NOLADrinks Show – 5-25-17 – Honey Island Swamp Band

On this week’s NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome Aaron Wilkinson and Sam Price of the Honey Island Swamp Band! We also talk about various drink-like things including the results of our weekly poll on the Vieux Carré and more about the famous New Orleans cocktail.

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks, Aaron Wilkinson and Sam Price of Honey Island Swamp Band.

NOLADrinks Show – 5-25-17 – Honey Island Swamp Band

We start the show right off chatting with Aaron Wilkinson and Sam Price of the Honey Island Swamp Band. We discuss the band’s origins in San Francisco as the members, that were displaced by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, came together there due to those unique circumstances. We also talk about their style and influences as well as Sam and Aaron’s backgrounds.

We then talk about their gig at Armstrong Park right after the show (radio broadcast) as part of the Jazz in the Park series. We also discuss the Honey Island Swamp Band gig at Pontchartrain Vineyards this Saturday at the winery. We close out talking about drink and food, how touring on the road can allow some good culinary exploration but can also facilitate some bad eating, too.

The show continues with talk on multiple subjects – okra, some things about playing in bands, Duran Duran (really!), and other stuff. We chat about wine pairings, how sweeter wines – like many Rieslings – go well with spicier fare, and a bit about exploring new things, such as checking out wine/beer/cocktail lists at bars and restaurants.

We touch on a nice Hendrick’s Gin event that went on earlier in the week at Kingfish and how that went down. We close things out discussing the Vieux Carré cocktail – a New Orleans classic and original. We talk some on how it’s made, including some variation, and certain preferences on how it’s served.

This leads us to our new feature – a weekly poll! This week’s question was should the Vieux Carré be served “up” or “on the rocks.” See the results to the left (click to enlarge). We then tee-up next week’s question – which you can see and answer here – on how much should you tip on a $25 pour/shot of a premium spirit. We’ll talk about that on next week’s show. Let us know what you think!

Below the map that shows the location of some of the spots discussed on the show, you can subscribe to, stream, and download the NOLADrinks Show podcast with Bryan Dias.

Cheers, You All

~ Bryan