This story originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of ESSENCE magazine.
There are few places in the world as captivating as New Orleans. From the alluring aromas of jambalaya and crawfish étouffée throughout the French Quarter to the loud, funky sounds of brass bands and second lines serenading Frenchman Street, the energy of the Big Easy is mesmerizing.
New Orleans has a way of seeping into the soul and leaving visitors enchanted. And if the flavorful food and compelling music all around don’t keep folks dreaming of Louisiana’s most exciting city long after they’ve left it, then its lively cocktail culture will. Because where else can you roam the streets on a hot Tuesday afternoon toting an extra large Hand Grenade?
“This city makes cocktails approachable, because our cocktail culture is the culture,” says Deniseea Head. The Inglewood, California–born, New Orleans–based mixologist and educator is behind the Chicken and Champagne brand, through which she creates and sells made-to-order cocktails that celebrate Black culture and history. “It’s more than just the drinks. It’s more than just $18 and $20 cocktails. It’s about how it brings people together.”
The city has played a significant role in shaping drinking culture in the United States. Despite some debate on whether NOLA is the birthplace of the cocktail, no place has celebrated such beverages—and maintained the traditions and history that accompany them—quite like the Crescent City. After all, this is where Saint Domingue (now Haiti) migrant Antoine Amédée Peychaud settled and, in 1834, created the bitters that are the base of so many heralded drinks today. Many of the original aperitifs—like the La Louisiane and Vieux Carré—were invented here, along with several other ingredients that have become bar staples. Tales of the Cocktail, perhaps the world’s most prominent spirits festival and convention, is hosted in the city each year. And the Museum of the American Cocktail, located within the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, is also here.
“New Orleans, in essence, is a classic cocktail city. So to be a bartender who works here, you have to know the classics—and specifically the New Orleans classics, like the Sazerac, Brandy Crusta, Hurricanes and Ramos Gin Fizz. You can’t work in this city if you don’t know how to make these,” says J’Nai Angelle, a New Orleans native and bartender who founded Pretty Magic Cocktail, a service offering cocktail classes, spirits education and tastings in Louisiana.
Although NOLA is a city that lauds the standards, innovation is at the heart of most barkeeps’ operations. Creativity is encouraged and expected. “What a lot of bartenders in New Orleans are doing is making variations of the classics,” says Angelle. “So, it’s keeping that same kind of cultural influence but changing the recipe to more modern ingredients.”
It’s not uncommon to find drinks on New Orleans menus inspired by the flavors and traditions that define its culture. In a city known for its blend of Black American, French, Caribbean and Spanish influences, many of the fixings inherent in its foundational dishes are incorporated into the cocktails—whether they are oldies but goodies or new creations whipped up by the region’s latest generation of mixologists. “We’re starting with basic classics and getting inspiration from what’s around us,” says Head. “You get inspiration from the colorful houses, the music, the food, everything you see; things you’re only able to witness on any given day in New Orleans. It’s hard to keep people who come here in a box, because your surroundings are so out of this world.”
For Angelle, many of the cocktails she creates are driven by the flavors of her childhood. She recently concocted a drink she calls Crawfish on Saturday, which is made with Tony Chachere’s Creole Crawfish & Crab Boil, a popular brand of spices found in seafood boils in the South. “There’s a lot of hibiscus and sorrel in many New Orleans cocktails, and a lot of fruit flavors and rum,” she says. “New Orleans started as kind of a cognac city, so most of our classics are cognac-based. But now we’re experiencing a lot more cocktails with different flavors, and a lot of them have been attributed to the Black influence that New Orleans has.”
Even with all the ingenuity at bars and businesses across NOLA, the cocktail culture in the city always returns to the time-honored tastes. Make your way into almost any bar or restaurant and you’ll find the gems that have fueled American drinking styles and trends for decades. Angelle turns to them for her own consumption. It’s not unusual to find her hanging out at the bar at Commander’s Palace, Up&Adam Eatz, Compère Lapin (owned by this issue’s “Sacred Spaces” subject Nina Compton) or Bar Tonique, sipping on a Ramos Gin Fizz or a Vieux Carré.
You can’t talk about classic cocktails in the city without mentioning the daiquiri. “That’s the number-one thing you have to get here,” says Head. “I love a daiquiri when I’m running errands, because it’s a quick to-go drink. There are multiple flavors you can get. It’s good as hell, and it’s so damn hot out here that a daiquiri will keep you cool and refreshed.” The city is known for its unique take on the iconic drink, but the original cocktail, which Head notes is served with “aged rum, simple syrup and fresh lime,” is both flavorful and versatile. “There’s a version that’s grab-and-go, and then another version that’s elevated and served in the coupe glass.”
Adds Angelle, “I’m very proud of the history of the New Orleans daiquiri, which was created by the Black people who came to New Orleans and brought good rum with them. A classic daiquiri can be just as good or just as flavorful as you want it to be.”
Along with the daiquiri, nothing beats the concoctions that put the city on the map. “You’re not going to get a Sazerac or Vieux Carré or a Gin Fizz at every bar in America,” Angelle says, “but here you can get them every day. I think that uniqueness is really special. You know that when you come to New Orleans, you’re going to get cocktails made like nowhere else.” One thing is certain: When you’re in town, whatever gets shaken or stirred and poured in your glass will be colorful and inspired, like the city itself.
Create the Classics
Angelle and Head share the recipes for a few of their favorite time-honored NOLA cocktails.
Roffignac
1½ oz VSOP Cognac
¾ oz raspberry shrub
¼ oz fresh lemon juice
Soda water
Directions: To do a Roffignac right, Angelle says, combine cognac, shrub and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake for 10 seconds, then strain into a tall Collins glass over ice. Top with soda water.
Vieux Carré
¾ oz rye whiskey
¾ oz VSOP Cognac
¾ oz sweet vermouth
¼ oz Benedictine liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a rocks glass. Add ice and lightly stir to mix. For a garnish, Angelle says, use an expressed lemon peel.
Classic Daiquiri
2 oz aged rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice, and shake vigorously until chilled. Strain and serve in a champagne coupe, Head says, or in your favorite cocktail glass.
Hurricane
2 oz white rum
2 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz passion fruit puree
½ oz simple syrup
Splash of grenadine
Directions: Head says she sometimes replaces orange juice with Trader Joe’s tangerine juice. Whatever drink you desire, combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice, and shake vigorously until chilled. Strain/pour over crushed ice in your favorite tall glass. Garnish with an orange wheel and, as she says, “Pretend you are in New Orleans, sis!”
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