

also posted: 2008 July 5, 2008 June 28, 2008 June 21, 2008 June 14, 2008 June 7, 2008 May 31, 2008 May 24, 2008 May 17, 2008 May 10, 2008 May 3, 2008 April 26, 2008 April 19, 2008 April 12, 2008 April 5, 2008 March 29, 2008 March 22, 2008 March 15, 2008 March 8, 2008 March 1, 2008 February 23, 2008 February 16, 2008 February 9, 2008 February 2, 2008 January 26, 2008 January 19, 2008 January 12, 2008 January 5, 2008 2007 December 29, 2007 December 22, 2007 December 15, 2007 December 8, 2007 December 1, 2007 November 24, 2007 November 17, 2007 November 10, 2007 November 3, 2007 October 27, 2007 October 20, 2007 October 13, 2007 October 6, 2007 September 29, 2007 September 22, 2007 September 15, 2007 September 8, 2007 September 1, 2007 August 25, 2007 August 18, 2007 August 11, 2007 August 4, 2007 July 28, 2007 July 21, 2007 July 14, 2007 July 7, 2007 June 30, 2007 June 23, 2007 June 16, 2007 June 9, 2007 June 2, 2007 May 19, 2007 May 12, 2007 May 5, 2007 April 28, 2007 April 21, 2007 April 14, 2007 April 7, 2007 March 31, 2007 March 24, 2007 March 17, 2007 March 10, 2007 March 3, 2007 February 24, 2007 February 17, 2007 February 10, 2007 February 3, 2007 January 20, 2007 January 13, 2007 January 6, 2007 2006 December 30, 2006 December 23, 2006 December 16, 2006 December 9, 2006 December 2, 2006 November 25, 2006 November 18, 2006 November 11, 2006 November 4, 2006 October 28, 2006 October 21, 2006 October 14, 2006 October 7, 2006 September 30, 2006 September 23, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 2, 2006 August 26, 2006 August 19, 2006 August 12, 2006 August 5, 2006 July 29, 2006 July 22, 2006 July 15, 2006		September 2, 2006 New Orleans Diary WEDNESDAY: A celebration of cocktails in New Orleans? It sounded a bit like Nero-fiddles-while-Rome burns or even complacent women knitting as they nonchalantly watched the victim-filled tumbrils rattle by. But once in the elevated French Quarter, all became clear. The Big Easy badly needs to make some money and everybody loves to drink, so bring in the bartenders, mixologists, chefs and hordes of liqueur lovers to enjoy—for the fourth year—Tales of the Cocktail. In our limousine from the airport, a Californian adept named Kimberly informed me that the current vogue for cocktails had induced scores of college grads to take up bartending as a vocation rather than something to work at for a couple of years as had formerly been the case. On the roster at the Hotel Monteleone: lectures, presentations, seminars, parties and gourmet dinners paired to the appropriate cocktails. The 160-year-old, family-owned hotel seemed an appropriate HQ, its former guests having included William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Sherwood Anderson, Eudora Welty and Truman Capote whose books are on display in the lobby. Surely some of them must have stumbled out of the slowly-revolving Carousel Bar, some complaining that it had speeded up during their drinking session. (It hadn’t). A Literary festival named for Williams took place in New Orleans in March followed by a jazz festival, a Wine and Food Experience and a Satchmo Summerfest. All were well attended so, despite the havoc in much of the rest of the city, the tourists are beginning to come back. FEMA—THE NEW FOUR-LETTER WORD is a popular local bumper sticker. THURSDAY: Breakfast at Brennan’s , an occasion so auspicious and concluding with a flaming banana dessert, that it has spawned a full color book of the same title. Most of the famous French Quarter landmarks are back in business including Antoine’s, the Napoleon House (est. 1812, although he never visited), the Café du Monde (beignets covered with a mountain of icing sugar), Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (a charming bar converted from a 1770 Creole cottage) and the old Absinthe House (est.1870). This, once the boozer favored by Walter Whitman, O. Henry , Mark Twain, Aleister Crowley and Oscar Wilde (“absinthe makes the tart grow fonder”) has, sadly been obliged to serve absinthe’s near-clone, herbsaint. since 1912, when the original liqueur was outlawed. At the Monteleone’s evening cocktail hour it was difficult to move through the wall-to-wall crowd, everybody swilling samples from one stand after another. Sazeracs—invented in this city—were popular, but so were Rasputins (vodka, cassis syrup, lime juice); mint juleps (bourbon, peach syrup, mint leaves); white-capped Stoli Strawberries and Cream (vodka, strawberry puree, cointreau, whipped cream) and a noxious blend called Dirty Laundry (bourbon, triple sec, grenadine, orange bitters, lime juice, lemon, champagne). Personally, I favored the Bananas Foster (rum, banana, cinnamon, ice cream). FRIDAY: After enjoying sessions about pairing cocktails with food, setting up a home bar, and drinks that taste like desserts, today’s dissertation by Ted Breaux on absinthe had been keenly waited; the room was jam-packed, eager listeners spilling out of the door. Probably the trendiest of all current drinks, especially among younger drinkers, absinthe is still banned in the U.S. despite being now once again available in other parts of the world. When it can be found in this country it usually comes surreptitiously from bottles smuggled in from Europe or via the internet. Breaux himself sells it that way, distilling it in Saumur, France on equipment originally created by Gustav Eiffel. The misconception that it causes hallucinations or makes people crazy is ridiculous, he claims ”It does give you a unique mild sensation similar to the way drinking tequila makes one feel a bit different from drinking a beer”. Although technically prohibited in the U.S. it merely falls into a category that the FDA won’t approve for distribution. “It basically carries the same legal status as unpasteurized cheese”. Created in 1792 by a French doctor living in Switzerland who steeped wormwood, angelica root, anise and other herbs in ethanol, it was shortly thereafter distilled by the Pernod family and became “an integral part of the irreverent, chaotic lifestyle of bohemian Paris” as the author of Absinthe, sip of seduction put it, a book by Bettina J Wittels and Robert Hermesch of which Breaux was the editor. Such writers and artists as Rimbaud, Degas, van Gogh, Gauguin and Pauil Verlaine raved about the emerald-green drink. But chronic consumption and its deleterious effect on the nerves—it is 70-80% alcohol—sent so many people to hospital that the so-called “green fairy” was banned in one country after another, a ban lifted only in recent years in most countries. But not in the U.S. Replacing it here has been the transparent, green drink herbsaint, a name derived from the French pronunciation of absinthe. It is almost identical to the original but lacks the wormwood (the exact formula remains a secret with its French manufacturers, the Legendre company). Like absinthe, it louches (turns milky-white) when water is added. SATURDAY: No less than 37 authors of relevant books attended Tales of the Cocktail and a quartet of them turned up this morning to read from their works, along with writings from famous authors of the past. It’s a wide-ranging subject illustrated by the variety of books on sale in the lobby; Cocktails Shaken and Stirred; Meet me in the Bar; Drinkology; Bartender’s Guide; Culinary Artistry and the ominous-sounding Obituary Cocktail. And thus ended four days of smiles, happy faces and the occasional hiccup. Truly, as artist Benn Johnson observes; “Southerners approach life like artists, simply by getting up every day and embracing the possibilities with a sunny ‘Mornin’ y’all’”. SEPTEMBER 2/06 TOP