Party in your glass: Twin Cities cocktails share Mardi Gras spirit

Next Tuesday is officially fat, meaning Mardi Gras partyers are already descending upon New Orleans with aspirations of getting tanked while avoiding jail time.

For better or worse (but mostly worse) an ungodly number of Hurricanes — the rum-soaked, sugar-bombed NOLA staple — will be consumed nationwide. Like a small-town Midwestern girl puking her way down Bourbon Street, the Hurricane is simultaneously sweet and trashy.

But New Orleans-style imbibing doesn't have to mean subjecting your liver to cloying abominations. The Big Easy is one of our nation's cocktail capitals and the birthplace of iconic elixirs that grace drink menus at world-class bars. While celebrating Mardi Gras, in lieu of going froufrou, hoist one of these upstanding New Orleans classics as interpreted by Twin Cities bartenders.

If Adam Gorski served this version of the almighty Sazerac — the New Orleans cocktail — in the French Quarter he'd be tied up and dragged down Canal Street by streetcar. New Orleans is so serious about its sazzies that there's an official "Seal of the Sazerac" awarded to bars that make them properly.

"It's the most aromatic of any cocktail if it's made right," said La Belle Vie's lead barman, who keeps a seasonally inspired Sazerac (his dad's favorite) on his menu. Still available is his rule-breaking fall version, which is all about aroma.

Calvados stands in for rye whiskey or the original cognac and New Orleans-born Peychaud's bitters is shunned for Angostura's baking-spice flavors, which play well with the French apple brandy. But in arguably the biggest departure, added water turns the strong, sharp beast into a gentle, easy sipper served in a wine glass (rinsed with absinthe, of course), opening up and capturing its divine nose. Proving that Punxsutawney Phil doesn't know jack, Gorski's spring iteration is coming soon.

510 Groveland Av., Mpls. • 612-874-6440 •

Think of the Vieux Carre as a NOLA-style Manhattan. Named for the French term for the French Quarter, this post-Prohibition drink is said to have been created at the district's Hotel Monteleone and after years of obscurity it has earned a place in the hearts of modern cocktailers.

Richfield's bibulous bright spot Lyn 65 slings a perfect Vieux Carre, blending sweet and white vermouths (Punt e Mes and Carpano Bianco for you cocktail nerds) in this cognac- and rye-based tipple. Eight weeks in fresh oak barrels softens and marries the spirits and vermouths with Benedictine (a French herbal liqueur) and Peychaud's and Angostura bitters, while lending a faint tannic bite.

6439 Lyndale Av. S., Richfield • 612-353-5501 • www.lyn65.com

Loathed by lazy bartenders everywhere, the Ramos Gin Fizz is a venerable, labor-intensive New Orleans creation requiring a great deal of shaking to emulsify its cream and egg white. But for Thomas Kim, it's the drink that started his liquid love affair.

"The Ramos Gin Fizz was actually the drink that turned me on to craft cocktails," the Rabbit Hole's chef/cocktail creator said. At his Korean gastropub, Kim serves a hybrid that borrows from the classic Aviation, with crème de violette and maraschino liqueur. The latter is added to a house sour cherry vinegar mix that balances the sweeter Old Tom gin in this floral and frothy tipple served in a martini glass.

www.eatdrinkrabbit.com

Brandy milk punch is a New Orleans brunch tradition seemingly tailored to us dairy- and brandy-loving Upper Midwesterners. Still, it's a relative scarcity on midmorning menus dominated by bloodies and mimosas.

Fortunately, Uptown hot spot Nightingale offers weekend brunchers a frothy version made with a milk jam comparable to a thinner sweetened condensed milk. House-made coffee-pecan bitters add a subtle nuttiness to this smooth and soothing day-starter. While we're partial to an aromatic nutmeg garnish, an orange peel gives an eye-opening citrusy fragrance with every sip.

2551 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. • 612-354-7060 •

www.nightingalempls.com