The French Quarter in New Orleans is full of places to try iconic cocktails — Photo courtesy of iStock / f11photo
Cocktails may not have originated in New Orleans, but the Crescent City is credited with perfecting the art of mixology. During a recent trip to New Orleans, I sat down with local bartenders, mixologists and historians with the hopes of concocting a list of classic New Orleans cocktails and where to drink them. I was not disappointed.
Local bartending legend Paul Gustings has been mixing up drinks for over 35 years at some of the city's most well-known spots including Tujague's, the Napoleon House, and The Empire Bar. Bryson Downham is the Bar Director of Toups South, attached to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Chris Hannah, who in 2017 led Arnaud's French 75 to win the James Beard Award for Best Outstanding Bar Program, is Bar Manager at the recently opened Jewel of the South and co-owner of Manolito, a small Cuban bar off Decatur.
Kim Patton-Bragg has been serving up drinks in New Orleans for over a decade and currently serves as the Manager of Seaworthy and barkeep at large. And Chris McMillian is a cocktail historian, co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and owner of Revel Cafe and Bar.
Speaking to the experts gave me a better understanding of what makes New Orleans' drink culture so influential and unique. I learned that during the first half of the nineteenth century, instead of drinks being named, they were categorized – toddys, springs, juleps, cobblers – and as drinks evolved, New Orleans had a unique upper hand over the rest of the world.
Because Louisiana originated as a French colony, McMillian tells me, New Orleans bartenders of the nineteenth century were armed with both "American English cocktail knowledge" and "formal French knowledge" — mixing the best of both cultures into the designs of the new signature cocktails.
Here are the ten classic cocktails we discussed and where to try them:
Ramos Gin Fizz
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Henry C. Ramos, owner of the Imperial Cabinet, was considered a true gentleman; he closed up early each night and ejected anyone showing signs of drunkenness. But he's most well known for the creation of the Gin Fizz around 1888. His recipe includes gin, egg whites, heavy cream, orange flower water and soda water – shaken for 12 full minutes.
The Gin Fizz was so popular, Ramos needed to employ an extra 15-25 barbacks just to help with the shaking. Today, you can try a Ramos Gin Fizz in a variety of local bars, although some employ the use of a shaking machine, which Ramos reportedly was adamantly against.
McMillian, who tells me the Ramos Gin Fizz is his "personal white whale," has acquired old journals and documents detailing the original recipe, so if you want the closest thing to Ramos' original, stop by McMillian's Revel. He'll even serve it to you in one of Ramos' original Roosevelt Hotel glasses, if you're lucky.
Roffignac
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The Roffignac, named after a former mayor, made its way onto the scene in the 1870s as other carbonated drinks like the Rum and Coke, Gin and Tonic, and Highball also began making an appearance. Historians cannot find the original recipe, but it's believed to be made with soda water, whisky or cognac, and an ingredient known as red hambarig, believed to be syrup made from red raspberries.
Due to the mystery surrounding the recipe and the work required to make the raspberry syrup, the Roffignac is not readily available in most bars. That's likely why Patton-Bragg, Manager of Seaworthy and barkeep at large, calls it "the dark horse of New Orleans' cocktails."
To try the Roffignac, head to the newly opened Jewel of the South on St. Louis Street where Bar Manager Hannah is serving up both traditional raspberry and seasonal flavors made with fresh, homemade syrups. (This is the closest you'll get!)
Cafe Brulot
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Cafe Brulot may not be one of the most well-known after-dinner drinks, but it is all New Orleans, in that it's full of flavor, bright, and flashy. Prepared tableside, Cafe Brulot requires coffee to be poured over a flaming bowl full of cinnamon, cloves, lemon, sugar, brandy, and often an orange peel, resulting in a sweet and citrusy cup of coffee.
It is believed the drink originated at Antoine's Restaurant and was especially popular during Prohibition as the coffee hid the alcohol. Cafe Brulot is still served today at Antoine's, as well as Arnaud's Restaurant and Galatoire's Restaurant – all spots that managed to survive Prohibition in New Orleans.
Hurricane
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Unlike many of the cocktails on this list, the Hurricane might be one you have heard of before. During the 1940s, the production of domestic liquor was limited due to distillery spaces being used for wartime manufacturing, but rum continued to flow from the Caribbean. The team at Pat O'Briens was inspired to start experimenting more with rum, leading to the creation of a new signature drink, the Hurricane.
Pat O'Brien's has become such a popular spot to grab a Hurricane over the years that the bar now has to serve them pre-made to the hundreds of tourists who come through their doors each day. If you're looking for a more personalized hand-mixed drink, head over to Latitude 29 for Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's version.
Sazerac
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The Sazerac, most likely introduced in 1898, may be the most recognized of the classic New Orleans cocktails, but its history is shrouded in a bit of mystery. According to McMillian's research, Sazerac was a brandy wholesale distributor and bar known as the Sazerac House.
The signature cocktail, the Sazerac, was an improved brandy cocktail with absinthe, Peychaud's bitters, and whisky or brandy. The cocktail was trademarked, and only bars that purchased their brandy directly from the Sazerac House's distributor were allowed to use the name when selling them.
Today, you can get a Sazerac just about anywhere in or around New Orleans, but every local you meet will have a different opinion on the best place to get one. While you could get one from the Sazerac House, locals suggest skipping the touristy experience and grabbing one at Kingfish.
La Louisiane
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Places that didn't want to pay extra for the rights to the Sazerac started creating their own copycat recipes and the La Louisiane is believed to be one of them. This classic New Orleans cocktail combines rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, absinthe and bitters, and was served as the house drink at the Restaurant de La Louisiane in the early 1900s.
The La Louisiane is now available in many spots around the city. For great jazz with your La Louisiane, head to 21st Amendment on Iberville Street.
Vieux Carre
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Another supposed Sazerac knock off, the Vieux Carre was named after the historical French Quarter and was introduced post-prohibition in the 1930s. The drink's base, similar to the La Louisiane and Sazerac, is whiskey, cognac, vermouth and bitters.
While the Vieux Carre is still pretty popular today and available in most bars, it's worth heading straight to the creator, the bar at Hotel Monteleone, to try one. Here, you'll find the famous Carousel Bar, installed in 1949. While the Carousel Bar was not there at the time of the drink's creation, it still provides a uniquely entertaining environment for enjoying your Vieux Carre.
French 75
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The French 75 is another drink with New Orleans ties, although they are murky. Arnaud's, a French-Creole restaurant dating back to 1918, claims credit for having invented the drink, but McMillian is quick to let me know history says otherwise. "The French 75 was the drink French officers consumed before going into battle during World War I," he explains. And it was named after their 75mm artillery guns since "the drink was said to possess the same kick."
The French 75 combines champagne, lemon, sugar, ice, and gin or brandy (something my local experts agree to disagree on, for now) and is basically a "Tom Collins with sparkling wine instead of club soda." Whether or not Arnaud's actually played a role in the creation of the drink seems unlikely, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't stop by their historic bar to give it a try.
After all, the bar, which is named French 75, survived Prohibition and offers visitors the feeling of having stepped back in time. If the bar is crowded, take your drink upstairs and explore Arnaud's Mardi Gras Museum, which has more than two dozen Mardi Gras dresses and costumes on display.
Grasshopper
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The Grasshopper with all its minty, chocolatey goodness turns 100 in 2019. While there is no questioning the drink's New Orleans roots, it was actually born in New York when Philibert Guichet, owner of New Orleans' Tujague's, entered it in a cocktail competition and took home 2nd place.
Guichet returned to New Orleans where the drink quietly, due to Prohibition, took off in popularity. Traditionally, the drink includes crème de cacao, brandy, crème de menthe and heavy cream. However, many spots have created their own recipes over the years.
Even so, Tujague's on Decatur Street is still the best spot to go for a perfectly crafted Grasshopper. Patton-Bragg puts it this way: "I will never order a grasshopper anywhere else. Just get your grasshopper where you're supposed to get your damn grasshopper."
Brandy Crusta
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Joseph Santini, who owned and operated the original Jewel of the South Saloon from about 1850 to 1869, is credited with the creation of the Pousse Cafe, a coffee chaser, and the Brandy Crusta, the world's first drink to have a sugar-rimmed glass.
The Brandy Crusta is made with cognac, lemon juice, curacao, maraschino and a lemon peel, and is considered to be the template for most of the modern era's successful drinks. If you follow the drink's evolution throughout history, you'll find that minor changes led this drink to become the Sidecar, followed by the White Lady, the Margarita and finally the Cosmopolitan.
To make sure you're getting the best of the best, stop by Hannah's newly opened Jewel of the South, which pays homage to Santini's original saloon and serves his Brandy Crusta as their signature drink. Or you can head to the Bourbon O Bar, managed by cocktail historian Cheryl Charming.