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Mardi Gras, also known as Carnival or Carnaval, is celebrated in many countries around the world on the day before the religious season of Lent (40 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday) begins. This Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. Brazil, Venice and New Orleans play host to some of the holiday’s most famous public festivities, drawing thousands of tourists and revelers every year!
Traditionally in the days leading up to Lent, people would binge on all the rich, fatty foods such as meat, eggs, milk, lard and cheese, that remained in their homes in anticipation of several weeks of eating only fish and different types of fasting.
Now, the holiday is marked with street parties, masked balls, and lavish cocktails/dinners - an overall fantastic celebration!
It should come as no surprise that New Orleans is the birthplace of some of the best classic Mardi Gras cocktails so gather your mixers and let's get into a few classic New Orleans drink recipes!
Having a daiquiri in hand on Mardi Gras is kind of a non-negotiable for celebrating. It may not be a New Orleans creation, but it is a Mardi Gras traditional drink! The mix of frozen strawberries is the key trick for a smooth and frosty daiquiri.
The late 1890s saw the birth of the New Orleans Fizz. Also called the Ramos Gin Fizz (named after its creator, legendary bartender Henry C. Ramos), it's a lively, creamy cocktail. Also a staple of Mardi Gras, Ramos's saloon famously had a crew of "shaker boys" aiding bartenders to keep up with demand. The keys to this fizzy egg white cocktail are orange flower water and dry shaking it vigorously to produce that luscious foam!
Nothing screams “New Orleans” quite like a hurricane! No sandbags or shelters here, just a fruity drink that’s sure to get the party started. This dangerously delicious cocktail is full of passion fruit and orange juices, citrus, and grenadine. All of that pairs perfectly with the mix of dark and light rum!
The French 75 is among the fanciest of cocktails and a New Orleans staple. Champagne is what makes this drink distinctively French (and totally worth the splurge), but a more affordable sparkling wine such as Prosecco or Cava are both sound options. Make sure to squeeze the lemon twist into your drink to add some of those floral lemon oils.
If you haven’t had a classic Sazerac before, you’re in for a real treat!
It’s a simple cocktail with no fruity additions or mixers. But there are a couple of key steps you need to follow to get it just right.
The OG Sazerac calls for Absinthe, which gets swirled around your glass and poured out before adding the drink itself. This recipe is similar, only you’ll use Herbsaint, an anise-flavored Absinthe substitute created in New Orleans in 1934.
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