New Orleans Pharmacists

I am such an unrepentant geek that rather than go early to Diageo’s fantastic happy hour at the Presbytere, I stayed on at Tales to attend the New Orleans Pharmacists session.

The Sazerac Poncho

Moderator Phil Greene was joined by Lorin Gaudin, Jay Hendrickson and Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh to talk about the unique contribution that pharmacists from New Orleans have made to the history of the American cocktail.

Phil is a decedent of the family that brought us our beloved Peychaud’s bitters, an essential component of the Sazerac cocktail. Phil shared with us his latest research into the Peychaud story, and concluded by demonstrating the proper preparation of the iconic cocktail. I hope next year’s swag bags will include a Sazerac poncho, a necessary element if you want to follow Phil’s example and toss the glass in the air to achieve the optimum Herbsainte rinse.

Ted Haigh then shared his research an insights into other pharmacists from the golden age of cocktails, complete with a plea to Joe Fee to produce Stoughton’s bitters.

Lorin Gaudin shared the important history of the Ursuline nuns and their herb garden. Their convent can still be visited today, where the garden is currently maintained by local chefs. She also educated us about Nectar syrup, so now I must go track some down.

Finally, Jay Hendrickson shared the history of Herbsainte, the New Orleans absinthe substitute made by A. Lengendre. He also let us know that current brand owners Sazerac company will be launching the original recipe Herbsainte soon, which I’m really looking forward to trying.

This is the sort of session that makes Tales of the Cocktail worthwhile. And I still made the Diageo happy hour!