http://www.whereyat.com/neworleans/articles.sec-8-1-cocktail.html The girl who tries to take my cocktail is wearing flat, fringed boots and red pigtails. We meet, briefly, on a balmy afternoon on Frenchmen Street, where I’m sitting on a stoop with Christopher Starnes. He’s just crafted Persephone’s Downfall, a blushing drink dancing with crunchy pomegranate seeds.]]> The festivities begin in the middle of the week. Wine dinners start on Wednesday at many restaurants from prestigious French Quarter restaurants, like Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse to Metairie eateries like Heritage Grill, to across the lake at Annadele’s Plantation in Covington.]]>  I plucked a craft cocktail from Sweet Olive’s menu, then twisted around to see who was behind the bar. Nobody, as it turned out – here, servers take turns making the drinks. One of those ser]]>  When I tended bar, I saw people in pain – headaches and bashed egos, mostly—but nobody expected me to fix them. By then, the era of bartender as healer – during Prohibition, when bartender]]> Around the holidays, a friend gave me a bottle of Fiery Pepper, a “naughty” blend of Southern Comfort and Tabasco sauce (they share a Louisiana heritage and a history—the hot sauce came about in]]>  The message is short and secret and sends me to a Mid-City street, where I land just shy of midnight. The porch is dark, but a front door is slivered open. A walk through it sends me into the ca]]> A frat boy asks: “Should I call you in the morning, or nudge you?” Neither, as it turns out, though his luck might have been better if he hadn’t come at me with a neon Sex on the Beach.Years lat]]>  An anonymous pub, Saturday afternoon: while friends argued over college football rankings, I wandered to the bar and asked for a piña colada, skinny-style. What I got was a shake of Malibu rum,]]> Apple, pine and smoke are fall’s sensual trinity, reminding me of hikes through northern autumn woods, the sooty smell of a neighbor’s lit-up fireplace, the first ruby apple of the season.New Orle]]> Lil Jon once sang about Hennessy and Red Bull, an unlikely pairing called “crunk juice.” It’s not as surprising that status-conscious rappers latched onto cognac, given its luxe reputation.]]> Honey’s role here is much different. Mills says that the honey liqueur adds a “darker, aromatic and alcoholic component”]]> The drink is based on Goldschläger, a kitschy blend of cinnamon schnapps and real gold flakes made for the 1990s. Ordering it reminded me of manic dot-com kids and bighaired supermodels who wouldn’t leave the house for less than $10,000..]]> Zombies, MaiTai’s, and even yesteryear local favorites from Bali Hai’ including the Fog Cutter, Typhoon, and Tiki Bowl are all a part of the nostalgic Tiki Movement.]]> Tea has always been the civilized, bone-china sipper; the granny shawl around your shoulders. The reality is that swirling tea into a cocktail lends it an exotic richness, a leathery depth, a manning-up of flavors. And tea pairs surprisingly well with a range of liquors.]]> Rum. Sugar. Lime.I think it is safe to say that if you put these three ingredients into a single cocktail glass, the concoction does not scream, “daiquiri!,” especially not in New Orleans. Here, w]]>  When it comes to food and drink, humans have always made good use of the nearby flora and fauna to create their dishes. So it is with libations and other adult beverages. The Deep South and the ]]> Tell me a Tale, and make it bubbly. Tales of the Cocktail delivers on both counts, bringing together expert bartenders and sparkly programming July 20 – 24.Keeping the seminars crisp is a global tea]]>  Direct and potent as a lightning strike, nothing packs a throat-numbing punch like moonshine. There’s no need to raid your uncle’s still, because this strand of whiskey is sparking up bars a]]> A bacon-based cocktail sounds like Saturday morning, with an invite to stay for afternoon barbecue. But it seems risky to infuse spirits with something as unstable as pork fat. You don’t want pig grease blurring your drink’s components.]]>  Bouligny Tavern’s manager and wine director, Cary Palmer, was looking at a bottle of rum so unruly that for the past 50 years, the main buyers for it were European pastry chefs, who used it in]]>