Windsor Court in New Orleans offering spirited menu dedicated to American jazz greats

I must admit, I’m a sucker for fascinating cocktails and other spirits. If you read back through my blog, you’ll notice a pattern here.

Which is why I'm writing about two events at the Windsor Court Hotel of New Orleans that spotlight great food and cocktails in honor of American jazz greats. It's all part of the annual Tales of the Cocktail festival July 18-23 in New Orleans.

The Windsor Court Spirited Dinner will take place July 30 and include live music and Jonathan Pogash, aka The Cocktail Guru, in an evening of specialty cocktails themed around history’s jazz superstars, paired with culinary creations from The Grill Room Chef de Cuisine Gabriel Charpentier. 

Here’s the complete dinner menu:

Ella FitzGerald

Cocktail: Ella’s Delight (Variation on a Fitzgerald Cocktail)

Hendricks gin, Meyer lemon juice, rosemary-hibiscus syrup, lavender bitters, prosecco with hors d'oeuvres.

Jelly Roll Morton

Cocktail: The Jelly Roll 

Montelobos Mezcal, Anchor Reyes chili liqueur, Perfect Puree ginger sour, lemon marmalade, Sandeman Founder's Reserve Port, Creole spiced rum, Peychaud’s bitters with coconut shrimp toast, shrimp mousse, brioche, coconut, habanero, and mango salsa.

Thelonious Monk

Cocktail: The Loneliest Monk 

Muddled cucumbers and basil, Milagro blanco tequila, yellow chartreuse, honey syrup, sea saltwith monkfish ceviche, avocado puree, compressed cucumber, cilantro, Thai basil, jalapeno, and orange.

Miles Davis

Cocktail: Round About Midnight 

Hudson white whiskey, Suze liqueur, perfect puree caramelized pineapple, butterfly pea flower extract paired with strip steak, black bean paste, snap peas, sweet corn, pickled pineapple, and pepper jelly.

Scott Joplin

Cocktail: Maple Leaf Rag 

Balvenie single malt scotch whiskey, maple syrup, Amaro, apple pie bitters, salted caramel cream with dessert, Textures of Vanilla.

And if that's not enticing enough, on July 21 and 22 the hotel's Le Salon will transform into a New Orleans speakeasy, dedicated to the life and times of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, two American icons of the Jazz Age. At Prohibition Tea, guests will enjoy a spirited tea service with specialty cocktails like Paris After Midnight and Moon over Montgomery, concocted by master mixologist Kent Westmoreland and served in tea cups – true Prohibition style. Three courses of brunch-inspired bites, seasonal scones, and desserts will also be served.

Seats at the Spirited Dinner are $120, plus a 22 percent service charge and applicable sales taxes, per person. Pricing for Prohibition Tea is $60 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Limited seating is available at all events, and reservations are required. To make reservations or view the entire menu, call (504) 522-1994 or visit www.grillroomneworleans.com. Windsor Court is located at 300 Gravier St. in the heart of New Orleans.

And that's still not all! The Cocktail Bar at Windsor Court is one of only two bars in town featuring the official festival cocktail – the Embrasse de la Terre – an innovative spin on the classic martini. The cocktail was designated after a competition with the winning entry going to Zachary Faden of Mirabelle in Washington, D.C. Embrasse de la terre roughly translates to “to kiss the earth.” The cocktail’s recipe is below. 

Here’s the recipe for Embrasse de la Terre, the official 2017 Tales of the Cocktail cocktail:

Embrasse de la Terre

2 ounces Rutte Old Simon Genever

1 ounce Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry

1⁄4 ounce Yellow Chartreuse

3 dashes Bitter Truth Celery Bitters

Directions: Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe. Enjoy. No garnish. The drink blooms while stirred and is pleasantly aromatic.

  

Note: This information provided by a press release from the Windsor Court and information from the Tales of the Cocktail website.

Cheré Coen is a food and travel writer who loves weird and unusual things, not to mention an innovative cocktail.

File under 'Only in New Orleans:' receiving French feves with Bombay Club Ojen Carnival cocktails

Mardi Gras is only one week away and here’s a new cocktail to enjoy during Carnival festivities, thanks to The Bombay Club. The Ojen Cocktail features Legendre Ojen, a liqueur flavored with anise, and is now the unofficial krewe cocktail for the Rex Organization, and the drink used to toast the King of Carnival on Mardi Gras Day.

But if you’re wondering what the Rex business is all about, here’s a quick explanation. Krewes are organizations that host Carnival balls and parades in New Orleans. The Krewe of Rex is one of the city’s oldest and most prominent (the Mardi Gras colors, doubloons and other traditions date back to Rex) and on Mardi Gras Day, the Rex king toasts the Queen of Carnival at the reviewing stand at the Hotel Intercontinental of New Orleans.

Back to that cocktail – Ojen was first produced in the mid-1800s by a distiller in Spain, but the production of the liqueur ended when the distillery closed in the late 1980’s. The Sazerac Company revived the classic cocktail with a new production here in the United States in early 2016. (Read more here.)

“Ojen had gained popularity in New Orleans at the beginning of the last century, and over time had become the standby cocktail, especially during Carnival season,” said Bombay Club Bar Manager Blake Kaiser in a recent press release. “In fact, some believed that New Orleans’ consumption of Ojen surpassed that of all of Spain, and considering that New Orleanians like a good drink every now and then, I’d believe it.”

Kaiser serves the Ojen Cocktail up with a traditional French feve. Similar to tiny babies found in New Orleans king cakes during Carnival, the fève is a porcelain trinket. Like king cakes, in which the person who nabs the baby must buy the next king cake, the person who finds the feve becomes “king (or queen) for the day” and must provide the next Ojen Cocktail. The Bombay Club feves are musically themed figurines, and a full collection makes up a 10-piece jazz band.

“We just thought this was a fun way to celebrate our favorite holiday in New Orleans,” said Kaiser. “If you get all ten, it’s a great collection, and it’s a unique souvenir by which to remember carnival 2017.”

THE BOMBAY CLUB OJEN COCKTAIL RECIPE
2 ounces Legendre Ojen
7 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1/2 ounce Orgeat or Simple Syrup

Method: Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice. Pour Ojen over the ice and add four dashes of Peychaud's bitters, then swizzle. Fill with more crushed ice and top with three more dashes of Peychaud's. Swizzle until the glass frosts.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Drink the madness away with election-themed cocktails at several Southern hotels and resorts

Are you like us, counting the days to when this horrid election ends? Well, here’s one way to get through the next two weeks.

Destination Hotels, a collection of luxury and upscale independent hotels, resorts and residences across the United States is offering election-themed cocktails, offerings and promotions such as the garnished cocktail embodying Donald Trump’s hair, right, and much more. Check it out.

Thomas Ludwell Lee never ran for office but he was a great family man. He ran the Coton Farm where the Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Virginia, currently sits. The resort’s Virginia Tavern is named in honor of the farm and their rye harvest. Guests who show their “just voted” sticker at Coton & Rye on Election Night will receive 30 percent off their bill.  

The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is serving up two cocktails (see photo left) to appease both sides of the aisle: the Trumpster (left) blended with Vodka, Triple Sec, Blue Curacao and Prosecco and I’m with Her (right) mixed with Aperol, Grenadine and Prosecco.

YVE Hotel Miami of Miami, Florida, prefers the FLOTUS AND POTUS. The FLOTUS cocktail is sophisticated and classy like the First Lady or First Gentleman and is a traditional rum mojito with blue curacao. The POTUS is made with Grenadine, Blue Curacao, Vodka and Club Soda. Customers who show the bartender proof that they voted will receive a 20 percent discount on the two presidential drinks. The hotel will also offer an upgrade on the next room type, based on availability, to any guest who has President, Vice-President, etc. on their business card.

 

Hotel Derek in Houston, Texas, wants you to play Presidential “Cards Against Humanity” V.S. Edition. Guests are invited to a politically incorrect night of Cards Against Humanity, Hillary vs. Trump Edition, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7.

The Embassy Row Hotel in Washington D.C. is featuring a “Vote for Cocktails”campaign in which guests who show their “just voted” sticker on election night receive 25 percent off their bill at Station Kitchen and Cocktails in Washington, D.C. They also offer the “Just Voted” Package, valid until Dec. 31, for overnight accommodations at the best available rate; food and drink credit to spend at Station Kitchen and Cocktails ($50 daily); a complimentary movie and waived hotel service fee (value of $19.95 daily). The rate code is VOTE16. Package rates start from $142 a night; election night starting at $289 a night.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who can't wait until the election is over. She is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.