Guest Writer, On a Gas Can Full O' Southern Hospitality

In my line of work, I meet some awsome people. Among them is Jenny Adams, author of Mixing New Orleans and freelance writer. We finally clinked glasses, in person, at Tales of the Cocktail this past July, and were instant drinking buddies! Here is a little about Jenny, followed by her first contribution to The Liquid Muse:

Jenny Adams is a full-time freelance writer and the contributing editor of Nightclub & Bar magazine. She dreams of one day being well known for her writing, but still able to run around incognito due to her somewhat handicapped sense of fashion. She digs cream cheese, sailboats, words like 'visceral' and loud, live music. She can't stand overly-fruity cocktails, small children when they're sticky, words like 'genteel' and when her bacon isn't fully cooked. For more aboutJenny, please visit jennyadamsfreelance.com.

Oxford is to Mississippi what the city of Austin is to Texas. It’s slightly out of whack with the rest of the state – a sort of oasis for liberal minds and literary genius, a verdant speck of a town where moonshine and Veuve Cliquot are poured with equal zeal as women teeter by on Prada heels. The town earned the nickname “The Little Easy” during its heyday in the early ‘90s, and today, it is still one of the South’s best places to Happy Hour. Where else do people sit around discussing Faulkner’s lesser known works over fried pickles and Martinis?

In this little oxymoron of a town with only 20,000 residents, one cocktail is known to top the rest, however. You haven’t been to Oxford, Mississippi till you have climbed atop a ripped barstool at Ajax Diner, ordered the catfish and a Bloody Mary. The waitress will heft a red, plastic gasoline can with a smile, and if you it’s your first time, the experience can be slightly bizarre.

In this gasoline can is Proprietor Randy Yates’ town secret to curing the effects of the night before. He mixes it by the gallon to ensure customers never go without. Add in your favorite vodka, and Wah-la!

A note: I once had a theory that if one drank this magical hangover juice all night long, one would awake refreshed and feeling quite normal after an entire night out partying. I regret to say, my hypothesis was proven false in the winter of 2006. I had to have another in the morning before feeling my usual self.

Ajax Diner Bloody Mary Mix:

4 cans of V8 Juice
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups orange juice
1/2 T. horseradish
1 T. kosher salt
1 T. black pepper
1/2 T. cumin
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. celery salt
1 T. red pepper flakes
1/2 T. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Coke
Tabasco to taste

Combine all ingredients in gallon container. Mix well. Fill tall glass with 1 1/2 ounces of vodka and sufficient mix. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon, a squeeze of lime and a spear of pickled okra.

More Holiday Cheer!

This festive article, written by Jenny Adams for Nightclub & Bar Magazine, features two of my holiday creations: Ho-Ho-Hot Holiday Margarita and the White Creole Christmas Punch. A couple of my cocktail-loving pals, Cheryl Charming and Jonathan Pogash, also present their yummy recipes.

And, one thing is for sure - if you're not in the holiday spirit by the end of Jenny's article, you'll - at least - be thristing for a drink!

Step by Step Guide to Free Publicity for Your Bar or Product

"Making the Most of the Media"

I was honored to be on a panel alongside two fab ladies at the 2008 Nightclub & Bar Show in Las Vegas: Ann R. Tunnerman, PR Maven and founder of Tales of the Cocktail and Jenny Adams, contributing Editor to Nightclub & Bar Magazine, Columnist for the Miami Herald, Author of "Mixing New Orleans" and Freelance Writer Extraordinaire.

My "credentials" include: Providing Mixology services (customized cocktails for parties and personalities); Editor of The Liquid Muse; I pen two monthly cocktail columns (one regional, one internationally syndicated) and freelance for other magazines. My non-alcoholic cocktail book (featuring original recipes) comes out in December. (I start Book Two next month.)

Our seminar was aimed at helping bars, restaurants and liquor companies make the most of the media. I've extracted some highlights from our seminar and added some personal notes:

1. Approach all types of press with your story ideas: blogs, magazines, newspapers, trade publications, etc.

2. Read several back issues of the targeted publication so you can suggest where your story / product might fit.

3. Explain your idea in 300 words or less, include contact info, any timely details.

4. Make your story idea specific and unique. Everyone says, “We have an awesome premium vodka!” A better pitch is: “Our awesome premium vodka is the only one in the world made from banana peels! We’re serving it to the Queen of England for her birthday bash held on a rocket ship to Jupiter!”

5. Send jpgs of the product / place / event with the pitch. Low-res is fine for online, and high-res 300 dpi is necessary for print.

6. Follow up by email a week or so later.

My personal requests, particularly regarding The Liquid Muse:

1. The Liquid Muse is devoted to cocktails, liquors, wines, bars, restaurants, destinations (travel) and the people related to them, with a particular focus on high-end / luxury angles. So, if you send me a “I (heart) Teddy Bears” T-shirt or ask me to publicize your beer-bong-a-thon, please understand that you are not talking to my demographic audience.

2. Don’t send me a press release about your new liquor and expect me to write about it without receiving a sample. Trust me, it’s not for yet another bottle of booze – my home bar over-floweth. I simply won't publicize a liquor I haven’t tasted.

3. Sending a sample doesn’t guarantee coverage. If I don't like the product, I’m probably not going to spend time writing about it. Ultimately, this is better for your product. I often write about things I love right away. If I'm too busy right then, I keep them in mind for future coverage.

4. Don't harrass me or write snippy follow up emails! If a review hasn’t gone up in a timely manner, keep in mind that my blog is a labor of love. I don’t make much money off it. If you aren’t paying for a review or advertisement, you are in line with all the other folks who want free publicity. Paying gigs always come first. A sample bottle of $12 booze, is not payment.

5. Refer to #2 – 4 for bar, restaurant and event coverage.

6. Send pitches via email. Do NOT pitch by phone. If I answer my phone, I’m usually driving. I live in LA. Driving is my very limited personal phone time. Don’t mess with it unless we have an appointment to speak by phone, or you'd like a Liquid Muse Signature Cocktail for an interesting and lucrative liquor launch or upcoming event. Then, please feel free to call me. If you want to pitch your bar or product for free publicity on my website, an email does the trick.

7. How can we work together? I'm always willing to cross-promote and team up on the right opportunities. E-me, then let's talk... I'm gearing up to re-vamp my website yet again, so I'm open to opportunities.

Please understand that I welcome your emails, press releases, invitations and product samples. I wish I had 6 employees because things would move a little faster on my end. I want to know what your PR clients are doing. I want to write about that fabulous new liqueur. I want to discover your restaurant / hotel / destination. Yes, I go on press trips.

I want to share all the fantastic, delicious, impressive things I experience with anyone who will listen. We want the same thing in the end --- we want to help people know how and where to spend their precious leisure time and money. And, they want to know, too. Help me help you, and we all win!

Vegas Bar & Nightlife Show

The Bar & Nightlife show kicks off in Las Vegas, today. I am going out tomorrow morning to speak on a panel at 3:30 called "Making the Most of the Media" with Jenny Adams and Ann Rogers (found of Tales of the Cocktail).

Let me know you're coming by leaving a note here, sending me an email through www.theliquidmuse.com ... or just swing by and say hello!

Drink In the History of New Orleans

According to legend, in the early 1800’s, Antoine Peychaud, a New Orleanian apothecary, prescribed a mixture of distilled spirit, bitters and sugar as a medicinal remedy. He mixed this concoction in an eggcup - or “coquetier” (ko-ke-tee-ay) - which over the years has morphed into the English word “cocktail.” Whether one ascribes this story as fact or fiction, one thing is for sure - few cities take their cocktails as seriously as New Orleans.

Reputed for its unique cuisine, architecture and history, New Orleans is the pinpoint on the world map to immerse oneself in authentic cocktail culture. Most residents have home bars. Grannies whip up batches of family specialties whose secret recipes are handed down from generation to generation. Tourists clog the sidewalks of Bourbon Street, visiting jazz bar after dance club, sipping from plastic cups of 7-11 Slurpee-style Hurricanes (made famous by Pat O’Briens). Meridith, now a 39-year old New Orleans native, even recalls her father being pulled over driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a cocktail, to which the officer suggested, “Now, drive carefully, and don’t spill your drink.”

Every meal of the day, in New Orleans, is an important one. And, every meal, including breakfast, includes an alcoholic beverage, or two. Many bars in the French Quarter, and beyond, are credited with creating some of the good, old classic cocktails, which are currently enjoying an international resurgence. Many places also present their own creations, or twists on the classics, which make dining and drinking an educational indulgence. The cocktails of New Orleans create their own guide to the Big Easy!

Café Pierre
The Loews New Orleans Hotel has several acclaimed dining spots from which to choose. For example, the historic Commander’s Palace restaurant, established in 1880, is the former stomping ground of famous New Orleans chef, Emeril Lagasse. Breakfast at the hotel’s Café Adelaide means being greeted with a smile and a Café Pierre, their version of a traditional Café Brulot. Sometimes also served as an after-dinner drink, a Café Brulot is a flaming coffee drink made with orange and lemon peels, sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and orange-flavored liqueur.

The café’s co-owner, Ti Adelaide, retrieved this recipe from her Aunt Claire, who with the help of a dining captain named Pierre, came up a twist on the NOLA favorite:

1 lime wedge
2 tablespoons sugar
1ounce brandy
1ounce kahlua
1 ounce Galliano
1 cup hot, strong, black coffee
1/4 cup sweetened whipped cream

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of a heatproof wineglass, then dip it into the sugar. Hold the glass by the stem, and turn it slowly over a low flame until the sugar caramelizes. Add the liquors and coffee. Top with cream. Serve immediately.

(And, when visiting the Loews, don’t forget to try the refreshing Swizzle Cocktail, created by the Swizzle Stick Bar’s respected female mixologist Lu Brow.)

Brandy Milk Punch
Café Adelaide’s other owner is Ti’s cousin Lally Brennan from the famous family behind Brennan’s Restaurants. Among other imbibe-able pleasures, Brennan’s Brandy Milk Punch is a favorite “eye opener,” as are called breakfast cocktails, in New Orleans:

1 cup ice cubes
1 1⁄2 oz. Napoleon brandy or bourbon
2 tbs. simple syrup
1⁄2 cup half and half
3⁄4 tsp. vanilla
pinch of nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, except nutmeg, in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously, then pour into a chilled old-fashioned glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

The Sazerac
The quintessential New Orleans classic cocktail is the Sazerac, which many people say was invented by Antoine Peychaud, himself. Sewell Taylor, who owned the Sazerac Coffeehouse is said to have served this drink around 1853, and only made it with a cognac he imported called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils. It is said that one of his bartenders came up with the idea of coating the glass with absinthe.

Today, the Sazerac Bar, located in the Fairmont Hotel serves its namesake, originally made from cognac, absinthe, sugar, lemon peel and Peychaud bitters. However, throughout the 20th century, expensive cognac was replaced with rye whiskey, and anis-flavored pastis was substituted when absinthe became illegal. Absinthe has just become legal again, a few months ago, and many bars in New Orleans are making use of it!

Pimm’s Cup
The nearly 200-year old Napoleon House was first occupied by the mayor of New Orleans, Nicholas Grid, from 1812 – 1815. It is rumored that the governor set about a plan to rescue the exiled Emperor Napoleon, and offered his own home as refuge. While Napoleon died before that plan could be put into action, the name stuck, and the Napoleon House has provided inspiration for writers and artists throughout most of the 20th century.

One of the most recent temporary residents was author Jenny Adams, who stayed at several New Orleanian landmarks while penning Mixing New Orleans, this spring. (Buy her book here.)

The Napoleon House is known for its Pimm’s Cup cocktail. While the establishment is quite secretive with its recipe, visitors can try to recreate it at home by purchasing the house-mix Pimm’s #1 and adding lemonade, 7-up and a cucumber garnish.

The Whacker
Liuzza’s was established in 1947, and is located well outside the French Quarter, in one of the neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina. After what locals call “that little weather incident,” the restaurant was submerged in 9 feet of water, and it took nearly a year to re-open.

I was fortunate enough to be turned on to this place by San Fran's Tablehopper, herself, Marcia Gagliardi. She invited me along to sample Liuzza’s decadent sandwich the “Frenchuletta” (a muffaletta served on French bread instead of traditional round white loaf) is a popular draw.


However, being the boozy floosie that I am, I was particularly drawn to the specialty drink of the house, aka: The Whacker, served in a frosty 18-ounce mug. Be forewarned that it is appropriately named. It goes down waaay too easily!

A month would not be enough time to cover everything New Orleans has to offer. However, a few additional alcohol-related highlights include:

• The Old New Orleans Rum Distillery has been stewing up Louisiana-grown sugar cane and molasses for over 10 years. Stop by for a tour, and support the local spirits industry!
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• The Bombay Club, located at 830 Conti Street and owned by lovebirds Richard & Willie (right) boasts more than 100 “specialty martinis” on its leather-bound drink menu. Catch Johnny Angel & The Swinging Angels, most weekends.
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• Cocktail enthusiasts and spirits industry professionals return “home” to New Orleans every summer for the international cocktail conference, Tales of the Cocktail. There is no better way to get to drink in the local cocktail history.

Mixing New Orleans!

Any cocktail lover knows that New Orleans is a mecca for spirits, of all kinds. I became acquainted with many fantastic cocktail books while attending the fifth annual Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, in July. However, the one that really grabbed my attention and pulled at my cocktail-loving heart strings was Mixing New Orleans.

The cocktail was invented in New Orleans, so this book, which shares wonderful old classic cocktail recipes, also educates the reader about the people behind the drinks. It provides an insiders peek into the places and lore surrounding this darkly intriguing and colorfully exuberant drinking city!

Author, Jennifer Adams spent weeks bouncing from shadowy bar to rowdy pub, from historic inn to luxury hotel and she interviewed bartenders, bar owners and barflies along the way. She takes us on a fascinating journey spanning centuries across the streets of The Big Easy. Jenny’s enthusiasm for the topic and editorial experience (Assoc. Editor for Nightclub & Bar Magazine, and writes the monthly “Hip to Sip” for Greater New Orleans Living Magazine) spins decades of cocktail history into tasty little digestible sips. (pictured here: myself and Jenny)

New Orleans is a city with an unwavering soul, and in the face of recent challenges the people and culture prevail. The “cocktail” is so integrated into the city’s identity that without a Sazerac, Pimm’s Cup or historical ties to Absinthe, New Orleans would be missing some of the most intriguing characters – and late night adventures – that make it the complex web of eccentricity that it is!

(Hey Santa! This is the kind of book you buy for yourself, and then throw in another copy for a friend.)

Laissez les bons temps rouler! (hiccup!)