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• How to Serve La Fée

Tales of The Cocktail – in New Orleans

The Cocktail was born in New Orleans and July saw the 5th anniversary of Tales of the Cocktail, a festival that gives the connoisseur or amateur the chance to taste, see and learn about cocktail culture. The whole event took place in the famous Monteleone Hotel with the La Fée Absinthe Bar, hosted by George Rowley, welcoming guests in the Ernest Hemingway penthouse suite. Visitors to the bar were able to learn more about the history of absinthe and the La Fée brand tasting both the authentic La Fée Parisienne and its modern day variation La Fée Bohemian. Guests enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the La Fée Absinthe Bar quickly became an area not only for education but for social gathering. The fun didn’t stop there, with celebrations in the Old Absinthe House, a late night tour of the bars in New Orleans and the meeting of some very interesting local absinthe enthusiasts.

The Ernest Hemingway Suite & an Education in Absinthe

In honour of one of absinthe’s most notable celebrity aficionados, the La Fée team chose the aptly-named ‘Ernest Hemingway’ suite of the famous Monteleone Hotel in the famous French quarter to host their popular La Fée Absinthe Bar, which soon became a firm favourite among guests attending the festival, and even some hotel guests who were simply on vacation. George Rowley gave in-depth presentations on the history of absinthe and the authenticity, provenance and quality of the La Fée Absinthe range from France, Switzlerland, and the Czech Republic including the new premium X•S range. Guests also enjoyed tastings and demonstrations of the traditional serving methods of the French absinthe La Fée Parisienne, watching in fascination as ice water dripped through a sugar cube created that all important ‘louche’. They were also shown the more modern sugar and burn method of serving using the contemporary La Fée Absinthe Bohemian.

Hemingway himself stayed in the suite on numerous occasions while visiting New Orleans, and the team were thrilled to think that if the great author was still alive today he would undoubtedly have been revelling in the La Fée Absinthe Bar and the absinthe celebrations taking place in his own favourite suite. His photo was placed in pride of place overseeing events, and La Fée bar staff wore their hypnotic La Fée ‘eye’ t-shirts with the Hemingway quote on the reverse “Got tight on absinthe last night. Did knife tricks.”

A welcome VIP visitor to the suite was Sasha Petraske of Milk and Honey who only two weeks earlier had been mixing La Fée cocktails in New York with George Rowley at the Spiegelworld show ‘Absinthe’, where Sasha prepared the La Fée Absinthe Seafizz cocktail.

Another welcome guest to the suite was local New Orleans absinthe expert Ted Breaux – as foremost European and US experts in their field, George and Ted spent time getting to know one another and chatting about all things absinthe.

A wide array of guests visited the La Fée Absinthe Bar, and at one point the suite was so full there was virtually no space for La Fée staff. The suite became known for its informality, congeniality and fun – as well as the fine La Fée Absinthe, of course - and a highlight of the week was when a hotel guest dressed only in bathrobe and shades wondered in fresh from the adjacent swimming pool to join in the fun. He quickly made new friends over a glass of La Fée, as can be seen here.

New Orleans Bar Tour

One of the highlights of the trip was a bar tour on the last night. The La Fée team were taken by local absinthe enthusiasts to two of the vibrant bars on the New Orleans scene – Pirates Alley, and Pravda.

George Rowley presented the owners of both with a gift of La Fée Absinthe and got behind the bar to teach them how to mix a La Fée Absinthe Sour.

Sadly, there was not time to visit all the excellent bars in the city, but US bar owners who wish to learn more about La Fée can contact us at vip@LaFee.com

We were then taken to Pat O’Briens piano bar to experience their famous ‘Hurricane’ cocktail served in giant glasses. We did experience and enjoy this unique cocktail very much, some of us, or rather one of us, enjoyed it a little too much by the state of our hangover the next day.

Raymond Bordelon & Local New Orleans Absinthe Enthusiasts

One of the great pleasures of our visit was to meet two local absintheurs and absinthe historian Raymond Bordelon, a native New Orlean. Raymond has an incredible collection of historical absinthe artefacts at his house and the collection is now so immense that it needs a new building to house it. It is Raymond’s intention to start a local absinthe museum in New Orleans with some of his fellow absinthe enthusiasts.

Raymond has a replica antique absinthe bar in his house and a vast array of absinthe glasses, fountains, spoons and historical photographs, as well as replicas of the absinthe fountains in The Old Absinthe House. Outside in the garden, he has an authentic French-style courtyard with original French café tables and an outdoor fountain, as well as some real absinthium growing.

His house and its astonishing collection have been the photographic set for a number of magazine and newspaper articles. We were very privileged to be invited to his home one balmy New Orleans evening to see his collection and sit drinking with him and his fellow absinthe enthusiasts in his fragranced French café courtyard garden.

We were then treated to a typical New Orleans meal of oyster ‘Po Boy’ sandwiches in town with our new absinthe friends, and following a bar tour and a quick trip to the banks of the Mississipi, got to make a post-midnight trip to one of their boutiques, “La Maison d’Absinthe” where we were shown the collection of absinthe spoons and fountains on sale.

This was a great absinthe-centred finale to our trip for what had been a magnificent and enjoyable week in a city so famous for its own historic US Absinthe culture.

The Old Absinthe House, Bourbon Street, New Orleans

Between media interviews, George found time to attend the 200 year celebrations of The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street. For the first time in over one hundred and fifty years, the two antique marble and bronze absinthe fountains owned by the bar were put back into commission to mix two glasses of real La Fée French absinthe, which were used as a toast by Rowley and Jober’t Salem, owner of The Old Absinthe House. A giant birthday cake was then cut jointly by the pair with a three foot antique sword.

La Fée on the Radio

George proved a popular subject for radio and magazine interviews, and gave a live on-air demonstration in the Carousel Bar of the Monteleone Hotel to well-known Eric Asher of WITC and his listeners on how to serve La Fée.

The programme ran a La Fée Absinthe competition asking what the original French name for absinthe was – la Fée verte – and a record number of listeners emailed in. The winner was Bob from Metairie and his prize is currently winging its way en route to him.

Another great radio interview took place with Jennifer English, founder and broadcaster of the Food and Wine channel. Jennifer interviewed Dan at the La Fée Absinthe Bar – to find out how a La Fée Absinthe should be properly prepared – and interviewed George to find out more about absinthe and his brand.

A consummate broadcaster and food and drink expert, as well as a business and law graduate, Jennifer gave an insightful and atmospheric on-air description of the delights of La Fée.