A Well Made Drink In New Orleans By A REAL Bartender
Oct 19th, 2013, 11:39 AM
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A Well Made Drink In New Orleans By A REAL Bartender
I am planning a short trip to NOLA in early November. Having received some awesome suggestions for restaurants (thread is Real Food in New Orleans) someone remarked that cocktails would be a whole other thread. So here is the new thread. Please provide suggestions on where to get well made cocktails in NOLA by bartenders who make their own syrups and infusions and would never let sour mix anywhere near their bar!
Oct 19th, 2013, 04:54 PM
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And here I am on your new thread!
Based on some of the preferences you expressed in the last thread... A fine place for you to start would be the French 75 Bar at Arnaud's. Besides the excellent cocktails, it's also a gorgeous, classic old New Orleans bar that's a joy to visit. Only one caveat: cigar smoking is allowed there, and in case that bothers you, now and then someone smokes one. They open at about 5 daily. The famous Chris Hannah usually works Tuesdays through Saturdays, but he swaps some shifts sometimes, and you will be very well taken care of even if he's not there. I'd say before you start trying their originals, have some of their classic drinks. Examples: Sazerac, Vieux Carré, La Louisianne (those are similar, basically in increasing order of sweetness), French 75, Pimms Cup. Or certainly a Ramos Gin Fizz, if it's not too busy, and you aren't afraid of a raw egg white. These will be on the menu, or just chat with one of the staff for a recommendation.
Kingfish is a pretty new restaurant right in the Quarter. Their head bartender is the legendary Chris McMillian, who will make just about any classic drink as well as it can be made. If you search for "chris mcmillian new orleans' best cocktails" on YouTube, you'll find some good videos of him, the highlight of which is the mint julep one. Kingfish opens at 5, and Chris usually works Wednesdays through Saturdays. The bar gets crowded pretty soon after 5.
In the other thread, I mentioned the ancient-but-just-renovated Broussard's. Their new "Empire Bar" is beautiful, and the head bartender Paul Gustings is another French Quarter legend. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of classic drinks, many discovered in his massive collection of pre-prohibition cocktail books. The menu is full of his new original creations, but if you're lucky enough to meet him in person, I would just chat with him and ask him to make you whatever he thinks might fit your tastes.
You mentioned that you're staying at the Marriott Convention Center. Pretty close to that, and a bit off the beaten path, there's Tivoli and Lee, the restaurant at the Hotel Modern on Lee Circle. The restaurant is going through a bit of a transition right now, but the bartenders are excellent, and the noise level stays low enough that you can carry on a conversation. Also in the Hotel Modern is Bellocq, which is one of a family of craft cocktail bars whose flagship is the famous Cure, located uptown. Bellocq is an interesting place. They specialize in cobblers. They appeal to a pretty serious, largely younger bartender/cocktail geek crowd. Sometimes it gets extremely busy and they blast loud music. Other times it's just dark, quiet, and loungy.
Another place you might like is the Swizzle Stick Bar, in the Loews Hotel, which is right on your way into or back from the Quarter. A very pleasant place for a drink, and they do very well at both classics and originals, the latter often dreamed up by the wonderful head bartender Lu Brow.
There are many, many, many other wonderful options, but a lot of them tend to be loud (e.g SoBou), and/or crowded or divey, so I'm listing these to start.
Based on some of the preferences you expressed in the last thread... A fine place for you to start would be the French 75 Bar at Arnaud's. Besides the excellent cocktails, it's also a gorgeous, classic old New Orleans bar that's a joy to visit. Only one caveat: cigar smoking is allowed there, and in case that bothers you, now and then someone smokes one. They open at about 5 daily. The famous Chris Hannah usually works Tuesdays through Saturdays, but he swaps some shifts sometimes, and you will be very well taken care of even if he's not there. I'd say before you start trying their originals, have some of their classic drinks. Examples: Sazerac, Vieux Carré, La Louisianne (those are similar, basically in increasing order of sweetness), French 75, Pimms Cup. Or certainly a Ramos Gin Fizz, if it's not too busy, and you aren't afraid of a raw egg white. These will be on the menu, or just chat with one of the staff for a recommendation.
Kingfish is a pretty new restaurant right in the Quarter. Their head bartender is the legendary Chris McMillian, who will make just about any classic drink as well as it can be made. If you search for "chris mcmillian new orleans' best cocktails" on YouTube, you'll find some good videos of him, the highlight of which is the mint julep one. Kingfish opens at 5, and Chris usually works Wednesdays through Saturdays. The bar gets crowded pretty soon after 5.
In the other thread, I mentioned the ancient-but-just-renovated Broussard's. Their new "Empire Bar" is beautiful, and the head bartender Paul Gustings is another French Quarter legend. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of classic drinks, many discovered in his massive collection of pre-prohibition cocktail books. The menu is full of his new original creations, but if you're lucky enough to meet him in person, I would just chat with him and ask him to make you whatever he thinks might fit your tastes.
You mentioned that you're staying at the Marriott Convention Center. Pretty close to that, and a bit off the beaten path, there's Tivoli and Lee, the restaurant at the Hotel Modern on Lee Circle. The restaurant is going through a bit of a transition right now, but the bartenders are excellent, and the noise level stays low enough that you can carry on a conversation. Also in the Hotel Modern is Bellocq, which is one of a family of craft cocktail bars whose flagship is the famous Cure, located uptown. Bellocq is an interesting place. They specialize in cobblers. They appeal to a pretty serious, largely younger bartender/cocktail geek crowd. Sometimes it gets extremely busy and they blast loud music. Other times it's just dark, quiet, and loungy.
Another place you might like is the Swizzle Stick Bar, in the Loews Hotel, which is right on your way into or back from the Quarter. A very pleasant place for a drink, and they do very well at both classics and originals, the latter often dreamed up by the wonderful head bartender Lu Brow.
There are many, many, many other wonderful options, but a lot of them tend to be loud (e.g SoBou), and/or crowded or divey, so I'm listing these to start.
Oct 22nd, 2013, 09:18 AM
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Great thread!
For the Sazerac, I'd go to the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel for obvious reasons, but notwithstanding the capabilities of their bar staff, it's one gorgeous bar that is seeped in history!
I personally don't like the cocktail, myself -- not fond of whisky. I do, however, love, love, love, the Ramos gin fizz. It is damned good! I think many places don't use an actual raw egg white, but rather egg white powder. Using a pasturized egg avoids any worry about raw egg whites. Whatever, you need to find a bartender that will shake it for a full 5 minutes, per the original recipe. Just makes it frothier with better texture. Most places will shake for a minute and be done with it. Still good though!
For the Sazerac, I'd go to the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel for obvious reasons, but notwithstanding the capabilities of their bar staff, it's one gorgeous bar that is seeped in history!
I personally don't like the cocktail, myself -- not fond of whisky. I do, however, love, love, love, the Ramos gin fizz. It is damned good! I think many places don't use an actual raw egg white, but rather egg white powder. Using a pasturized egg avoids any worry about raw egg whites. Whatever, you need to find a bartender that will shake it for a full 5 minutes, per the original recipe. Just makes it frothier with better texture. Most places will shake for a minute and be done with it. Still good though!
Oct 23rd, 2013, 05:02 PM
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Surfergirl, I am not concerned with raw egg whites- it's called living on the edge (when you are over 50, that is). But seriously; shaking 5 minutes? I learned that the longer you shake the more you dilute the alcohol, which can be helpful if drinking a gin martini on a Friday night. Just under 2 minutes is good, although a nonbartender's hands will freeze to the shaker (use a bar towel, kids, if you are not a licensed BT). I also know you need to do a fair bit of shaking to get the egg to become the fizz. Just thinking that 5 minutes would be too much shaking it up. Sounds like a good conversation to have with a NOLA bartender in a couple of weeks!
Oct 28th, 2013, 08:04 PM
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Two minutes isn't enough! Five minutes isn't enough!
When Henry Ramos (pronounced "RAY-mos," not "RAH-mos") invented the Ramos Fizz, in the 1880's, at the now-defunct Imperial Cabinet Saloon on the corner of Gravier and Carondelet streets in New Orleans, his recipe called for 12 minutes of shaking! Ramos had teams of men called "shaker boys," whose job was to do nothing but shake this drink until their arms wore out, and then pass the shaker to the next shaker boy down the line, for more shaking. When it has been shaken enough, the Ramos Fizz is an ethereally light foam, and a true pleasure to drink.
There are many cocktails that are made with egg white. And others made with raw whole eggs, for that matter. I have never seen a bartender use powdered egg whites. I've always seen bartenders crack actual eggs and strain out the whites. Except in the UK, where the bartenders I saw poured liquid egg whites out of a carton. Maybe their Health and Safety rules are more strict over there. I'd use the pasteurized liquid stuff if I were making cocktails at home, but I can guarantee that any true bartender making a decent Ramos Fizz in New Orleans will be cracking an egg and straining the white into the shaker before your eyes.
LizTD, it's true that shaking a cocktail with ice for a longer period of time has two effects: it makes the drink colder, and it dilutes it more. However, the first stage of shaking a Ramos Fizz requires shaking the drink without ice, which neither chills nor dilutes the drink. It just makes the foam airier and lighter. And by the way, one would never shake a gin martini!
I have enjoyed Sazeracs at the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. It is indeed a lovely bar. And, because they've licensed the Sazerac trademark, they make their Sazeracs with Sazerac Rye, as opposed to Old Overholt, which most places use. I think the Swizzle Stick Bar is the only other New Orleans bar that I know of that also uses Sazerac Rye. I do like the Sazerac Rye. But I love the French 75 technique, which is quite unique, in that they pre-chill all of the ingredients and glassware, and make the drink without ice. It comes out boozier and more concentrated that way. The philosophically opposite approach, I suppose, might be that of Paul Gustings. He uses a lot more Peychaud's bitters than most bartenders, resulting in a much sweeter drink.
When Henry Ramos (pronounced "RAY-mos," not "RAH-mos") invented the Ramos Fizz, in the 1880's, at the now-defunct Imperial Cabinet Saloon on the corner of Gravier and Carondelet streets in New Orleans, his recipe called for 12 minutes of shaking! Ramos had teams of men called "shaker boys," whose job was to do nothing but shake this drink until their arms wore out, and then pass the shaker to the next shaker boy down the line, for more shaking. When it has been shaken enough, the Ramos Fizz is an ethereally light foam, and a true pleasure to drink.
There are many cocktails that are made with egg white. And others made with raw whole eggs, for that matter. I have never seen a bartender use powdered egg whites. I've always seen bartenders crack actual eggs and strain out the whites. Except in the UK, where the bartenders I saw poured liquid egg whites out of a carton. Maybe their Health and Safety rules are more strict over there. I'd use the pasteurized liquid stuff if I were making cocktails at home, but I can guarantee that any true bartender making a decent Ramos Fizz in New Orleans will be cracking an egg and straining the white into the shaker before your eyes.
LizTD, it's true that shaking a cocktail with ice for a longer period of time has two effects: it makes the drink colder, and it dilutes it more. However, the first stage of shaking a Ramos Fizz requires shaking the drink without ice, which neither chills nor dilutes the drink. It just makes the foam airier and lighter. And by the way, one would never shake a gin martini!
I have enjoyed Sazeracs at the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. It is indeed a lovely bar. And, because they've licensed the Sazerac trademark, they make their Sazeracs with Sazerac Rye, as opposed to Old Overholt, which most places use. I think the Swizzle Stick Bar is the only other New Orleans bar that I know of that also uses Sazerac Rye. I do like the Sazerac Rye. But I love the French 75 technique, which is quite unique, in that they pre-chill all of the ingredients and glassware, and make the drink without ice. It comes out boozier and more concentrated that way. The philosophically opposite approach, I suppose, might be that of Paul Gustings. He uses a lot more Peychaud's bitters than most bartenders, resulting in a much sweeter drink.
Nov 17th, 2013, 04:42 PM
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I have been meaning to post a trip report but have not yet had time so I wanted to shout out a huge THANK YOU to Hawksbill. Paul at Brussards was the penultimate bartender! We stopped in on Wednesday night at about 5 with dinner plans at 7 a block away and for 2 hours, Paul shared drink secrets, NOLA lore, made me a drink with Suze - something I had never before had but which Paul determined I would like after asking what I like to drink - and entertained my husaband with about a half a dozen different 17th century punches he had concocted from his ye olde bar book. Don't get me wrong. Paul is not a trifling guy. He is serious about cocktails. He does not chat just to be a racontuer. He engages at a high level about liquor, something I respect. We so enjoyed his company that we made a point to return on Friday after his day off. A good bit busier, so he had less time to chat, but he made me a Suze Sour (secret is powdered sugar) and I left very happy. Now, I just have to find a source for Suze in the greater Baltimore area!
Nov 19th, 2013, 09:38 AM
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I'm so happy that you and your husband had such a great experience with Paul! He is an amazing man, and truly a New Orleans treasure. It's true, he's not known as being chatty for the sake of being chatty. But he cares deeply about his profession, and I think most people who are curious about fine cocktails and respect his work will really enjoy engaging him in conversation.
Suze only recently became available in the U.S. market. Some dedicated bartenders used to bring bottles back from Europe to stock their bars, and others would use similar products instead (e.g. Bittermens Amère Sauvage, which is also great). Nowadays one can probably find Suze in most major metropolitan areas of the U.S. In Maryland, you should be get it at Friendship Wine & Liquor in Abingdon, or State Line Liquors in Elkton.
Suze only recently became available in the U.S. market. Some dedicated bartenders used to bring bottles back from Europe to stock their bars, and others would use similar products instead (e.g. Bittermens Amère Sauvage, which is also great). Nowadays one can probably find Suze in most major metropolitan areas of the U.S. In Maryland, you should be get it at Friendship Wine & Liquor in Abingdon, or State Line Liquors in Elkton.
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