Author: Kevin Crossman

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Cane & Table: Top Culinary and Cocktail Destination in NOLA

Cane & Table came highly recommended for their rum-focused cocktail program, but we really enjoyed the Caribbean-inspired dining options as well. Located in the French Quarter on Decatur Street just past the French Market, the venue’s organic feel includes a relaxing patio and plenty of space in the main dining room and bar. My grilled coulotte steak was truly outstanding, featuring avocado puree and fried yucca, and the service here was friendly, efficient, and knowledgable.

Hurricane & Table

But certainly the cocktails are the highlight here, seemingly the best in town. I thoroughly enjoyed the well-balanced Hurricane & Table that is made with house-made Fassionola, easily the best Hurricane that I tried during our visit. Our entire table enjoyed the cocktails.

Cane & Table Mai Tai

There’s a Classic Mai Tai on the menu but I went bold and had the upscale Cane & Table Mai Tai that includes three rums which were Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico at the time of our visit. I didn’t miss the Martinque rhum that’s supposed to be in here at all, since there’s still a ton of sugar cane juice rum flavors to work with. If you love a bold rum blend, it is hard to beat this monster combo and the rest of the cocktail was expertly prepared to highlight the incredible flavors. One of the best Mai Tais of the 2024 and possibly the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.

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New Orleans Rum Society

One of the things I made sure to do in New Orleans was get signed up with the New Orleans Rum Society from the Black Duck Bar on the second floor of the Palace Cafe. There’s no cost to sign up and you get a checklist of 37 rums to purchase and taste, and when you complete the list you get your name on the plaque on the wall.

For my first rum I wanted to do something local so chose an aged expression of Old New Orleans Rum. I found this to be quite delicious and plenty flavorful even at 40% ABV. And this pour was really cheap, $6!

Even better is that members get a free pour of the rum of the month, which was the new Mister Fogg Navy Rum when we visited in October. I didn’t love this rum when I bought a bottle a couple months ago but it was pretty nice during our Jazz Brunch visit. We really enjoyed our brunch, by the way, as the Palace Cafe’s food and Dixieland jazz really worked great for a hangover Sunday.

There is a selection of over 130 rums here, so there’s plenty of different brands and styles to choose from when you complete the list or decide to choose your own adventure. If I was a local I’d be able to knock this out in a few fortnights but it’ll be a while in tourist mode. Still, something cool to check out next time you’re in NOLA.

Rum of the Month
Back Bar
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New Mai Tai Glass and Cocktail from B-Rex is Out of this World

I have a collection of glassware from Brian Rechenmacher, the artist known as B-Rex, who also did the logo and header for UltimateMaiTai.com. For the first time in a couple years, B-Rex has issued a new double rocks / Mai Tai glass, dubbed “Out of this World.” The white print design features birds and whimsical idols, hallmarks of his design aesthetic. Glasses can be purchased individually or as a set of four for a discount.

The glass is best paired with the new volume two of Tropical Libations, a keepsake menu with nine original cocktail recipes including the Wrath of Keahi, Merchant Grog, and B-Rex Daiquiri. Notably in this collection is the recipe for a cocktail called Out of this World, the perfect cocktail companion for the new glass. These look great in your home bar and none of the recipes call for particularly exotic ingredients. Stocking up on Planteray OFTD rum would be wise.

As many of you know “Out of this World” is more or less what “Mai Tai” translates to in Tahitian, and indeed there are Mai Tai nods in the recipe for that cocktail (hint: yes, you’ll need Orgeat). But this includes ingredients that you’d never put in a Mai Tai, some quite far afield.

I think that since Brian keeps the recipe secret in his marketing materials, I’ll do the same. Suffice to say that Brian is keeping the tradition of cocktail excellence going, using his experience as a former bartender at Trader Sam’s and Forbidden Island to great use. The cocktail is juicy and spicy with a hint of cherry flavor, so consider getting Tropical Libations vol. 2 and trying it out for yourself.

The new Out of this World glass and Tropical Libations volumes 1 and 2 are now available on artofbrex.com.

You can also check out B-Rex at next weekend’s marketplace events at Pau Hana Studio in Oakland on Saturday Nov 16 or at San Jose’s Dr. Funk on Sunday Nov 17.

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Mr. Miami Cocktail

This made the rounds this week, including on Lemon Hart rum’s Instagram, so I thought I’d break in my new B-Rex glass with the latest cocktail creation from local raconteur Nathan Robinson.

All my years of collecting exotic rums and liqueurs has paid off since I had all of Robinson’s specified brand ingredients on hand, including a vintage red label Lemon Hart 151. And thankfully so, since this cocktail is fantastic.

Mr. Miami by Nathan Robinson
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
½ oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
½ oz Pot Still Jamaican Rum (Doctor Bird)
1 oz Overproof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart 151)
Shake with ice or flash blend with crushed ice and pour into double rocks glass. Garnish with banana slice and cherry.

Robinson describes the origin of the name, saying it is “named after what my favorite bartender in Venice, Italy called me after I wore a 40s styled tiki shirt. I’m sure he’d be surprised at how different Miami is from San Francisco. The name still cracks me up.”

If Maraschino liqueur has put you off in the past, I can assure it is perfectly balanced here.

Glassware: “Out of this World” by B-Rex, currently available.

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Relaxed Patio and Elevated Cocktails at Tiki Tock

The neighborhood surrounding the Frenchman Hotel just past the French Market in the tip of the Marginy triangle is a little rougher than the tourist areas in town, but we had a grand time relaxing in the hotel’s tropical patio called Tiki Tock. There’s a nice entrance off the street and inside there are covered tables and some seats at the bar, very pleasant and shady for us on a dry afternoon.

The “tiki” in the name refers to the cocktail menu, inspired by historical cocktails from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s, but there aren’t any actual tikis here so it technically isn’t a tiki bar. But we really had a great visit and some quality cocktails. In addition to classics there are some house cocktails including the very good Tally Me Banana that comes in a cool banana mug. The standard Mai Tai comes with Don Q Silver and Zaya 16, so I knew it wasn’t going to be my favorite, so instead I spotted a bottle of Hamilton New York blend asked for a Mai Tai with that instead. That Hamilton expression featuring Jamaican and Demerara rums played just great in the Mai Tai that was well balanced.

There’s even a tropical wall that worked great with some “prom photos” with our friends David and Amy.

The music was very relaxing here and we saw several groups come and go during our hour plus stay. Being completely shut out from the hustle of the streets of New Orleans was quite a change of pace and indeed is quite escapist even with the modest theming and limited roof. I’d definitely recommend trying Tiki Tock the next time you’re in New Orleans.

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Sazerac House Tour: Great Free Tourist Option in New Orleans

We had a great time on the complimentary tour of the Sazerac House on Canal Street in New Orleans. There are a couple cocktail tasting tour packages but we chose the free experience that does include little tastes of three cocktails based on the history of the Sazerac company and New Orleans traditions. Reservations for time slots can be made online, though I think that walk-ins are unlikely to need to wait long.

The House tour covers three floors and includes historical displays and artifacts covering Peychaud’s Bitters and some of Sazerac’s spirits including Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Sazerac Rye. Production and cocktail recipes are well covered in this facility that was acquired and completely renovated in the last ten years, so everything looks fresh and includes some modern high-tech displays. The best of these are some stations where you have a bartender on screen in front of you making one of New Orleans’ many classic cocktails, such as Ramos Gin Fizz or Sazerac.

The cocktail samples included the Sazerac cocktail, made now with Sazerac Rye rather than cognac that was used in the original cocktail. There were also rum and bourbon-based cocktail samples provided. Pretty informative and enjoyable to spend an hour or so.

There’s a small distillery on the first floor making Rye, plus a well stocked and very reasonably priced souvenir shop. You can pick up basically anything in the Sazerac portfolio, including Myers’s Rum and Jung & Wulff luxury rums Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados. I picked up a nice little bottle of Herbsaint.

Sazerac House is a fine option in the tourist corridor of New Orleans and is far from a tourist trap. Be sure to check it next time you’re in NOLA.

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Dive Bar Fun at NOLA’s Aunt Tiki’s

Part tiki bar, mostly dive bar, Aunt Tiki’s is on Decatur in the artsy but slightly rough portion of the French Quarter. We approached in mid afternoon to see a leather-clad man with wild hair and beard enter the venue with a guitar slung over his back. Loud music was heard well in advance of the door. This was not the kind of place for Mrs Mai Tai but when she went shopping at the eclectic Disco Warehouse next door I popped back in to take a look.

There are actually a few tikis in here, plus other Hawaiian and tropical elements mixed in with sticker walls and neon signs. A friendly female bartender asked what I wanted and I looked over the menu and asked for a Mai Tai. While I waited a young woman entered and talked to the bartender as if she was a regular. Mr. Guitar lurked in and out while another local regular in a souped up wheelchair nursed his drink. So, this was an eclectic crowd, just as the Swifty Spouse Sign indicated.

The moment of truth arrived in the form of a coconut rum-laced blue cocktail, “here’s that Mai Tai.” Sigh. I looked at the menu later and saw the ingredient list appeared to be a standard recipe but I didn’t want to stir the pot by correcting the bartender.

Aunt Tiki’s is open 24 hrs and may be an okay place to wait out the opening of better bars in the area, or just to have a beer and shot with interesting people.