De La Louisiane
A New Orleans classic: the spicy bite of rye, the body of sweet vermouth and a trace of anise from absinthe.
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey, overproof if you can, for balance50 ml
- Absinthe4 dashes
- Bénédictinee.g. DOM Bénédictine10 ml
- Sweet vermouth, Italian style25 ml
- Peychaud's bitters3 dashes
- Cocktail cherry, to garnish (optional)1 whole
Method
- Put a coupe or Nick & Nora glass in the freezer, or fill it with iced water, so it gets properly cold.
- Add the rye whiskey, absinthe, Bénédictine, sweet vermouth and Peychaud's bitters to a mixing glass.
- Fill the mixing glass with plenty of ice and stir steadily for 30–45 seconds, until the drink is properly chilled and diluted.
- Strain through a julep or fine strainer into the cold glass.
- Drop a cocktail cherry into the glass to garnish.
About this drink
The De La Louisiane was created at the New Orleans restaurant of the same name and first written down in Stanley Clisby Arthur's 1937 book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em. It sits somewhere between a Manhattan and a Sazerac, but the honeyed herbal notes of Bénédictine and a trace of absinthe give it a deeply aromatic character of its own. It carries the city's French Creole soul in a single glass.
Questions and answers
What makes the De La Louisiane a New Orleans classic?
Absinthe and Peychaud's bitters are two signatures of the city's cocktail history, and here they meet the honeyed spice of Bénédictine in this rye-based sibling of the Sazerac.
Can you leave out the Bénédictine?
No: it carries much of the drink's spiced complexity. Without it you lose both the sweetness and the honeyed herbal notes that tie the rye, vermouth and bitters together.
