So originally I was going to write a recap of some cocktail bars in New Orleans. Having never been to NOLA before and being filled with ambition I thought this was an attainable task. The Big Easy quickly humbled me with its seemingly unending list of bars and since we were staying in the French Quarter I decided to narrow my scope. Since the Sazerac is the iconic cocktail of New Orleans, and the French Quarter was the entirety of NO when it was founded, I figured this was a good place to start. While this list is far from complete it was all I could squeeze in during my 2+ days in town. For anyone curious I've got some general info on the Sazerac at the bottom of this post. And with that... let's get to the rankings!
Kingfish - F
Let me start off by saying that Kingfish is an excellent restaurant. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was outstanding. With that in mind I was shocked by the poor quality of the drink. Maybe I caught them on an off night or maybe the bartender fudged the drink but I wasn't seated at the bar so I couldn't tell. The first sign of trouble was when I asked the waitress what type of rye was used in the drink and what was available. She told me she didn't know and came back with the underwhelming answer of Old Overholt and Bulleit. The drink came and I couldn't even finish it... I've never not finished a Sazerac before. This place probably deserves another shot, but it was by far the worst Sazerac I had while in the French Quarter and was thus given a failing grade.
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| Rotating bar at Carousel |
Carousel Bar - C
The draw for this place is the rotating bar. Yes, the circle bar you sit at slowly rotates around the staff and bottles in the center. It's a pretty cool gimmick and a pretty cool looking bar. Their Sazerac appropriately uses Sazerac Rye. Unfortunately it was a little subpar. From a bar this nice I was expecting more.
Old Absinthe House - B
The name of this place does it justice... it's very "historic". Football helmets hanging from the ceiling and middle-aged women dancing to Pat Benetar were the snapshots I took away from my time there. The Sazerac was pretty good, though I wish the whiskey was a little more prominent. Using a low proof, low rye whiskey (Old Overholt) was probably the main culprit here.
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| Sazerac at St. Lawrence |
St Lawrence - B
Popped into this cozy place towards the Mississippi River side of the Quarter for some small bites and of course, a Sazerac. The dirty rice and gumbo were great and this made for a perfect 3-o-clock in the afternoon stop. The cocktail here used High West Double Rye which was a first for me, but I was already a fan so sign me up. The drink itself was good enough to order again, but something was just a tad off on it. Not sure if it was light on bitters or syrup or Herbsaint but a minor tweak is probably all that was needed to bump this up a grade.
NOLA - A
Emeril's French Quarter restaurant was chosen by my lovely date as our Sunday night meal. I was ready to be let down by the food but it met and exceeded expectations. I hadn't planned on getting a cocktail here, but it was made with the Baby Saz and had a reasonable price so I went for it. I'm glad I did. Great balance of all the ingredients made for a winner.
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| Sazerac and another cocktail at Bar Tonique |
Bar Tonique - A
My favorite bar in the French Quarter checks in at 2nd place. Look, the Sazerac was great and they made it with Sazerac Rye (as it should be). If you like a nice cocktail bar that is a healthy mix of solid whiskey and urban grit, this place is a winner. We popped in the first time on Saturday around 5p and got the last 2 seats in the place. It's crowded for a reason... great prices, great cocktails and an overachieving bartender (1 person serving about 25 in a pretty timely fashion). Sazerac gets an A, the bar gets an A+... will be my first stop the next time I'm in the French Quarter.
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| ...and the winner! The Sazerac Cocktail at Sazerac Bar |
Sazerac Bar - A+
Sometimes the #1 seed wins the tournament. Such was the case on my trip to New Orleans. I love an underdog story, but the bar who shares its name with the cocktail and is the home of it's genesis just wouldn't be denied. The birthplace of the Sazerac does it right - a perfect balance of all the components made for my best cocktail of the trip.
Some Brief Background on the Sazerac Cocktail
The Sazerac is one of the earliest known cocktails, pre-dating the Civil War and sometimes referred to as the oldest known American cocktail. It originally was a Cognac-based drink and got its name due to tthe use of Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils cognac. Now it is more commonly made with rye whiskey. In addition to the primary liquor it contains sugar or simple syrup, Peychaud bitters, a lemon peel and is serve in a chilled, absinthe-rinsed glass. Herbsaint is commonly substituted for absinthe, a trend which gained prominence when absinthe was banned in the US (1912-2007).
