Drinks with Anna

by Anna Tusa

Carnival Indoors

“SIDEWALK SIDE” AND “NEUTRAL GROUND SIDE” are words familiar to every New Orleanian during Carnival season. This year during the global pandemic, we are experiencing a first…Carnival season indoors. Grab your krewe and get ready to make some fun, Mardi Gras inspired cocktails to enjoy at home.

As I’m writing this, yesterday was King’s Day, my Christmas tree came down, and the Mardi Gras decorations went up. I put on a fun Mardi Gras shirt, glitter shoes, and drank some booze. I wanted some normalcy in my life so decorating the house and eating the first king cake of the season was an absolute necessity. I have been working on some Mardi Gras craft cocktails for y’all to enjoy at home all season long.

KING CAKE OLD FASHIONED

2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon 1 oz King Cake Simple Syrup (see below) 3 dashes El Guapo Creole Orgeat Bitters Bordeaux cherry

Pour all ingredients in a high ball glass filled with ice. Stir and garnish with a Bordeaux Cherry.

KING CAKE SIMPLE SYRUP

1 cup granulated sugar 1 ¼ cup water 6 to 8 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks ½ cup light brown sugar 2 Tbsp chopped pecans ½ Tbsp lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a brisk simmer, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, let cool, remove the cinnamon stick and transfer to a resealable container. Refrigerate for up to three weeks.

KING CAKE DAIQUIRI

2/3 oz fresh lime juice ¾ oz King Cake Simple Syrup 2 oz Appleton Rum 1 oz water

In a shaker tin filled with ice, combine all ingredients, shake well and strain into a rimmed coupe glass.

Tip: For the coupe glass rim, I used food coloring to make purple, green, and gold sugar. I used a lime wedge to wet the glass then dipped a part of it in each color of sugar.

KING CAKE SHOT

1 ½ oz Cake Vodka 1 ½ oz Ryan’s Irish Cream 1 ½ oz Cinnamon Schnapps

In a shaker tin filled with ice, combine all ingredients, shake well and strain into a rimmed shot glass. For the rimmed shot glass, I used the same purple, green, and gold sugar rim. Topped the filled glass with whipped cream, and a dash of cinnamon.

BATCHED RUM PUNCH

2 cups fresh pineapple juice 2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice ¼ cup Don Q Coconut Rum ½ cup Don Q Spiced Rum ¼ cup fresh lime juice 3 Tbsp cherry juice Orange slice garnish Cherry garnish

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher with ice and stir. Pour over ice into a Collins glass or your favorite Mardi Gras cup.

STREETCAR ON CANAL ST.

2 oz Martell Cognac 1 oz Bayou Satsuma Rum ½ oz lemon juice Lemon twist garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a rimmed coupe glass. Rim the glass using your purple, green, and gold sugar mixture.