Pat O'Brien's Bar is a bar located in New Orleans, Louisiana that began operation as a legal liquor establishment on December 3, 1933, at the intersection of Royal and St. Peter streets in the French Quarter. [1] Before that, during Prohibition the bar was known as Mr. O'Brien's Club Tipperary; the password "storm's brewin'" was required to gain entrance to the establishment. In December 1942 it moved to its present location at 718 St. Peter Street, into a historic building dating from 1791. [2] Pat O'Brien's is home to the original flaming fountain (located in the courtyard) and the hurricane cocktail. There is also a piano bar, featuring twin "dueling" pianos where local entertainers take song requests. The dueling piano bar is thought to be the first of its kind. [3]
O'Brien is reported to have invented the hurricane cocktail in the 1940s. The story of the drink's origin holds that, due to difficulties importing scotch during World War II, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to buy up to 50 cases of their much-more-plentiful rum in order to secure a single case of good whiskey or scotch. [4] The barmen at Pat O'Brien's came up with an appealing recipe to reduce their bulging surplus of rum. When they decided to serve it in a hurricane glass, shaped like a hurricane lamp, the hurricane was born. [5]
Other locations of Pat O'Brien's Bar:
Mojito is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors is intended to complement the rum, and has made the mojito a popular summer drink.
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré, a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.
The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combination of cognac or rye whiskey, absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar, although bourbon whiskey is sometimes substituted for the rye and Herbsaint is sometimes substituted for the absinthe. Some claim it is the oldest known American cocktail, with origins in antebellum New Orleans, although drink historian David Wondrich is among those who dispute this, and American instances of published usage of the word cocktail to describe a mixture of spirits, bitters, and sugar can be traced to the dawn of the 19th century.
Bourbon Street is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs.
The Hand Grenade is a cocktail drink, sold frozen or on the rocks exclusively through five licensed nightclub bars in the New Orleans French Quarter.
The hurricane cocktail is a sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, lemon juice, and either passion fruit syrup or fassionola. It is one of many popular drinks served in New Orleans. It is traditionally served in the tall, curvy eponymous hurricane glass. Disposable plastic cups are also used because New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass containers.
A piano bar consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician. Piano bars can be located in a cocktail lounge, bar, hotel lobby, office building lobby, restaurant, or on a cruise ship. Usually the pianist receives a small salary plus tips in a jar or basket on or near the piano, especially from patrons requesting a song traditionally written on a beverage napkin. Some piano bars feature a baby grand or grand piano surrounded by stools for patrons. Others have a bar surrounding the piano or keyboard.
A flaming drink is a cocktail or other mixed drink that contains flammable, high-proof alcohol, which is ignited before consumption. The alcohol may be an integral part of the drink, or it may be floated as a thin layer across the top of the drink. The flames are mostly for dramatic flair. However, in combination with certain ingredients, the flavor of the drink is altered. Some flavors are enhanced, and the process may impart a toasted flavor to some drinks.
A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice and carbonated water. It typically includes gin or rum as its alcoholic ingredient.
Dueling pianos is a form of entertainment, usually on stage with two grand pianos, each played by a professional player who sings and entertains; humor and audience participation are prevalent. Usually these types of piano bars have substantial sound systems, and most of the songs performed are rock and roll, "classic rock", Top 40, R&B, or country, played primarily by request. The modern format originated in late 1986 at Alley Cats in Dallas, Texas, and was based on the old-style dueling pianos still found at Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans.
The Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge is the only revolving bar in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bar is inside the Hotel Monteleone and overlooks Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Installed in 1949, the 25-seat circular bar turns on 2,000 large steel rollers, powered by a 1⁄4 hp (190 W) motor. The bar rotates at a rate of one revolution every 15 minutes. In addition to the rotating bar, an adjoining room includes booths and tables with live entertainment offered nightly.
A Signature drink is any unique or original drink that expresses the nature of the person or establishment creating it.
A well drink or rail drink is an alcoholic beverage served using the lower-cost liquors stored within easy reach of the bartender in the counter "speed rail", "speed rack", or "well".
A hurricane glass is a form of drinking glass which typically will contain 20 US fluid ounces. It is used to serve mixed drinks, particularly the Hurricane from which it is named originating at Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans. Other drinks served in this glass include the Singapore Sling, June bug, piña colada and Blue Hawaii. It is shaped similarly to a vase or a hurricane lamp and is typically taller and wider than a highball glass.
The cuisine of New Orleans encompasses common dishes and foods in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is perhaps the most distinctively recognized regional cuisine in the United States. Some of the dishes originated in New Orleans, while others are common and popular in the city and surrounding areas, such as the Mississippi River Delta and southern Louisiana. The cuisine of New Orleans is heavily influenced by Creole cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and soul food. Seafood also plays a prominent part in the cuisine. Dishes invented in New Orleans include po' boy and muffuletta sandwiches, oysters Rockefeller and oysters Bienville, pompano en papillote, and bananas Foster, among others.
An astro pop cocktail is a layered cocktail, mixed drink or shooter so named because it resembles the Astro Pop lollipop candy brand. Various recipes exist that use liquor and liqueurs to produce the drink. A version of the drink exists that is layered with red, white, and blue colors and served in a shot glass. It is a popular alcoholic beverage in some drinking establishments.
Warren Bobrow is a mixologist, chef, and writer known as the Cocktail Whisperer. Bobrow is a freelance mixologist specializing in Craft Spirits. He has developed bar programs and implemented their cocktail and ice programs. Warren served as master mixologist for several brands of liquor, including the Busted Barrel rum produced by New Jersey's first licensed distillery since Prohibition.
Cheryl Charming is an American bar professional and published author of 16 books on cocktails and bartending. She currently works as the Bar Director at the Bourbon "O” Bar in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 2014 was named the New Orleans Magazine Mixologist of the Year. She is nationally known for her bartending and books.