In preparation for this weekend and Fat Tuesday, our resident bartenders have put together this list of the city’s most essential drinks — as well as a pair of original recipes!
#1
Sazerac
Preparation:
Chill a rocks glass and set it aside. In a separate vessel, mix the rye, simple syrup, and bitters, stirring with ice until well chilled. Take the pre-chilled glass and either rinse the glass with the absinthe or use an aerosol spray to coat the walls. Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with a swath of orange peel.
About this cocktail:
Named for the place where it was invented, the Sazerac is a New Orleans staple. The absinthe gives an incredible herbal, medicinal note which evokes the original concept of cocktails being a tonic for health. And the slight pepper of the rye contrasts nicely with the simple syrup without fighting for dominance in the glass.
-Eli Wright
#2
Ramos Gin Fizz
- 2oz of Gin
- .5 oz of Lime Juice
- .5oz of Lemon Juice
- .75oz of Simple Syrup
- .5oz of Heavy Cream
- 1 Fresh Egg White or 0.5-1.0oz of substitute
- 3 dashes orange blossom water
- Club Soda
- 6 Burly Men To Shake It
Preparation:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and do a "dry shake" (without ice). Add ice and shake it until your arms get tired, then continue shaking for another 45 seconds. Pour into a Collins glass. Use the club soda to wash any remnants in the shaker into the glass. Carefully continue to top the cocktail with soda water until the foam rises to the top.
About this cocktail:
The Ramos Gin Fizz is a cocktail shrouded in myths about its difficulty to make, but in reality it's not that complicated: It's just comparatively more time consuming than other cocktails, which makes it perfect for home mixologists not wishing to annoy their favorite bartenders at their local cocktail bar. The "dry shake" is important as it helps incorporate the cream and egg with the other ingredients better than shaking with ice from the start.
A note about egg whites in cocktails: if you use pasteurized eggs, they are perfectly safe. But if you're still squeamish, there are a few safe alternatives easily searchable on the web.
-Eli Wright
#3
Vieux Carré
Preparation:
Add the whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, and bitters to a mixing glass, and stir with ice until it's well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or maraschino cherry — or why not both?
About this cocktail:
The Vieux Carré is recorded as first being stirred up in the Big Easy sometime in the 1930s.
The exact date is unknown because:
A) Nobody wrote it down in a book till later and because
B) most people involved were drunk to some level.
The drink was created by Walter Bergeron of the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone. The name Vieux Carré is French for "old square" referring to Nawlin's French Quarter. The soft and floral notes of fruit from the cognac pair well with the spice of the rye. The unique flavor of the Bénédictine's secret recipe of herbs and spices plays well with the botanicals of the sweet vermouth, the bitters allowing the drink to finish on a well rounded smoothness.
-Eli Wright
#4
Hurricane
2 oz light rum- 2oz dark rum
- 1oz lime juice
- 1oz orange juice
- .5oz passion fruit puree
- .5oz simple syrup
- 1tsp grenadine
- Cherries and orange wedge for garnish
Preparation:
Add the rums, juices, puree, syrup and grenadine into a cocktail shaker and shake until well chilled. Strain into a Hurricane glass over fresh ice and garnish copiously with cherries and orange slices.
About this cocktail:
Invented in New Orlean’s at Pat O’Brien’s in the 1940s, the Hurricane cocktail has become synonymous with the city – as well as Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. This sweet and tart drink packs a deceptive punch from its combination of rums, whose power is obscured by the tropical juice and fruit puree flavors.
-Nick Dean
#5
Obituary
- 2 oz. Dry Gin
- 1/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
- 1/4 oz Pernod or Absinthe or Herbsaint
- Lemon twist for garnish
Preparation:
Chill a cocktail glass, martini or coupe and set aside. Next add all the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until well-chilled. Discard ice from the chilled glass and strain cocktail into it. Garnish with a swath of lemon peel.
About this cocktail:
Credited with having been created at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar in New Orleans, the Obituary cocktail brings a big flavor change to an otherwise straightforward gin martini — all from the simple addition of some absinthe. Lafitte's is the oldest bar in Louisiana and one of the oldest in the United States.
-Nick Dean
#6
Brandy Crusta
- 2 ounces brandy
- 1/4 ounce orange curaçao
- 1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- Sugar for rim
- Lemon twist for garnish
Preparation:
Chill a cocktail glass or coupe and set aside. Next add the brandy, orange curaçao, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters to cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Before straining the drink into the chilled cocktail glass, rim the cocktail glass with sugar. Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with a large swath of lemon peel -- expressing the olis of the peel before dropping it into the glass.
About this cocktail:
Known for its signature sugar rim, the Brandy Crusta was invented by Italian bartender Joseph Santini at theNew Orleans Jewel of the South in the 1850s. It’s credited as being one of the city’s first calling-card cocktails and despite disappearing in the twentieth century, it’s seen a big revival since the 2000s. Jerry Thomas was the first to publish the recipe in his 1862 cocktail manual.
-Nick Dean
#7
New Orleans Mule
- 2oz bourbon
- 1 oz coffee liqueur
- 1oz pineapple juice
- .5oz lime juice
- Ginger beer to top
- Lime wedge for garnish
Preparation:
Build this drink in a Moscow Mule mug by adding the bourbon, coffee liqueur and juices. Add ice and top with ginger beer. We recommend Goslings brand ginger beer.
About this cocktail:
We had ideas for an original French Quarter Mule, but a quick search of such a drink online turned up this tasty recipe — so we’re rolling with it! The New Orleans Mule is a perfect sweet-and-spicy drink for the Big Easy! Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!
-Nick Dean
#8
Nawlin's Funeral
- 1.5oz Empress 1908 Gin
- 1.5oz Lemon Juice
- .25oz of an Italian Amaro (Fernet Branca or Amaro de Etna which we have in store)
- .25oz Simple Syrup
- Absinthe to rinse
- Sprig of mint and lemon twist for garnish
Preparation:
Rinse a cocktail glass of your choice with the absinthe. Add the Empress, Amaro, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker and shake with ice until well chilled. Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with the lemon twist and sprig of mint.
About this cocktail:
This twisted combination of a Hanky Panky and the Corpse Reviver No. 2 tries to encapsulate all the things about Nawlins: The bittersweet solemnity contrasting the vivid pigments that color life in The Big Easy. The purple color you get from using the Empress Gin and citrus juice, when paired with the mint sprig and lemon twist, evoke the colors of Mardi Gras while the taste evolves from punchy, to bitter, and ends somewhere straddling the line between sweet and herbal.
-Eli Wright
#9
Peanut Butter Parade
Preparation:
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass packed with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a lowball “Rocks” glass and add a large ice cube — either rock or sohere.
About this cocktail:
Skrewball peanut butter whiskey gives this drink a big sweetness while the other ingredients add a depth of flavor. A twist on the Boulevardier in a way, this drink would be a perfect primer before a strut down Bourbon Street during any of the city’s many parades.
-Nick Dean
MUSINGS ON FAT TUESDAY
By Eli Wright
Many times, we indulge or even overindulge during the holidays and we forget the true meaning of those very special days.
On Thanksgiving, instead of celebrating and honoring those who help us survive the year before and giving thanks in the hope it brings us good will for the new year, we stuff our stomachs with more food than is humanly decent and watch sports.
On Christmas, instead of observing the traditions held to by whichever particular denomination of Christianity one considers themselves a part of, we overspend on gifts for family and friends and even people we don't necessarily like at the office but you're doing a Secret Santa and you bought two things cause you don't know if anyone else is sticking to the limit and you don't wanna seem like a tight ass, while also overindulging on food and drink in the name of "good cheer".
And during Mardi Gras, we over-eat, under-dress, and over-drink instead of… well actually, that is the point of Mardi Gras.
The early Catholic Church, displaying a savviness and understanding of the human condition that seems to escape them most other times, understood that if they were going to ask people to fast and abstain from those things which gave them what little pleasure could be had back then for 40 days straight, they needed to also give them a period to overindulge in those very same things; Church Fathers making their "kids" smoke the whole pack, so to speak.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
