Mardi Gras is all about masks and beads, but we certainly can’t forget about the booze! While the parades of New Orleans may be far away, you can bring the party home by evoking all the flavors of the famous city and it’s even more infamous party by creating custom Mardi Gras cocktails! There are multiple staple cocktails associated with the Big Easy, and it’s most popular parade, and in addition to providing you with the traditional takes of these drinks, we are giving you a chance to add a twist to tradition with a few modern day variations on New Orleans own Sazerac, Hurricane, Milk Punch, Daiquiri and the historical Ramos Gin Fizz!
Our first cocktail on this list is literally the first cocktail. A Sazerac is a local New Orleans cocktail, and is most traditionally a combination of cognac or rye, absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar. Many cocktail enthusiast claim that the drink was invented in around 1850 when Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, The Merchants Exchange Coffee House, to import a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. Meanwhile, Aaron Bird bought the Merchants Exchange, and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House. Legend has it that Bird began serving the "Sazerac Cocktail", made with Cognac imported by Taylor, and allegedly with bitters being made by local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. While we certainly don’t have bitters made by a local apothecary, modern day recipes of a Sazarec are still as simple and delicious as the day it was created more than 160 years ago.
Classic Sazerac
Ingredients
- 1 cube sugar
- 1-teaspoon cold water
- 2 ounces rye whiskey
- Dash Pernod
- Dash Peychaud's bitters
- 3 or 4 ice cubes
- Twist lemon peel
Directions
- Dissolve the sugar in cold water in a mixing glass. Add the whiskey, Pernod, bitters and ice cubes and stir well. Strain into a well-chilled glass, twist the lemon peel over the drink to release the oil, and then drop it in.
Absinthe Sazerac
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups ice cubes
- 1 cube or 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 4 dashes Peychaud Bitters
- 1/4-cup (2 ounces) rye whiskey
- About 1/2 teaspoon absinthe
- 1 thin strip lemon peel
Directions
- Fill old-fashioned glass with 1 cup ice and set aside. In second old-fashioned glass, stir together sugar, bitters, and ½ teaspoon water until sugar is completely dissolved, about 30 seconds. Add rye whiskey and remaining ½ cup ice, and stir well, at least 15 seconds. From first glass, discard ice, then add absinthe. Holding glass horizontally, roll it between your thumbs and forefingers so that absinthe completely coats the interior, then discard excess. Strain rye whiskey mixture into chilled, absinthe-coated glass. Squeeze lemon peel over drink, making sure oils fall into glass, then drop peel into drink, and serve.
Like the Sazerac cocktail, the Hurricane has a long history in New Orleans. Originally believed to have been created at Pat O’Brien’s bar in 1940, the legend behind the cocktail states that it debuted at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York and gained it’s name from the lamp-shaped glass ware the drink is still served in. The recipe was apparently crafted by O’Brien to include a large amount of rum in order to use up the large rum stock his Southern distributors forced him to buy.
New Orleans Hurricane
Ingredients
- 2 ounces light rum
- 2 ounces dark rum
- 2 ounces passion fruit juice
- 1 ounce orange juice
- Juice of a half a lime
- 1-tablespoon simple syrup
- 1-tablespoon grenadine
- Orange slice and cherry for garnish
Directions
- Squeeze juice from half a lime into cocktail shaker over ice. Pour the remaining ingredients into the cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.
Pineapple Hurricane
Ingredients
- 1 oz vodka
- 1 oz gin
- 1 oz light rum
- 1/2 oz 151 proof rum
- 1 oz amaretto almond liqueur
- 1 oz triple sec
- Grapefruit juice
- Pineapple juice
- Grenadine syrup
Directions
- Pour gin, rums, amaretto, and triple sec into a hurricane glass with ice. Add equal amounts of grapefruit juice and pineapple juice until almost full. Top with grenadine to taste.
While Milk Punch is normally drunk during the holiday season, the cocktail is served all year long in New Orleans and is certainly sipped on during Mardi Gras celebrations. The cocktail is traditionally created with brandy and includes milk, sugar and vanilla extract; it can be served both hot and cold.
Brandy Milk Punch
Ingredients
- 2 oz Brandy
- 1-cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
- 3 ice cubes
- Cracked ice
- Freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the brandy, milk, and sugar with 3 ice cubes and shake until frothy, about one minutes. Strain into a double old-fashioned glass with cracked ice. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.
Bourbon Milk Punch
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ oz Bourbon
- ½ ounce dark rum
- 2 ounces milk
- ⅛ ounce vanilla extract
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- Dash of grated nutmeg
Directions
- In a mixing glass three-quarters filled with ice, pour the bourbon, rum, milk or cream, vanilla and simple syrup. Shake vigorously until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass. Dust with nutmeg.
Our next cocktail has cemented itself as part of fat Tuesday activities, and while it is not exactly considered a cocktail it is certainly a favorite of both locals and tourists who come out to celebrate the holiday. For those of you who don’t like a frozen drink, we have a spin on the New Orleans cocktail that eliminates the ice but keeps the deliciousness!
Voodoo Daiquiri
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Bourbon
- 1 ounce Everclear alcohol or 1 ounce vodka
- 4 ounces grape juice
- 1 cup crushed ice
Directions
- Combine Bourbon, Vodka, grape juice and ice into a blender and blend at a medium speed until smooth. Pour into a chilled Collins glass.
Non-Frozen Daiquiri
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) fresh limejuice
- 2 heaping teaspoons superfine sugar
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) white rum
- 1 cup ice cubes
- Lime wheel to garnish
Directions
- In cocktail shaker, stir together limejuice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add rum and ice cubes and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into chilled Daiquiri or coupe glass and drop in lime wheel for garnish.
Last but certainly not least is the Ramos Gin Fizz, which was created by Henry C. Ramos at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon on Gravier Street in 1888. Originally called the New Orleans Fizz, the cocktail is undoubtedly one of the city’s most famous trademarks. Legend states that before Prohibition, the drinks laborious mixing process meant that over 20 bartenders worked at the Imperial at once making nothing but the Ramos Gin Fizz, however due to the increasing demand, the barkeeps struggled to keep up.
Ramos Gin Fizz
Ingredients
- 1/4-cup (2 ounces) gin
- 1 dash (3 to 4 drops) orange blossom water
- 1 large egg white
- 1-tablespoon (1/2 ounce) half-and-half
- 1-tablespoon (1/2 ounce) fresh lemon juice
- 1-tablespoon (1/2 ounce) fresh limejuice
- 1-tablespoon (1/2 ounce) simple syrup
- 1-cup ice cubes
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) seltzer
Directions
- In large cocktail shaker, combine gin, orange blossom water, egg white, half-and-half, lemon juice, limejuice, and simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 25 seconds. Add ice and shake for 30 seconds more. Strain mixture into 8-ounce glass. Slowly pour soda water down inside edge of shaker to loosen remaining froth. Gently ease soda water/froth mix onto drink and serve.
Bacardi Fizz-Recipe courtesy of Marc Bonneton
Ingredients
- 50ml (1.75 fl. oz.) Bacardi Superior rum
- 40ml (1.5 fl. oz.) Cream
- 15ml (.5 fl. oz.) Green Chartreuse
- 15ml (.5 fl. oz.) Lemon Juice
- 15ml (.5 fl. oz.) Lime Juice
- 15ml (.5 fl. oz.) Simple Syrup
- 1 egg white
- Top with soda water
- Mint sprig for garnish
Directions
- Dry-shake the egg white in a shaker with no ice, then add all the other ingredients and ice and shake for a long time to emulsify to egg white and the cream. Fine-strain into a tall glass and top with soda water. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Honey Badger
Ingredients:
- 1.25 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
- 0.75 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz. honey
- 1 lemon wedge
Directions:
- Combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until cold.
- Strain into a glass and garnish with a lemon wedge.
Crannon Blast
Ingredients:
- 1.0 oz. Captain Morgan Cannon Blast
- 0.5 oz. Cranberry juice
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
- Shake and pour into a shot glass.
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