New Orleans makes a bunch of cocktails. They're sort of famous for them. These are the top 12 of them, ranked.
12. Arnaud’s Special Cocktail - This is one of the famous and classic drinks to get from Arnaud's French 75 Bar in New Orleans, probably one of the greatest bars in the world. This drink is pretty delicious and tastes like a Rob Roy. So why am I ranking it last? Because it's honestly just a Rob Roy. Why should I give Arnaud's that much credit for a delicious drink if they really invented nothing. An Arnaud's Special is made from Scotch, bitters, and Dubonnet Rouge (a red-colored, sweet, aromatised, wine-based aperitif). A Rob Roy is made from Scotch, bitters, and sweet vermouth (a red-colored, sweet, aromatised, wine-based aperitif). Who are you trying to fool here, Aranud's? That's like making me a rum and Coke but with an RC Cola and pretending like it's a new thing.
11. Pimm's Cup - This famous cocktail has a close association with the Napoleon House in the French Quater. But it's barely a cocktail. It's more like a shandy or soft drink with an itsy, bitsy small bit of alcohol in it. Surely refreshing on a hot summer day, but then again so is a giant 32-ounce 190 Octane Daquiri, which is what I'd go with to get tore up instead of this weak Sprite.
10. Absinthe Frappé - Invented at the Aleix Coffee House, which was later called The Absinthe Room and now known as "Old Absinthe House," which still exists on Bourbon Street. So you can get one of these at the bar it was first made. Absinthe, simple syrup, anisette, and soda water. But I'm not really in love with Absinthe because it tastes like disgusting liquorish.
9. Roffignac - Likely the most obscure entry on my list, this one is made up of raspberry shrub (basically an old-time way of preserving fruit that might go bad soon, which mixed the fruit with sugar and vinegar), cognac, simple syrup, and soda water. If you can tolerate a bit of a vinegar taste in your drink... sure... go for this.
8. French 75 (kind of) - I like French 75's, but I'll rank them down here as a technicality because their origin is a little dubious and they most certainly did not start in New Orleans. An early version (though perhaps not the first) comes from the Harry's New York Bar in Paris, although as I noted above - Arnaud's has a bar in NOLA specifically called the French 75 and which makes them really good. They're basically a champagne cocktail with gin (although there are some variations), which isn't super creative... but hey! I'm just going to go ahead and give New Orleans ownership over this one even if technically they might come from Paris via London (the Savoy Hotel in that city might have been the first to include its modern ingredient makeup). Oh, it's also named after a type of French cannon that fired 75mm shells, which is cool.
7. Café Brûlot - Invented at Antoine's Restaruant in New Orleans, which still stands to this day so it's another place you can go to. It contains Cognac, Grand Marnier (or Cointreau), dark brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and New Orleans chicory coffee. But getting this usually involves a whole show where they make it for you table-side. I don't want a show, man. I want a drink. Still, caffeine + alcohol is always a good idea. Or is it?
6. Hurricane - Invented by and still served at Pat O’Brien’s Bar in the French Quarter. Is this the most famous drink on the entire list? Probably. There is a legend that everyone thought rum was crap when it was invented, and therefore this drink was made just to use up a bunch of rum. I'm not sure that this rings true because this drink dates from the 1940s when prohibition had just ended and there is no way people just coming out of prohibition would have disliked rum. This one is dark rum, passion fruit syrup, fresh lemon (or lime) juice, garnished with orange slice and a cherry. Then put in a big tall glass that was specially made for it. Good, but a little too fruity and sweet for my tastes.
5. Sazerac - I love Sazeracs in principle. They are one of the oldest and most famous cocktails in existence. It is a legendary cocktail. The Sazerac might, in fact, be the New Orleans cocktail. Okay, forget the wiggle words. This is THE New Orleans cocktail. But it's also absinthe-based and, as I stated, absinthe is sort of gross. Still, I can overlook the absinthe to order this legendary drink which also includes rye whiskey, Peychaud bitters, and simple syrup. Its invention is generally credited to apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud (who also invented the aforementioned bitters that go into the cocktail) waaaaaaaay back in the 1830s.
4. Vieux Carré - This is another New Orleans classic, which means "Old Square." What does old square mean? Why, it's the original nickname for the area that we now call "The French Quarter." Invented at the bar which is now the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone. Rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, and both Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters (OoOoo... two bitters? Fancy!)
3. Brandy Crusta - The Brandy Crusta is old as hell too, going back to the 1850's. It contains Cognac, Grand Marnier, maraschino, simple syrup, lemon juice, and Angostura bitters. The addition of the lemon juice to the liquor makes it one of the first "sours" ever created. Is it the first sour? Probably not since records of who invented what cocktail first aren't exactly the best. Besides, I'm sure long before all these fancy bars were "inventing" ways to mix alcohol with stuff like fruit juice, bored pirates on ships at sea were already doing this on their own. Hey, whatever you gotta do to prevent scurvy.
2. Brandy Milk Punch - Like with the French 75, the origin of this one is not certain (the oldest record of some version of it seems to go all the way back to Scotland in freaking 1688!) Despite this technicality, the Big Easy has taken ownership of this cocktail of Cognac, milk, simple syrup, and vanilla. It's especially associated as a holiday drink. Sort of like New Orleans eggnog, I suppose.
1. Ramos Gin Fizz - This is the best New Orleans cocktail, invented in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos, who would make it popular at his bar called the Stag (although he was working at a bar called Imperial Cabinet Saloon when he invented it). It consists of Gin, heavy cream, lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, and orange flower water. It is fairly complicated to make, and only a few places really know how to make it well (the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel probably being the best). Trying to order this outside of New Orleans will usually get you a blank stare from a bartender unless they are really a top notch one who knows their stuff. Even in New Orleans if you order this at a bar, you might get a sigh, eye-roll or groan from a bartender because of how complicated and time-consuming they are compared to other drinks. SHUT UP AND DEAL WITH IT, BARTENDER! I WANT THIS NOW! This drink can be described as tasting somewhat like a gin and tonic (which is delicious) mixed with a vanilla milkshake (which is delicious).
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| A Rob Roy. Same thing. |
11. Pimm's Cup - This famous cocktail has a close association with the Napoleon House in the French Quater. But it's barely a cocktail. It's more like a shandy or soft drink with an itsy, bitsy small bit of alcohol in it. Surely refreshing on a hot summer day, but then again so is a giant 32-ounce 190 Octane Daquiri, which is what I'd go with to get tore up instead of this weak Sprite.
10. Absinthe Frappé - Invented at the Aleix Coffee House, which was later called The Absinthe Room and now known as "Old Absinthe House," which still exists on Bourbon Street. So you can get one of these at the bar it was first made. Absinthe, simple syrup, anisette, and soda water. But I'm not really in love with Absinthe because it tastes like disgusting liquorish.
9. Roffignac - Likely the most obscure entry on my list, this one is made up of raspberry shrub (basically an old-time way of preserving fruit that might go bad soon, which mixed the fruit with sugar and vinegar), cognac, simple syrup, and soda water. If you can tolerate a bit of a vinegar taste in your drink... sure... go for this.
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| Why add orange juice when gin is available? |
7. Café Brûlot - Invented at Antoine's Restaruant in New Orleans, which still stands to this day so it's another place you can go to. It contains Cognac, Grand Marnier (or Cointreau), dark brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and New Orleans chicory coffee. But getting this usually involves a whole show where they make it for you table-side. I don't want a show, man. I want a drink. Still, caffeine + alcohol is always a good idea. Or is it?
6. Hurricane - Invented by and still served at Pat O’Brien’s Bar in the French Quarter. Is this the most famous drink on the entire list? Probably. There is a legend that everyone thought rum was crap when it was invented, and therefore this drink was made just to use up a bunch of rum. I'm not sure that this rings true because this drink dates from the 1940s when prohibition had just ended and there is no way people just coming out of prohibition would have disliked rum. This one is dark rum, passion fruit syrup, fresh lemon (or lime) juice, garnished with orange slice and a cherry. Then put in a big tall glass that was specially made for it. Good, but a little too fruity and sweet for my tastes.
5. Sazerac - I love Sazeracs in principle. They are one of the oldest and most famous cocktails in existence. It is a legendary cocktail. The Sazerac might, in fact, be the New Orleans cocktail. Okay, forget the wiggle words. This is THE New Orleans cocktail. But it's also absinthe-based and, as I stated, absinthe is sort of gross. Still, I can overlook the absinthe to order this legendary drink which also includes rye whiskey, Peychaud bitters, and simple syrup. Its invention is generally credited to apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud (who also invented the aforementioned bitters that go into the cocktail) waaaaaaaay back in the 1830s. 4. Vieux Carré - This is another New Orleans classic, which means "Old Square." What does old square mean? Why, it's the original nickname for the area that we now call "The French Quarter." Invented at the bar which is now the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone. Rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, and both Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters (OoOoo... two bitters? Fancy!)
3. Brandy Crusta - The Brandy Crusta is old as hell too, going back to the 1850's. It contains Cognac, Grand Marnier, maraschino, simple syrup, lemon juice, and Angostura bitters. The addition of the lemon juice to the liquor makes it one of the first "sours" ever created. Is it the first sour? Probably not since records of who invented what cocktail first aren't exactly the best. Besides, I'm sure long before all these fancy bars were "inventing" ways to mix alcohol with stuff like fruit juice, bored pirates on ships at sea were already doing this on their own. Hey, whatever you gotta do to prevent scurvy.
2. Brandy Milk Punch - Like with the French 75, the origin of this one is not certain (the oldest record of some version of it seems to go all the way back to Scotland in freaking 1688!) Despite this technicality, the Big Easy has taken ownership of this cocktail of Cognac, milk, simple syrup, and vanilla. It's especially associated as a holiday drink. Sort of like New Orleans eggnog, I suppose.
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| A gin milkshake? What a time to be alive. |
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