Coxtales

It wouldn't be much of a New Orleans Cookbook if there weren't a section on drinks, right? And I gotta say, the cookbook is very comprehensive on the New Orleans standard libations, although I pretty sure I'm going to have some trouble conjuring up Jero's Passion Fruit Cocktail Mix, which seems to be a necessary component for almost all of the Pat O'Brien's concoctions. I'll keep you posted

A lot of the drink recipes seem really interesting, so interesting that I'm not sure I'd want to drink them. For example, one drink called for both gin and Bourbon? Hmmm....sounds like something you'd mix up at a frat party. I'd never heard of the Half and Half from Brennan's, and in fact I couldn't even imagine what it was going to taste like...

Half and Half
Brennan's

1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
Lemon peel

Put dry and sweet vermouth in an old-fashioned glass with 2 ice cubes. Stir gently and serve with a lemon peel.

So Christie grabbed a couple of old fashioned glasses and whipped them up, and I have to say they made up a really nice looking drink, with a really woody nose.

The first sip was a little odd, I must admit. There were a whole range of flavors I wasn't expecting and not really sure how to process. However, about half-way through I really started to enjoy it. I thought it could use something though to brighten it up a bit and Christie agreed. I thought about using a slice of lemon, instead of the peel, but Christie had a much, much better idea...

Regan's Orange Bitters! And what an improvement the bitters make. Score one for Christie! A couple of dashes adds a bright top note and counters all of the woody, herbal flavors of the vermouth.

I did find a similar drinks recipe (the amounts are different) on the Internet, with the name, "French Kiss." That's a bit of marketing overstatement if you ask me, 'cause this drink doesn't really make you think about kissing. Cigars maybe, a roaring fire, but canoodling, uh, no. A better name for this drink, in my opinion, would be "The Desperation" cocktail, because the only time you're going to make it, is when you're desperate for a drink and all that's left are the mixers for Manhattan's and Martini's. With only Vermouth left, you've got yourself a drink.