the whiskey to shine through.
When you make this drink, the first thing to appreciate about it is the nose. The aroma. Bury your nose in the glass (you should be able to because this barely fills half of the glass). Inhale deeply. The lemon oil is predominant with hints of herbs and menthol from the bitters, and another layer of rye and oak from the whiskey. Very few things in this world smell better (the only thing I can think of right now is when the vegetables hit the hot roux in a gumbo).
Lemon oil is a wonderful thing. It has no taste at all, but instead has an ebullient and vigorous aroma that is much more complex than lemon juice alone. You can tweak this recipe by using an orange twist along with the lemon. The two seem to set each other off.
Enjoy this cocktail. It has been around for a long time, and it deserves another 200 years of adulation.