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By Benay Bernstein
I am too much of a maverick to be a good corporate wife, but how could I resist the temptation of accepting the responsibility to search out the little known historic bars of New Orleans right here in my neighborhood, and share them with my husband's corporate buddies' wine touring group, all members of an association arriving for a convention in October? My neighborhood happens to be New Orleans’ famous French Quarter and the bars, often tucked away adjacent to our most famous restaurants, are all within a few blocks of my Chartres Street home.
Not being a native New Orleanean and not being New Orleans society, how did I learn about these hidden pleasures? The secret of the bars became public knowledge several years ago when a creative tour guide researched the topic and designed a most winning, delicious tour. After Hurricane Katrina the tour was sold to Grayline, and is now offered daily at four every afternoon.
Sophisticated drinks such as Cosmos and Martinis began appearing in prominent positions on specialty drink menus in major international cities a few years after the turn of the century. New Orleans, always in the forefront of decadence, took the discovery a step further and "Tales of the Cocktail", an entire festival devoted to drinking, emerged as a major annual event. Competitions, books, parties, lectures and exhibits followed in rapid succession.
Lest I overstep my corporate role, I called upon the talents of two other wives to visit New Orleans one weekend in March to share in the responsibility of bar testing, and city touring. Not unexpectedly, I had a positive response. Pat, Renee and I rose to the challenge. The Bars of New Orleans walking tour was dynamite as was the Swamp Tour. We checked out Mardi Gras World for an event venue and tested, to our immense satisfaction, some of the new, hot restaurants including Stella's, Cochon and Jaques Imo. Work, yes, but someone had to do it.
Quickly we discovered that drinking in New Orleans is elegant, sophisticated, liberating fun. Drinking on balconies, in courtyards, in cave like bars, drinking where pirates and prostitutes drank, where ghosts walk, where famous writers and artists renewed their inspiration, drinking in any exciting venue enhances one's pleasure in the beverage.
A sixth generation New Orleanean of Italian descent, Joe Gendusa, our guide, described with great affection and high regard the flamboyant history of drinking in our city. All the while, Joe cleverly managed to insert interesting tidbits of New Orleans history such as the power and importance of the river and the major Spanish influences found in a city that never considered itself anything but French. We saw the ballast and wood of the riverboats used in buildings and on streets throughout the French Quarter, and learned about the dueling practices and trade of pirates and gentlemen, and of course, we saw where, and tasted what, they all drank.
In Pirate's Alley, a street located to the left of Saint Louis Cathedral and around the corner from the parade grounds now known as Jackson Square, in the Pirate’s Alley Café, we tasted Absinthe, preference of pirates and gentlemen; a  drink with hallucinogenic qualities made with wormwood (EDITOR’S NOTE: a plant of the genus Artemisia, named after the goddess Artemis, to whom it was sacred probably because of its hallucinogenic properties). Just a couple of years ago the ban on importing Absinthe in the US was lifted, and three cities, New York, San Francisco and New Orleans were licensed to offer foreign made imports (See Absinthe story). To serve Absinthe, a small glass, a flat metal stirrer, a cube of sugar, flame, and water are necessary. The very preparation is a ritual with a number of variations. In this version, a sugar cube is placed on the stirrer and Absinthe is slowly poured on, over and through the sugar just before it is set on fire. All drinkers around the bar stare into the glow, watching angels wings appear in the mint green liquid. Slowly water is poured on the sugar dousing the flame, filling the glass and turning the liquid cloudy. This Absinthe has a high alcohol content, 126 proof, which translates into 63% alcohol. Flavor of licorice, hinting of forbidden pleasures, smoothly sliding down our willing throats; the drink tastes of excitement and feels very strong.
In word-pictures Joe painted the duels that took place in Pirate's Alley preceding the requisite friendly drink that followed once a contender drew first blood. When dueling became less gentlemanly and more deadly, it was removed to areas outside the city such as the Dueling Oaks in City Park. One would think that pirates tempted fate to frequent the alley so close to military parade grounds but the pirates had safe passage to sell their booty in the small garden behind the church sharing the proceeds of their sales with the priests. According to the priests, the pirates were doing a service to the city by protecting its residents from foreign marauders. During the course of their successful trade the church gardens were trampled, and the pirates were told they may continue selling, but the customers were not allowed inside the garden. A fence was erected around the garden’s perimeter and the goods were placed on tables just inside. Buyers purchased their booty through the fence, thus arose the expression, "Fencing stolen goods".
We strolled in the late afternoon sun from Pirate's Alley to Tujagues to stand at the oldest unrenovated watering hole in New Orleans. Known for his insistence on the perfect mixing of drinks, Paul the bartender, served us tastes of the famous Woodland Plantation Punch, made with Southern Comfort, pineapple juice, soda, and grenadine. We sipped while Joe pointed out the one and only change made in this venerated barroom. A trough in the floor adjacent to the bottom of the bar had been removed and replaced with a brass footrest at the time women were  allowed to drink in the company of men. The use of the trough was deemed ungentlemanly.
At Muriel's, located at the upper right hand corner of Jackson Square, we took our Pomegranate Martini drinks to the balcony overlooking the square to get the feel of good living in New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century. Some of us were not quite relaxed as we passed the table perpetually set for the ghost known to drink nightly from his wineglass. A peek in the sumptuous upstairs entertainment rooms was a treat as we imagined the establishment in its earlier days as a brothel.
 On Royal Street, in front of Joseph Cohen's Antique Gun and Sword Shop that was formerly an apothecary shop, Joe described how Peychaud, the pharmacist, invented the bitters that he mixed with cognac to create the first cocktail and how the word cocktail is a mispronunciation of the French word "coquetier", an egg shaped measuring vessel. Peychaud and his cronies enjoyed drink and company and locked the door to upstart Americans who could not speak proper French and only cared about work.
At the Court of Two Sisters we met Flo, Top Bartender of 1989 Award Winner, whose Bayou Bash, a version of Sangria, won first place for best new drink. We all enjoyed tasting her creation and peeking into the world famous courtyard restaurant.
 Our tour ended at Arnaud's with French 75, a champagne cocktail. Those of us ready for our own R & R ordered Arnaud’s incomparable Soufflé Potatoes served either at the bar or at intimate tables. Ending the cocktail tasting with one of the ultimate pleasures of New Orleans, hollow potato wafers, not quite French fries but related served with a Béarnaise dipping sauce, was ample reward for our labor.
So, you see we did not work too hard. Our recommendations will be made to the business association… and, we are not telling how much fun we had.
© May 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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