Tales of the Cocktail kicked off today on Royal Street in New Orleans. Ann and Paul Tuennerman, Founder and Executive Director of the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society and Tales of the Cocktail, opened the festivities with Herbsaint Frappés and Creole Juleps, the official cocktail of TOTC 2009.

Joining the Tuennerman’s was Robert Hess of Herbsaint which is celebrating their 75th Anniversary. To honor this unique flavor of New Orleans, the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society will unveil a plaque that will be placed at 124 Baronne Street, the site of J.M. Legendre’s Pharmacy where Herbsaint was born.

Lots more to come from New Orleans!

Le Tourment Vert Absinthe Francaise is now the first absinthe in the sky and it’s only on Virgin America. To launch mile-high absinthe cocktails in style, Le Tourment is giving away 2 Free Tickets to anywhere Virgin America flies. How can you win? Choose a city where Virgin America flies and share why you love to travel there (map above). So picture yourself enjoying Le Tourment at 40,000 feet as you jet off to a great American city.

Enter the contest here: Win and Fly with Virgin America

The Tourment of the Irish. Ok, St. Patrick’s Day cocktails should probably start with Irish Whiskey, but the Absinthe Irish from Le Tourment Vert is to tasty to pass up. So why not? Go Absinthe this St. Patrick’s Day!

Absinthe Irish

1 1/2 oz. Tourment Absinthe
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Midori
1/3 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/3 oz. Sweet and Sour
1/3 oz. Red Bull

Shake well in a shaker filled with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a cherry

more St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails

Hail the “holy trinity”! Last week I had the pleasure to meet the faces behind Le Tourment Vert (www.letourmentvert.com) and experience their vision of what this wonderful spirit offers after such a long hiatus from our shores. This Absinthe is handcrafted in small batches by Bruno Delannoy of Vinet Ege and combines fourteen herbs to create a truly inspirational blend.

The color of Le Toutment is a mouthwash blue, it is quite shocking. It has a strong anise flavor and may be a tad overly sweet. The aftertaste is all sugar, which makes it good for cocktails.

Moving beyond the ritualistic, yet fun, Classic and Bohemian Method of enjoying Absinthe, Le Tourment Vert mixes with a variety of flavorful cocktails. I particularly enjoyed La Fee Verte, the Green Fairy.

The Green Fairy

Mix in Shaker

2oz. Le Tourment Absinthe
1/2 oz. Lime Juice
1 1/2 oz. Orange Juice,
squeeze of lime

Shake well and pour into martini glass, garnish with lime.

A perfect green drink! I may include it in my rounds this St. Patty’s day.

more St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails
Le Tourment Vert
more absinthe cocktails

Celebrate Oscar like the stars. How? With swanky cocktails of course. The folks at Oval Vodka and Absinthe Mata Hari sent in a few fun recipes you can try at home. Enjoy “The Red Carpet” as the stars parade into the auditorium, and the “Starlet Cocktail” as they dole out the statues.

The Red Carpet

1 ½ oz. OVAL Vodka
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Hiram Walker Pomegranate Schnapps
1 oz. Pomegranate Juice
½ oz. Simple Syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice.

Starlet Cocktail

1 oz. Absinthe Mata Hari
1 oz. Orange flavored vodka
1 oz. Hiram Walker Black Raspberry Liqueur
1 oz. champagne

Combine Absinthe, vodka, and black raspberry liqueur in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with a raspberry.

more Hollywood Cocktails

Mardi Gras is upon us and Fat tuesday is around the corner. So why feature the classic New Orleans Cocktail. No, I’m not talking about a Hurricane, I am talking about the Sazerac one of the very first cocktail recipes in history. It was created in the 1830’s by Phamacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud, as a way to deliver a dose of his “health” elixir, Peychaud’s Bitters. These bitters are still used today.

The Cocktail get’s its name from a brand of Cognac, Sazerac de Forge et Fils, which was the original base ingredient of the cocktail. It also became famous at the Sazerac Coffee House, opened in 1859, which was said to have gained it’s name from the Cognac as well.

Sazerac

2 oz. Sazerac Rye Whiskey or Bourbon
1/4 teaspoon Absinthe or anise flavored liquor (such as Pernod, Herbsaint or Anisette)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon water
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Lemon twist

Pour the Absinthe into a chilled old fashioned glass, swirl the liquor around the glass until the glass is coated. Add the sugar, water and bitters and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add the bourbon, stir well and add a twist of lemon.

Classic Cocktails of New Orleans
past Drink of the Week Cocktails

19th Century bartender Jerry Thomas is known as the father of the American cocktail and most just called him “Professor”. With stints in New York, London, San Francisco and other cities about the globe, he spread cocktail culture the world over.

Imbibe is Jerry’s story and a great read. The author does a great job of capturing cocktail culture of the late 1800s. Truly a great read.

Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar

more bartending books