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New Orleans Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the Big Easy
Mix up more than 100 of the Big Easy’s most celebrated and innovative cocktails, and immerse yourself in the culture and history of the South’s most famous city with this gorgeous new drink recipe collection.
New Orleans has a cocktail culture that goes way back—and for the first time ever, you can be transported to the heart of this trendsetting city with more than 100 creative and artful cocktail recipes. Tour the best bars in NOLA and around the world. Evocative photos, scene-setting bar descriptions, mixologist insights, party planning themes, and shopping tips make this the perfect guide to the art of New Orleans drinking.
With gorgeous, full-color photography throughout, and cocktails inspired by Crescent City writers, musicians, and revolutionaries, New Orleans Cocktails features unique libations shared by the best bartenders in the Big Easy, as well as creative new twists on old classics.
New Orleans has a cocktail culture that goes way back—and for the first time ever, you can be transported to the heart of this trendsetting city with more than 100 creative and artful cocktail recipes. Tour the best bars in NOLA and around the world. Evocative photos, scene-setting bar descriptions, mixologist insights, party planning themes, and shopping tips make this the perfect guide to the art of New Orleans drinking.
With gorgeous, full-color photography throughout, and cocktails inspired by Crescent City writers, musicians, and revolutionaries, New Orleans Cocktails features unique libations shared by the best bartenders in the Big Easy, as well as creative new twists on old classics.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published February 7, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 8, 2017
The first thing to note about this book is the exquisite binding. (Full disclosure, I am an apprentice book binder, so I've examined this volume carefully!)
The second thing is that it is not a rehash of the all time favorite cocktails for which the city is best known. Instead, it brings forward new interpretations of the classics, and adds new drinks that are clearly in the homage realm.
There are interesting biographical bits, information about the various drinking establishments, and some great new recipes to try.
The only two reasons I didn't give this a five star rating is that there was nothing in there about Chris McMillian, the legendary bartender whose series of YouTube videos for the Times-Picayune helped launch the return to the roots of well-made classic cocktails. He was a founder of the Museum of the Cocktail, for pity's sake.
The second is that the inclusion of recipes that use esoteric brands and impossible to find ingredients makes the book less user-friendly. Granted, there are recipes for shrubs and syrups that are used in the drinks, but they make very large quantities and the home bartender is not likely to use them up. Instead, there was a lot of money and effort expended on a quart of something, of which only an ounce or so is required for the drink!
The sections are not intuitive, but are creative and move the reader all around town to the various bars, dives, restaurants and other assorted watering holes. The types of drinks featured are also an interesting blend of old, new and riffs on the old.
If you are a serious home bartender, there are some good recipes in here. The book is also a good read - very accessible in that regard. It's just the "preferred" brands that are the sticking point. Those of us who reside in states that own the liquor stores aren't likely to find the esoteric brands, nor the variety of flavorings, which makes a large number of the recipes completely inaccessible. It would have been nice to have some alternatives provided.
Overall, yes, you need this for your shelf. There are some good additions for your Rolodex of favorite drinks.
The second thing is that it is not a rehash of the all time favorite cocktails for which the city is best known. Instead, it brings forward new interpretations of the classics, and adds new drinks that are clearly in the homage realm.
There are interesting biographical bits, information about the various drinking establishments, and some great new recipes to try.
The only two reasons I didn't give this a five star rating is that there was nothing in there about Chris McMillian, the legendary bartender whose series of YouTube videos for the Times-Picayune helped launch the return to the roots of well-made classic cocktails. He was a founder of the Museum of the Cocktail, for pity's sake.
The second is that the inclusion of recipes that use esoteric brands and impossible to find ingredients makes the book less user-friendly. Granted, there are recipes for shrubs and syrups that are used in the drinks, but they make very large quantities and the home bartender is not likely to use them up. Instead, there was a lot of money and effort expended on a quart of something, of which only an ounce or so is required for the drink!
The sections are not intuitive, but are creative and move the reader all around town to the various bars, dives, restaurants and other assorted watering holes. The types of drinks featured are also an interesting blend of old, new and riffs on the old.
If you are a serious home bartender, there are some good recipes in here. The book is also a good read - very accessible in that regard. It's just the "preferred" brands that are the sticking point. Those of us who reside in states that own the liquor stores aren't likely to find the esoteric brands, nor the variety of flavorings, which makes a large number of the recipes completely inaccessible. It would have been nice to have some alternatives provided.
Overall, yes, you need this for your shelf. There are some good additions for your Rolodex of favorite drinks.
December 6, 2021
This book looks and feels great in the hand.
It presents a history of cocktails in New Orleans. It includes recipes for them. However, many of these recipes call for ingredients I have never heard of. What's Pierre Ferrand? What's a "strawberry balsamic shrub"?
Hard to make these at home but great to use as a guide on what to drink in New Orleans.
p. 26: Sazerac Bar, 130 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 30: French 75, Arnaud’s, 813 Bienville Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
p. 41: Pimm’s Cup at Napoleon House, 500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 51: Absinthe Frappe at Old Absinthe House, 240 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70112
p. 92: Tiki Tolteca, 301 N. Peters Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 - closed
p. 119: Brennan’s, 417 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 189: Museum of the American Cocktail, 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113 - Monday
p. 228: Hurricane at Empire Bar, 819 Conti St, New Orleans, LA 70112
It presents a history of cocktails in New Orleans. It includes recipes for them. However, many of these recipes call for ingredients I have never heard of. What's Pierre Ferrand? What's a "strawberry balsamic shrub"?
Hard to make these at home but great to use as a guide on what to drink in New Orleans.
p. 26: Sazerac Bar, 130 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 30: French 75, Arnaud’s, 813 Bienville Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
p. 41: Pimm’s Cup at Napoleon House, 500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 51: Absinthe Frappe at Old Absinthe House, 240 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70112
p. 92: Tiki Tolteca, 301 N. Peters Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 - closed
p. 119: Brennan’s, 417 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
p. 189: Museum of the American Cocktail, 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113 - Monday
p. 228: Hurricane at Empire Bar, 819 Conti St, New Orleans, LA 70112
March 27, 2020
A well indexed cocktail book is a good cocktail book. There are some fun anecdotes, the recipes are great, and often call for a range of ingredients that is easy for the amateur liquor cabinet to find. Overall anyone who loves the crescent city and it’s culture will enjoy this book as a guide and as light storytelling.
February 3, 2020
Hope you like absinthe/licorice flavored liqueur, because there's a lot of that herein.
June 13, 2021
Such a fun intro to the New Orleans cocktail scene! Beautiful pictures and informative write-ups.
September 26, 2024
Doing some research for my Florida Cocktail Book. I love the interviews with bartenders and snippets of Nola cocktail history.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews