NOLADrinks Show – 5-18-17 – Summer Drinks

Here’s this week’s NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias! We chat with Jeff Schwartz of Bakery Bar about summer drinks, Absinthe, Amaro, and more. We also talk Grow On Urban Farms with Touré Folkes.

Pictured above – Jeff Schwartz of Bakery Bar.

NOLADrinks Show – 5-18-17 – Bakery Bar and Summer Drinks

We start things off with some events going on around town. We then get into a little bit of beverage news.

From there, we kick-off our Bakery Bar segment recorded on-location at their spot in the “Lower Lower Garden District.” We spend a good deal of time chatting with Jeff Schwartz, GM of the establishment and a talented bartender and bar manager. The overall topic is discussing ideas for summer drinks now that the warm weather is (increasingly!) upon us here in New Orleans.

It’s a wide-ranging chat with the knowledgeable Jeff. We touch on the “effects” of Jazz Fest on hospitality spots and how we’re moving into the slower tourism months of summer. We cover the idea that summer drinks are meant to be cooling and what that can mean.

We then talk about absinthe (and other pastis/anise drinks) – how we like to enjoy it, the “pomp and circumstance” of its presentation, and how, for some, it’s a challenging beverage. We move on to talk about Amaro and other similar liqueurs in this herbal family. We touch on how using tea-infused alcohol can bring an added dimension of astringency to certain cocktails and how it’s easy to make.

We close out talking about a couple of examples of summer drinks currently found on the Bakery Bar cocktail menu. The entire conversation is packed with ideas for cocktails, things you can order while out or make at home, and more!

Pictured at left – the “Sunshower” cocktail – a tiki inspired drink discussed on the show.

We finish our Bakery Bar stint talking with Touré Folkes, who is a bartender at Bakery Bar as well as Uptown’s Coquette here in New Orleans. We focus on his involvement with Grow On Urban Farms and how he volunteers, primarily making cocktails for their events utilizing the urban farm’s ingredients, and why he got involved. As you may know, we featured Grow On Urban Farms on the show last week. You can catch that episode here.

On the map that shows some of the locations we mention on the show in New Orleans, you can subscribe to, stream, and download the NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast!

Cheers, You All!

~ Bryan