A brief stroll from New Orleans’ French Quarter and on the bottom ground of the upscale Lodge Fontenot you’ll discover the Peacock Room, which has been serving upscale cocktails — no TVs, even when the Saints are enjoying — to thirsty locals and guests alike. On a current journey — in the course of the first chill of fall to hit the town — we have been hosted by the bar to run by the highlights of their cocktail menu, which stands shoulder to shoulder with a few of the most creative and craft-focused within the metropolis.
Let’s begin with a few of Peacock’s originals which embrace the “layup” Flock to Me, constituted of Gray Goose Watermelon Basil, pressed honeydew juice, falernum, lemon, and pea flower tincture, which provides the cocktail a very distinctive coloration — blue on the underside, purple on high. It seems to be like Mardi Gras and tastes like honeydew sweet, although the bar workers take nice pains to make sure consistency, including sugar as wanted to even out the sweetness of every batch of house-made honeydew. Whereas this cocktail was a slurp-’em-down crowd pleaser, it was a bit candy for my style.
My favourite home cocktail was the Natural Advantage, constituted of Dickel rye, Atxa Pacharan (a sloeberry liqueur), and Boomsma Cloosterbitter, which is one thing of a Chartreuse substitute. Take an Outdated Usual and provides it a spicy, fruity kick and also you’ve bought this instant hit, which segues from its natural and whiskey-forward parts to a curious coconut notice on the tip.
The El Pavo Actual — Herradura blanco, ancho chili, hibiscus, and pomegranate — would have felt higher on a hotter day, its heavy chili notice at first a bit disarming. Because the ice melts, the cocktail evolves superbly, letting the pomegranate do extra of the heavy lifting.
Like several good NOLA bar, Peacock Room additionally presents some native classics, together with a Sazerac and a high-end Hurricane made with Brugal Anejo rum, Hamilton 151, and actual passionfruit and lemon juices. I cherished this model of the cocktail, significantly the presentation, full with a hurricane-destroyed paper umbrella. We closed issues out with the Layover in Glasgow, which is Peacock’s riff on a Paper Aircraft, including Earl Gray and grapefruit to the recipe (in lieu of lemon), which brightens issues up properly. The tea notes are extremely clear — and a worthy addition to the drink.
Service on the Peacock Room is fast and environment friendly, partially as a result of the bar focuses on draft and batched cocktails with a purpose to enhance consistency. The pains taken to get recipes good are simpler to do once you’ve making them a gallon at a time — however taste-corrected and adjusted right down to the drop. The room’s decor is elegant — this was the lodge’s indoor pool — full with stuffed peacocks that, we’re instructed, are good for selfies whether or not or not you occur to be at a bachelorette get together.
501 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans
hotelfontenot.com
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