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Where the drinks came from, and the bars worth the trip.

New Orleans originals

The Sazerac, New Orleans’ official cocktailHow the Sazerac went from cognac to rye, who really made it, and how it became New Orleans’ official cocktail.
The Vieux Carré and the Hotel MonteleoneWhere the Vieux Carré came from, who is credited, and what the name means.
The Ramos Gin Fizz: a drink built on shakingThe Ramos Gin Fizz, its famous long shake, and the 1935 Huey Long episode, with the points where the sources disagree.
The Absinthe Frappé, the Old Absinthe House, and the ban that changed New Orleans drinkingThe Absinthe Frappé and the Old Absinthe House, plus how the U.S. absinthe ban shaped drinking in New Orleans.
The Brandy Crusta, Joseph Santini, and the drink with a collarThe Brandy Crusta’s New Orleans origins, what makes it look the way it does, and its disputed link to the Sidecar and the Margarita.
The Cocktail à la Louisiane, a Vieux Carré cousinWhere the Cocktail à la Louisiane came from, what is in it, and how it sits next to the Vieux Carré and the Sazerac.
The Grasshopper and the Tujague’s claimWho gets credit for the Grasshopper, what the evidence says, and how the mint-and-chocolate build works.
The Hurricane, Pat O’Brien’s, and a surplus of rumHow a wartime rum surplus became New Orleans’ best-known party drink, and what the stories disagree about.

New Orleans bars

Bars and stories