We’re signing in after a wonderfully exhausting New Year’s in New Orleans. I thought traveling around the world was tough – but spending four days eating fried shrimp po’ boys, crawfish with spicy tasso, and barbequed shrimp (that was just me, Cheryl doesn’t even eat seafood!) plus washing all the spicy stuff down with 151 Octane slushies from Decatur Street vendors, Abita beers and vodka martini’s at Erin Rose, or Sazerac’s from Tujaque’s (see recipe below)…oh my! I love New Orleans!

My mom lives in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street, so we get a chance to see it all. Drag queens that make me so mad I can’t look as good as they do, bead throwing revelers, Hand Grenades, and tributes to the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. This trip was expecially nice as we got a chance to reconnect with family – Janice and Gladys – so much fun!

We slept upstairs in the loft – on an air mattress – but after so many lumpy hostel beds, this wasn’t too bad at all. Amazing how differently you look at things after 18 months of being on the road!

Sazerac cocktail

·     1 sugar cube

·     1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (Sazerac rye)

·     2 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters

·     Dash of angostura bitters

·     Dash of absinthe (can substitute Herbsaint, Pernod, or Ricard)

·     Twist of lemon peel

The traditional method: Pack a 3-1/2 ounce Old Fashioned (rocks) glass with ice. In another Old Fashioned glass, moisten the sugar cube with just enough water to saturate it, then crush. Blend with the whiskey and bitters. Add a few cubes of ice and stir to chill. Discard the ice from the first glass and pour in the absinthe. Coat the inside of the entire glass, pouring out the excess. Strain the whiskey into the absinthe coated glass. Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that the lemon oil cascades into the drink, then rub the peel over the rim of the glass.

 

 

 

 

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