"Laissez les bon temps rouler" is French for "Let the good times roll," which is New Orleans' motto.
Known for music (the birthplace of jazz), food (creole cuisine), festivals (like Mardi Gras)... Bourbon Street, Louisiana voodoo, the French Quarter... "a true melting pot of cultures."
Honestly writing all that makes me want to go back there! But that intro was meant to lead me into another thing New Orleans is known for: cocktails!
I have three New Orleans cocktails on my menu (so far!), which are just too good and need to be talked about. Check out the well-known Sazerac, as well as Á La Louisiane, and my personal favorite, the Vieux Carré. Though any cocktail with Peychaud's bitters will have a connection to New Orleans.
Pronounced "pay-showds," Peychaud's bitters was originally created by Antoine Amedée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary in the French Quarter, in New Orleans in the 1830s. Many people believe the 'cocktail' was invented in New Orleans by Peychaud, but if you dig further, you'll find out a New York newspaper referenced the word 'cocktail' as early as 1806, when Peychaud would have been just a baby. But you can't debunk that Antoine Amedée Peychaud invented the Sazerac, when he realized his homemade bitters tasted good with cognac, sugar and water. The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans, traditionally made with Herbsaint; basically a "non-worm-wood absinthe," meaning it was legal at the time absinthe was banned.
The Vieux Carré was invented at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter of New Orleans by head bartender Walter Bergeron. Pronounced "VOO ka-RAY," it translates from French to "Old Square" and is an old name for New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Á La Louisiane was invented at the Restaurant de la Louisiane, referred to as a cross between the Sazerac and Vieux Carré.
It's a debate whether the Vieux Carré or Á La Louisiane came first, but both are exceptional and finally gaining popularity outside New Orleans.
Other cocktails invented in New Orleans...
Ramos Gin Fizz
The Hurricane
Pimm's Cup
Mint Julep
Brandy Crusta
Brandy Milk Punch
Absinthe Frappé
Café Brûlot
Roffignac
Bywater
Arnaud’s Special Cocktail
Geez, after listing all these New Orleans cocktails, I think I need to make a specialty New Orleans Menu!!!!