Creative Distilling in New Orleans

Sometimes you want to escape the hustle and bustle of pompous circumstances and complex cocktails and simply kick back with a satisfying drink. The Euphrosine Gin Rickey is the drink that fits these desires and the place to find it is on the far end of Bienville Avenue, near City Park, at Mick’s Irish Pub.

Made with Euphrosine Gin #9, lime juice, soda water, and a lime slice garnish, the Euphrosine Gin Rickey is a satisfying thirst-quencher for these days when the thermometer flirts with triple digits.

“If you’ve been sweating all day, cleaning your house, or working outside, it’s perfect for hot New Orleans summers. Especially if you’re a gin drinker.” So opines the man behind the drink, bartender Mike Sobol.

Euphrosine Gin Rickey at Mick’s Irish Pub

Ready to participate in Euphrosine Season? Send us your review of Mick’s Euphrosine Gin Rickey and you’re halfway to claiming your Euphrosine Season Founding Member T-Shirt! See our Euphrosine Season page for additional details.

Bartender Mike Sobol at Mick’s Irish Pub with the Euphrosine Gin Rickey

Coming next: Mid-City Prankster from Ralph’s on the Park.

At Tommy’s Wine Bar, the sumptuous decor and long sleek bar inspire a certain sophistication, when imagining what to drink there. The complex flavor profile of Euphrosine Gin #9 inspired bartender Dale Comardelle to rise to the challenge with a refined cross between a French 75 and a Campari Spritzer.

The Euphrosine Spritzer includes Euphrosine Gin #9, Campari, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It’s served in a champagne flute, topped off with prosecco, and garnished with an elegant curlicue of lemon peel.

The Euphrosine Spritzer

How does it taste, we ask Dale? “Not too sweet, not too tart – must be just right!”

Ready to participate in Euphrosine Season? Send us your review of the Euphrosine Spritzer and you’re halfway to claiming your Euphrosine Season Founding Member T-Shirt! See our Euphrosine Season page for additional details.

Bartender Dale Comardelle with the Euphrosine Spritzer

Coming next: Gin Rickey from Mick’s Irish Pub

At any restaurant that attains legendary status, it’s typical that the poise and sophistication you experience is the result of many skilled hands working together. This is also the story of Brennan’s superlative Local’s Gin & Tonic, which came together through a sequence of Brennan’s mixologists and spirits enthusiasts who originated the cocktail and mix it to perfection to the present day.

Keeping the flame alive is Brennan’s mixologist Sarah Arceneaux, who combines Euphrosine Gin #9, Fever Tree tonic, an edible orchid flower, juniper berries, and an optional bay leaf; all mixed on the rocks and presented in a stemmed wine glass. The bay leaf is a flavorful reference to the savory note of bay leaf found in Euphrosine Gin #9.

The Local’s Gin & Tonic is a great summer time pre-dinner cocktail and recommended as a palate-cleanser; a way to “cleanse the day” after a hot summer’s day. It’s a great preparation for an amazing dining experience to follow. Fine local spirits like Euphrosine are a great fit for Brennan’s focus on high quality and local excellence.

The Local’s Gin & Tonic

Why a flower? “Everyone smiles when they get a flower.”

Ready to participate in Euphrosine Season? Send us your review of The Local’s Gin & Tonic and you’re halfway to claiming your Euphrosine Season Founding Member T-Shirt! See our Euphrosine Season page for additional details.

Sarah Arceneaux with The Local’s Gin & Tonic, in the courtyard at Brennan’s

Coming next: Euphrosine Spritzer from Tommy’s Wine Bar.

Our Euphrosine Season cocktail introductions will continue tomorrow. For the moment, we’d like to welcome seven new accounts across the state that have chosen to serve and sell our locally crafted spirits.

The Bulldog (Baton Rouge)
Hokus Pokus Liquors (Lake Charles)
Houmas House (Darrow, LA)
Lake Street Liquor Store (Lake Charles)
Mizado Cocina (New Orleans)
Tony’s Beverages (Shreveport)
Whole Foods Market (Baton Rouge)

See the full list of locations for purchasing and enjoying Atelier Vie spirits.

Photo credit: JR Thomason

When the weather gets hot, it’s time to think tropical. Mixologist Megan at Pearl Wine Bar created the Bayou Sunset with a negroni in mind as a starting point, but took it in a summer-focused direction with fruit juice; and toned down the bitterness by substituting Casoni 1814 for Campari.

The Bayou Sunset includes Euphrosine Gin #9, Casoni 1814, muddled orange, orange bitters, pineapple juice, and lemon peel garnish. Served in a coupe glass, it’s balanced cocktail and a great way to take your mind off the heat.

Bayou Sunset at Pearl Wine Bar

Ready to participate in Euphrosine Season? Send us your review of the Bayou Sunset and you’re halfway to claiming your Euphrosine Season Founding Member T-Shirt! See our Euphrosine Season page for additional details.

A professional hand model at Pearl Wine Bar provides a simulation of what you might expect to be served when you order a Bayou Sunset.

Coming next: The Local’s Gin & Tonic from Brennan’s.

The Season.
Welcome to the Season.
What Season is that?
Euphrosine Season.
Euphrosine Season?

Yes indeed. It’s Euphrosine Season, a summer-long celebration of cocktails made with the best gin distilled in New Orleans, Euphrosine Gin #9. Two gold medals in national spirits competitions. Pot-distilled with a bold and complex flavor profile. Found on the menu at a fine selection of participating restaurants and bars in New Orleans.

In the days ahead, we’ll introduce the Season’s featured cocktails, their creators, and the places you can find them.

While drinking these cocktails can be a reward unto itself, we’re increasing the scale of the festivities with audience participation. Cocktail enthusiasts are encouraged to seek out and sip these locavore thirst-quenchers; and report on their findings. Send us two reviews and you’ll be entitled to a Euphrosine Season Founding Member T-shirt.

Local writers are invited to enter our essay contest and mixologists can enter our cocktail contest.

Full details are on our Euphrosine Season page, which will be updated throughout the season.

Coming next: introducing our first two cocktails.