The aviation, the Darjeeling old fashioned and the Desi girl spritz at LUFU.
Scientists have determined that summer is one of the four best seasons for enjoying a drink. Whether you’re trying to beat the heat, relax on the porch or sheltering in place in a perfectly chilled air-conditioned room at home, there’s always a perfectly good reason to have a nice, cold drink during the summer.
While nothing beats an ice-cold domestic beer, there’s something about summer that just begs for a cocktail. Over the last couple of decades, bartenders have taken the simple process of mixing liquor with some ice and a few liquid ingredients and turned it into a complex — and often over the top — art form.
Take the martini. Once one of the simplest of cocktails — basically some ice-cold gin or vodka with an optional whisper of vermouth and an olive garnish — modern martinis can be feats of engineering prowess. There are chocolate martinis, raspberry martinis, dirty martinis, martinis in a can ... there’s even a recipe for a filet mignon infused martini!
Enjoying an expertly made craft cocktail or mocktail can be an entire experience that introduces you to new flavors and styles of drinks. And there’s something to be said for the show of watching a bartender use a garden full of herbs, a smoke machine and backhoe to build the perfect elderberry bush on fire daquiri.
But at their base, even the most complex drinks are based on the classics. Drinks like the humble Screwdriver or the showy Old Fashioned are designed to be delicious, refreshing and sippable with a minimum of fuss and muss. And when it’s 104 degrees out, easy is always better.
That’s why we asked some of New Orleans best bartenders for their take on a classic cocktail that’s easy enough to make at home but still packs a flavor punch. And did they deliver! From fresh takes on the classic Negroni, French 75 and Sazerac to an easy peasy homemade mocktail, these drinks will keep you refreshed throughout the summer.
That’s not to say there isn’t an art to them. Far from it. One of the simplest cocktails ever created — the venerable Ricky — is also one of the hardest to get right.
The Ricky was created in the 1880s in Washington, D.C., a city which, like New Orleans, knows how to drink. The original consisted of four ingredients: rye whiskey, soda water, ice and fresh lime juice.
Sounds simple, right? Nope! Turns out that often, the fewer ingredients you have to work with, the harder it is to get it just right. But when you get the balance right between the rye or gin, lime juice and soda it is one of the most refreshing, delicious drinks you’ll ever make.
A classic Rye Ricky at R Bar.
The Ricky
2 ounces Michter’s Straight Rye Whiskey or Hendrick’s Gin
½ ounce (give or take) fresh squeezed lime juice
Ice
Soda water
Lime slices
In a tall glass with ice, combine the rye and lime juice and a lime slice. Top with soda water, stir and enjoy. If you’re using gin, a cucumber spear is an excellent addition as a garnish.
Plus a recipe for Julia’s Smokey and Spicy Mezcal Negroni.
Plus a recipe for Dorothy's French 75.
Plus recipes for Mark's Gin Sazerac and a Sparkling Green Mocktail.
Plus a recipe for a Perfect Select Negroni.
Get to know Shannon Brandon and Jack Glenn.