Fire in the hole: Café Brûlot brings the heat
Café Brûlot and New Orleans
with Sue Strachan
We’re coming to the end of a light dinner at old-school dining institution Antoine’s, and the tablecloth notably appears to be on fire. A ring of flames dances around a freshly-delivered Baked Alaska, itself about the size of a small family car. At one point, both the dessert and the tablecloth are ablaze. People are turning round to look.
No need to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded restaurant, though. This is part of the presentation of the restaurant’s cocktail, the Café Brûlot, and I’m sitting (actually sitting back from the table until the flames recede) with writer Sue Strachan. I’m in good hands. The server is specially trained to serve this cocktail, and Sue literally wrote the book on it.
The furnace dies down, the tablecloth a little worse for wear but not singed by the alcohol burning off. Spectators return to their dinners. Sue’s book, The Café Brûlot came out last year, the second in a series by LSU Press on iconic New Orleans cocktails. The Sazerac, Absinthe Frappe and Vieux Carré will all form part of the same collection.
“I wrote the book during lockdown,” says Sue. “LSU Press contacted me because they liked my writing and they gave me a cocktail list that I could choose from. I chose the Café Brûlot because it’s festive and fun and it smells like Christmas. And with the fire, it’s the most dramatic of New Orleans cocktails.”
There’s no argument from me; I’m busy checking to make sure I didn’t lose an eyebrow or something. What with Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee, New Orleans does seem to have a thing for flambéed food and drinks. “It really does, and this version of Café Brûlot is very New Orleans. There’s a link to Armagnac in France, and most of the old line restaurants were founded by people from in and around that region - including Antoine Alciatore, Arnaud Cazenave and Jean Galatoire.”
The exact origins of the cocktail - as with most drinks that were invented in or before the 19th century - is steeped in legend. You should buy Sue’s book for the full story, but even the pirate Jean Lafitte is in the mix of its origins..
The cocktail’s popularity grew in New Orleans towards the end of the 1800s, and it’s referenced in historic cocktail manuals and by the city’s famous correspondent, Lafcadio Hearn. Well-to-do families would make it for Christmas, and it became a tradition for ‘ladies who lunch’ to make it at home over the festive period.
Café Brûlot's classic ingredients are brandy, hot coffee, lemon, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves, with optional orange or cherry liqueur. It’s something of a speciality drink, and it comes with its own set of tools. You need a large bowl, a special ladle with a built-in strainer, the steadiest of hands and ideally, cups adorned with the red devil. This scarlet-clad satan was designed by Jules Alciatore, the son of Antoine Alciatore, who based it on the character of Mephistopheles from Goethe’s Faust. It’s a design still used by Antoine’s to this day.
“You can improvise with the accessories and ingredients to some extent of course,” says Sue. “I’d say you need a dark roast or chicory blend coffee to stand up to the flavors in the cocktail. Brandy can be any kind of brandy - cognac, armagnac - and it’s kind of fun when you start to switch the orange liqueurs. You can use curacao, triple sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau. My favorite version, though, is the kirschwasser cherry brandy with the chicory coffee.”
During her presumably grueling research, Sue tried every variation, but she was no stranger to the drink. “I don’t remember the very first time I had one, but I suspect it was here in Antoine’s while I was in college here in the 1980s and I’ve had it many times since. I would say that most of the meals that I’ve had in restaurants such as here, Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s, Broussard’s and Commander’s Palace have ended with a Café Brûlot.”
The show-stopping presentation over, our server pours us a cup each from the bowl. It really does smell like Christmas, and it’s a perfect after-dinner drink, especially if you want something memorable…and perhaps with a hint of danger?
“It’s more like showmanship than danger,” laughs Sue. “It’s like the Blue Blazer (another flambéed cocktail) or even something like a really good Martini, although admittedly even a great Martini doesn’t quite have the pizzazz that the Café Brûlot does.”
Pizzazz is definitely the word, as our poor tablecloth can attest to. I’ll certainly remember my first Café Brûlot, though with my panoramic clumsiness and rising insurance rates to contend with, I think I’ll leave it to the professionals to serve up for now. (PO)
Sue Strachan's book, Café Brûlot, is available from LSU Press
with Sue Strachan
We’re coming to the end of a light dinner at old-school dining institution Antoine’s, and the tablecloth notably appears to be on fire. A ring of flames dances around a freshly-delivered Baked Alaska, itself about the size of a small family car. At one point, both the dessert and the tablecloth are ablaze. People are turning round to look.
No need to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded restaurant, though. This is part of the presentation of the restaurant’s cocktail, the Café Brûlot, and I’m sitting (actually sitting back from the table until the flames recede) with writer Sue Strachan. I’m in good hands. The server is specially trained to serve this cocktail, and Sue literally wrote the book on it.
The furnace dies down, the tablecloth a little worse for wear but not singed by the alcohol burning off. Spectators return to their dinners. Sue’s book, The Café Brûlot came out last year, the second in a series by LSU Press on iconic New Orleans cocktails. The Sazerac, Absinthe Frappe and Vieux Carré will all form part of the same collection.
“I wrote the book during lockdown,” says Sue. “LSU Press contacted me because they liked my writing and they gave me a cocktail list that I could choose from. I chose the Café Brûlot because it’s festive and fun and it smells like Christmas. And with the fire, it’s the most dramatic of New Orleans cocktails.”
There’s no argument from me; I’m busy checking to make sure I didn’t lose an eyebrow or something. What with Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee, New Orleans does seem to have a thing for flambéed food and drinks. “It really does, and this version of Café Brûlot is very New Orleans. There’s a link to Armagnac in France, and most of the old line restaurants were founded by people from in and around that region - including Antoine Alciatore, Arnaud Cazenave and Jean Galatoire.”
The exact origins of the cocktail - as with most drinks that were invented in or before the 19th century - is steeped in legend. You should buy Sue’s book for the full story, but even the pirate Jean Lafitte is in the mix of its origins..
The cocktail’s popularity grew in New Orleans towards the end of the 1800s, and it’s referenced in historic cocktail manuals and by the city’s famous correspondent, Lafcadio Hearn. Well-to-do families would make it for Christmas, and it became a tradition for ‘ladies who lunch’ to make it at home over the festive period.
Café Brûlot's classic ingredients are brandy, hot coffee, lemon, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves, with optional orange or cherry liqueur. It’s something of a speciality drink, and it comes with its own set of tools. You need a large bowl, a special ladle with a built-in strainer, the steadiest of hands and ideally, cups adorned with the red devil. This scarlet-clad satan was designed by Jules Alciatore, the son of Antoine Alciatore, who based it on the character of Mephistopheles from Goethe’s Faust. It’s a design still used by Antoine’s to this day.
“You can improvise with the accessories and ingredients to some extent of course,” says Sue. “I’d say you need a dark roast or chicory blend coffee to stand up to the flavors in the cocktail. Brandy can be any kind of brandy - cognac, armagnac - and it’s kind of fun when you start to switch the orange liqueurs. You can use curacao, triple sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau. My favorite version, though, is the kirschwasser cherry brandy with the chicory coffee.”
During her presumably grueling research, Sue tried every variation, but she was no stranger to the drink. “I don’t remember the very first time I had one, but I suspect it was here in Antoine’s while I was in college here in the 1980s and I’ve had it many times since. I would say that most of the meals that I’ve had in restaurants such as here, Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s, Broussard’s and Commander’s Palace have ended with a Café Brûlot.”
The show-stopping presentation over, our server pours us a cup each from the bowl. It really does smell like Christmas, and it’s a perfect after-dinner drink, especially if you want something memorable…and perhaps with a hint of danger?
“It’s more like showmanship than danger,” laughs Sue. “It’s like the Blue Blazer (another flambéed cocktail) or even something like a really good Martini, although admittedly even a great Martini doesn’t quite have the pizzazz that the Café Brûlot does.”
Pizzazz is definitely the word, as our poor tablecloth can attest to. I’ll certainly remember my first Café Brûlot, though with my panoramic clumsiness and rising insurance rates to contend with, I think I’ll leave it to the professionals to serve up for now. (PO)
Sue Strachan's book, Café Brûlot, is available from LSU Press
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