Sue Strachan, Journalist and Author
THE OBITUARY COCKTAIL
Sue Strachan and her book, The Obituary Cocktail (photo of Sue Strachan, left, and an Obituary Cocktail being made, right, by Chris Granger)
sue strachan: the obituary cocktail
Interview by Paul Oswell
Sue Strachan is a journalist and author. Her latest book is The Obituary Cocktail ($24.95, LSU Press), the latest in its Iconic New Orleans Cocktail series that includes Café Brûlot (also written by her) and Absinthe Frappe. The book has just been published - we caught up with Sue fresh from the release event.
Hi Sue, congratulations on the new book - you just had your release party at Garden District Book Shop, how did that go?
Yes, it was last Friday night. They’ve transformed it so you've got the bookstore in the front and then you've got the bar in the back and you can sit and hang out and read books. It's really well done. We had music by Tiago Guy, my friends, and the Grand and Secret Society of the Obituary Cocktail, which is in my book. Just this huge mass of humanity!
Sounds like a good New Orleans book launch.
Yeah, it was a good book launch. They ran out of books, and I didn’t do a speech, because nobody wants that when they’re having a good time (laughs).
That’s called being a great host! I actually don't know what an obituary cocktail is, could you tell me what it is in your own words?
So it is a gin, vermouth and absinthe. You could say it’s a gin martini with absinthe. How much absinthe you put in is up to you.
So, pretty boozy.
I'm friends with Ted Breaux, who's the absinthe expert. He likes to make the drink on the absinthe-heavy side, and I'm not saying this is the formula, but basically two parts gin and then one part vermouth, one part absinthe. But, you can dial the absinthe back. Some places will make it like a gin martini and just spray some absinthe at the end, or do an absinthe wash on the inside of the glass.
What drew you to write about this drink?
Well, I wrote 'The Café Brûlot' book, and they approached me about writing another for this series. They showed me the list of what was left and the Obituary Cocktail caught my eye. I’d actually never had it before. It’s something of a forgotten cocktail.
Yes, I don't remember seeing it on a lot of menus.
It’s not famous like, say, the Ramos Gin Fizz. For some reason, it kind of slips through. The only one that had it on their menu for a while was at Jewel of the South. But if any bartender knows how to make a good gin martini and the bar has absinthe or Herbsaint, they can do this.
Could you give us a little potted history and what its connection to New Orleans is, if any?
Well, there are a lot of cocktails that have their origins in New Orleans, but the claims are still kind of murky. There's a book in the series about the Brandy Milk Punch, which was not really invented in New Orleans, but we like to say it was popularized here. There’s no local “A-ha!” moment where the Obituary Cocktail was invented in the city.
But it gained notoriety or a following here - what kind of time are we talking?
Around the early 1940s. That's when I first saw it mentioned in publication in a book, 'The Bachelor of New Orleans'.
Why do you think it fell out of fashion? Why is it a forgotten cocktail?
One issue is that absinthe was not readily available legally in the US until 2007. I just don't think it really hit anyone's radar. Another reason is that it has an anise flavor to it, and a lot of people just don't like that flavor, so it's a tough one for some people to take. It depends what anise you use.
What do you mean?
Well, for example, someone asked me, can I use anything with anise in place of absinthe, like sambuca? I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. It's a totally different anise. That's star anise. That’s too strong. The sweet spot is using green anise, which is the same botanical family as parsley. It’s a more subtle flavor.
So the first one you had was after you decided to write the book!
Yes, and I loved it. Actually the first one I had was at the Elysian Bar and they didn't have absinthe at that time, so they gave me one with Herbsaint, which was lovely. Every place changes up the recipe a little bit. Cure adds orange bitters to it. Jewel of the South adds a bar spoon of creme de menthe.
Are there any cool stories or interesting history that came up in your research?
Aside from the drink itself, I thought the interesting thing was that New Orleans used to have nightlife columnists. There were dedicated nightlife columnists who went out and wrote about what they saw.
That’s quite the beat. Why don't we have one now?
I know, like, oh, my God. What a job, just going out in the French Quarter. I'm sorry, that's a dream. Nightlife correspondent. The French Quarter was very vibrant in those days. Tennessee Williams would go to Café Lafitte, where the drink was invented in New Orleans. There's a famous quote, by the late restaurateur Ella Brennan: “I didn't go to finishing school, I went to Cafe Lafitte.”
Ha! So Tales of the Cocktail is here, are you involved in any events?
I'm doing a book signing but hat's really the only thing I'm going to do there. But there's so much else going on. It's a crazy time. It's fun, but it's all about pacing.
OK, thanks for talking to us, and Godspeed to your liver for Tales!
You can buy Sue's book, 'The Obituary Cocktail' from LSU Press
Sue Strachan is a journalist and author. Her latest book is The Obituary Cocktail ($24.95, LSU Press), the latest in its Iconic New Orleans Cocktail series that includes Café Brûlot (also written by her) and Absinthe Frappe. The book has just been published - we caught up with Sue fresh from the release event.
Hi Sue, congratulations on the new book - you just had your release party at Garden District Book Shop, how did that go?
Yes, it was last Friday night. They’ve transformed it so you've got the bookstore in the front and then you've got the bar in the back and you can sit and hang out and read books. It's really well done. We had music by Tiago Guy, my friends, and the Grand and Secret Society of the Obituary Cocktail, which is in my book. Just this huge mass of humanity!
Sounds like a good New Orleans book launch.
Yeah, it was a good book launch. They ran out of books, and I didn’t do a speech, because nobody wants that when they’re having a good time (laughs).
That’s called being a great host! I actually don't know what an obituary cocktail is, could you tell me what it is in your own words?
So it is a gin, vermouth and absinthe. You could say it’s a gin martini with absinthe. How much absinthe you put in is up to you.
So, pretty boozy.
I'm friends with Ted Breaux, who's the absinthe expert. He likes to make the drink on the absinthe-heavy side, and I'm not saying this is the formula, but basically two parts gin and then one part vermouth, one part absinthe. But, you can dial the absinthe back. Some places will make it like a gin martini and just spray some absinthe at the end, or do an absinthe wash on the inside of the glass.
What drew you to write about this drink?
Well, I wrote 'The Café Brûlot' book, and they approached me about writing another for this series. They showed me the list of what was left and the Obituary Cocktail caught my eye. I’d actually never had it before. It’s something of a forgotten cocktail.
Yes, I don't remember seeing it on a lot of menus.
It’s not famous like, say, the Ramos Gin Fizz. For some reason, it kind of slips through. The only one that had it on their menu for a while was at Jewel of the South. But if any bartender knows how to make a good gin martini and the bar has absinthe or Herbsaint, they can do this.
Could you give us a little potted history and what its connection to New Orleans is, if any?
Well, there are a lot of cocktails that have their origins in New Orleans, but the claims are still kind of murky. There's a book in the series about the Brandy Milk Punch, which was not really invented in New Orleans, but we like to say it was popularized here. There’s no local “A-ha!” moment where the Obituary Cocktail was invented in the city.
But it gained notoriety or a following here - what kind of time are we talking?
Around the early 1940s. That's when I first saw it mentioned in publication in a book, 'The Bachelor of New Orleans'.
Why do you think it fell out of fashion? Why is it a forgotten cocktail?
One issue is that absinthe was not readily available legally in the US until 2007. I just don't think it really hit anyone's radar. Another reason is that it has an anise flavor to it, and a lot of people just don't like that flavor, so it's a tough one for some people to take. It depends what anise you use.
What do you mean?
Well, for example, someone asked me, can I use anything with anise in place of absinthe, like sambuca? I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. It's a totally different anise. That's star anise. That’s too strong. The sweet spot is using green anise, which is the same botanical family as parsley. It’s a more subtle flavor.
So the first one you had was after you decided to write the book!
Yes, and I loved it. Actually the first one I had was at the Elysian Bar and they didn't have absinthe at that time, so they gave me one with Herbsaint, which was lovely. Every place changes up the recipe a little bit. Cure adds orange bitters to it. Jewel of the South adds a bar spoon of creme de menthe.
Are there any cool stories or interesting history that came up in your research?
Aside from the drink itself, I thought the interesting thing was that New Orleans used to have nightlife columnists. There were dedicated nightlife columnists who went out and wrote about what they saw.
That’s quite the beat. Why don't we have one now?
I know, like, oh, my God. What a job, just going out in the French Quarter. I'm sorry, that's a dream. Nightlife correspondent. The French Quarter was very vibrant in those days. Tennessee Williams would go to Café Lafitte, where the drink was invented in New Orleans. There's a famous quote, by the late restaurateur Ella Brennan: “I didn't go to finishing school, I went to Cafe Lafitte.”
Ha! So Tales of the Cocktail is here, are you involved in any events?
I'm doing a book signing but hat's really the only thing I'm going to do there. But there's so much else going on. It's a crazy time. It's fun, but it's all about pacing.
OK, thanks for talking to us, and Godspeed to your liver for Tales!
You can buy Sue's book, 'The Obituary Cocktail' from LSU Press