Let the Good Times Roll with These Mardi Gras co*cktails (2024)

Updated 02/1/24

• Night Tripper

  

  This spirt-forward combination of bourbon, a dark amaro, Strega, and Peychaud’s bitters comes from our 2023 Best Restaurant Bar, New Orleans’s Jewel of the South. “The Night Tripper was named for one of our local heroes, Dr. John,” says head bartender and partner Chris Hannah. “Amazing New Orleans piano player. What it says about our team, and Jewel, is how we love our city and draw inspiration from our local culture.”

  Hannah uses a bottled-in-bond bourbon as the base and adds two amari, Averna and Ramazzotti, though you can use any dark amaro of your choice.

  Get the recipe.

• French 75

  

  The French 75 didn’t originate in New Orleans—the recipe actually first appeared in a New York magazine in 1927 and was included in Harry Craddock’s The Savoy co*cktail Book in 1930—but it became one of the city’s most popular drinks after award-winning Arnaud’s French 75 Bar opened in 2003. The French 75 is both sophisticated and simple to make. It’s built right in the glass, and all you need is gin (or cognac, if you prefer), lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling wine.

  Get the recipe.

• Sazerac

  

  If there’s one classic co*cktail that perfectly represents New Orleans, it’s the Sazerac. Lovers of a good Old Fashioned are sure to adore this drink, since it follows essentially the same basic formula—bitters, a spirit (or two), water, a sweetener, and a lemon twist—plus an absinthe rinse.

  The base spirit can be rye whiskey or cognac, or a combination of the two for those who enjoy both rye’s spiciness and cognac’s heftier body. Two types of bitters, Peychaud’s and Angostura, are employed. And if you’re already a fan of the classic co*cktail, you’ll want to try these twists, too.

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• Brandy Crusta

  

  The Crusta was long-forgotten by the masses until David Wondrich published his James Beard Award-winning book Imbibe! in 2007, which established the drink as one of the oldest recorded classic co*cktails in history and brought it back into the mainstream.

  The Brandy Crusta was invented in the 1850s by Joseph Santini, an Italian bartender plying his trade in New Orleans. The original recipe skewed tart, but Chris Hannah, then a bartender at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, adjusted the specs for the palates of contemporary co*cktail enthusiasts in 2004. Served with a trademark sugared rim and lemon twist, the balance of brandy, dry curaçao, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Angostura bitters provides a real taste of New Orleans history.

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  Continue to 5 of 12 below.

• Absinthe Frappé

  

  In 1874, bartender Cayetano Farrer created this refreshing combination of absinthe, anisette, and simple syrup, topped with club soda, at the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans, where legend has it Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde were fans. Lots of crushed ice and a mint garnish enhance the cooling effects of the drink’s namesake spirit.

  Get the recipe.

  See Also

  15 Purple, Green + Yellow co*cktails To Celebrate Mardi Gras

• Cajun Martini

  

  The Cajun Martini was the only co*cktail on the menu of K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen from 1980 to 2020, when the New Orleans restaurant closed. Late chef and owner Paul Prudhomme figured the jalapeño-infused Vodka Martini would scare off rowdy customers, but it in fact became a hit and led Prudhomme and his wife Kay to enforce a strict two-drink limit.

  This pre-batched freezer Martini recipe from K-Paul’s, recorded by co*cktail historian David Wondrich, calls for an entire bottle of vodka and can easily be prepared before a Mardi Gras party.

  Get the recipe.

  The Best Freezer MartinisRELATED ARTICLE

• Hurricane

  

  The Hurricane is a co*cktail you’re probably familiar with, but it’s not one for the faint of heart. If you’ve been to New Orleans, specifically Pat O’Brien’s, where the co*cktail originated in 1941, you’ll know what it’s all about: a lot of rum, a bit of citrus and other fruit juices, sweeteners, some red maraschino cherries, and a co*cktail umbrella, all served in a curvaceous glass named after the drink itself. This recipe calls for a full four ounces of rum, so we suggest doing yourself a favor and sticking to just one.

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• Vieux Carré

  

  If you’re a fan of the Sazerac, then the Vieux Carré is the next step up. It was created in New Orleans in the 1930s by Walter Bergeron, a bartender at New Orleans’ legendary Carousel Bar inside the Hotel Monteleone. It’s a high-octane co*cktail traditionally made with rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine liqueur, and a combination of Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters.

  The addition of vermouth steers the drink into the Manhattan co*cktail category, but it’s served over ice with a lemon twist and brandied maraschino cherry. The classic co*cktail is fantastic for more low-key celebrations—elegant, delicious, and perfect for sipping.

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• Ramos Gin Fizz

  

  The Ramos Gin Fizz isn’t exactly a no-fuss drink, but the results are worth the effort. The co*cktail was brought to life in 1888 by Henry Charles “Carl” Ramos at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon in New Orleans—a combination of gin, citrus, a sweetener, heavy cream, egg white, and orange blossom water, topped with club soda to give it its iconic soufflé-like head.

  Historically, Ramos had a line of bartenders behind the bar where, it’s said, they’d pass the tin around and shake each drink for at least 12 minutes. These days, that process sounds a bit crazy (and unnecessary), but the co*cktail still does require at least a minute’s worth of shaking, both with and without ice, to produce a drink worthy of the name. Are you up for the challenge?

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• Brandy Milk Punch

  

  Although the exact origins of this decadent frozen concoction are unknown, storied New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s has served the blend of brandy, milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract since the 1940s. While the drink’s base spirit is right in its name, you can also make a version with bourbon or other darker spirits. Whichever spirit you choose, invite friends to join in your festivities—this recipe serves four.

  Get the recipe.
  

• Absinthe Suisesse

  

  This traditional New Orleans brunch co*cktail is similar to the Ramos Gin Fizz, but easier to pull together. The herbaceous combination of absinthe, white creme de menthe, orgeat, heavy cream, egg white, and a dash of orange flower water also makes a lovely nightcap or dessert drink.

  Get the drink.

• A La Louisiane

  

  The former house co*cktail of New Orleans restaurant La Louisiane, which was built in 1881, this rye-and-Benedictine drink is a variation on the Vieux Carré. Though similarly spirit-forward, it dials up the rye whiskey, skips the cognac, and calls for a few dashes of absinthe. Although the co*cktail was first recorded in Stanley Clisby Arthur’s Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em in 1937, it was revived in 2011 when Jim Meehan featured a recipe in The PDT co*cktail Book.

  Get the recipe.