The Obituary Cocktail
Will be published approx. on 31. July 2025
Book
Hardback
146 pages
978-0-8071-8479-0 (ISBN)
Description
In a city known for celebrating in the face of death, it's no surprise that the funerary tradition is honored by a drink. The Obituary Cocktail is a spirited dive into New Orleans's bohemian past, chronicling how this cocktail-made with gin, vermouth, and absinthe-became central to mid-twentieth-century cafe society before fading temporarily into obscurity.
Like a good obituary, this book shares stories about the drink, beginning with its 1940s origins at Cafe Lafitte, the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the U.S. and the stomping ground for the city's cafe society, which included Tennessee Williams, Ella Brennan, and a rich crop of prominent New Orleans visitors. Sue Strachan explores the history of the cocktail's ingredients, shares recipes for home mixologists, and resurrects the stories of other morbidly monikered drinks. With detours into the world of secret societies, second-line parades, and celebrations of deathly holidays like Halloween and All Saints' Day, The Obituary Cocktail gives new life to this unique beverage.
Like a good obituary, this book shares stories about the drink, beginning with its 1940s origins at Cafe Lafitte, the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the U.S. and the stomping ground for the city's cafe society, which included Tennessee Williams, Ella Brennan, and a rich crop of prominent New Orleans visitors. Sue Strachan explores the history of the cocktail's ingredients, shares recipes for home mixologists, and resurrects the stories of other morbidly monikered drinks. With detours into the world of secret societies, second-line parades, and celebrations of deathly holidays like Halloween and All Saints' Day, The Obituary Cocktail gives new life to this unique beverage.
Reviews / Votes
"Combine a jigger of history, a wine glass of lore, a dram of joviality, and a splash of absinthe in the Crescent City's cultural cauldron, and out pours The Obituary Cocktail. Sue Strachan's deep dive brings forth a virtual parade of fascinating historical events, tempered by the quirky and irreverent aspects of humanity that together have spawned some of New Orleans's finest contributions to the advancement of western civilization." - T. A. Breaux, distiller and coauthor of Absinthe: The Exquisite Elixir"In The Obituary Cocktail, Sue Strachan masterfully stirs New Orleans history, drinking culture, and storytelling into a book as beguiling as it is alcoholic. Through meticulous research and engaging prose, she traces the tale of this legendary drink from Tennessee Williams's French Quarter of the 1940s to its growing popularity today. Sex, death, and absinthe-this is a must-read for cocktail enthusiasts and New Orleans history buffs alike." - Andrew Nelson, travel writer for National Geographic and Wall Street Journal, and author of Here Not There: 100 Unexpected Travel Destinations
"The Obituary Cocktail deserves a place at your bar and on your bookshelf. Sue Strachan captures the mystery of absinthe, the bawdiness of New Orleans, and the cultural climate surrounding the drink's creation. Drinking the cocktail today allows a sensory window into another time. But Strachan's book gives us a clarity of history, place, and attitude that makes reading a profitable pleasure. Reading it while drinking an Obituary Cocktail manifests history." - Elizabeth M. Williams, founder of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baton Rouge
United States
Illustrations
21 color images, 4 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 181 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
235 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8071-8479-0 (9780807184790)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sue Strachan is a social historian, journalist, and author who has written about New Orleans culture, food, history, and current events for numerous publications. Her first book, The Cafe Brulot, was published in 2021.