Guest Blogger: Judy Walker

Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Guest Blogger | 2 Comments

At the Tales of the Cocktail Cocktail Party Thursday afternoon, there was no way to sample each and every cocktail offered at dozens of tables ringing a giant ballroom. For one thing, the party lasted only 90 minutes. Plus, the room was so packed with people it got hard to move after a while.

Marvin Allen, the renowned Hotel Monteleone mixologist, gave me a theme after I tasted his nicely balanced creation, The Irish Channel, which is named after a New Orleans Uptown neighborhood. After that, I went for drinks named after Southern locales.

The Irish Channel

• 2 ounces Old Bushmills
• 1/4 ounce Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb
• 6 drops Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Coat chilled rocks glass with Creole shrubb. Pour Old Bushmills and bitters into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into shrubb-coated glass. Garnish with orange twist.

Lucy Buffet was serving this favorite recipe from her restaurant, LuLu’s, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. She is a cookbook author and, yes, sister of Jimmy Buffet. This cocktail is just as refreshing as its name. I loved it.

Bama Breeze

• 2 ounces Smirnoff Citrus
• 1 ounce Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
• 2 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
• 3 ounces cranberry juice

Fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Add vodka and rum. Squeeze lime juice into glass. Fill with cranberry juice. Garnish with fresh lime wedge.

Brother Cleve created this cocktail, a delicious blend. And since Katrina, everybody in the world knows where this New Orleans neighborhood is. I hope some of the Tales visitors go there to tour it, a profound experience. [Editor's note: Brother Cleve was unfortunately unable to attend Tales this year; in his place, this drink was served by Misty Kalkofen]

The Ninth Ward

• 1 1/2 ounces Bulleit Bourbon
• 1/2 ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 3/4 ounce Fee Brothers Falernum syrup
• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a 5-ounce martini glass.