La Louisiane Recipe
A richer, sweeter cousin of the Manhattan: rye and vermouth rounded out by honeyed Bénédictine, with absinthe and Peychaud's adding a New Orleans anise note.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Martini glass
- ABV: 29%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey60 ml (2 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth30 ml (1 oz)
- Bénédictine30 ml (1 oz)
- Absinthe5 ml (0.2 oz)
- Peychaud's bitters3 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
Garnish
Luxardo cherry
What it tastes like
It has a green, botanical backdrop and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
The conical martini glass. Made for drinks served without ice — the stem keeps your hand off the bowl and the cone funnels the aroma upward.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Rye whiskey
- Rye whiskey. Where bourbon is sweet, rye brings black pepper and a mint-like sharpness; in drinks with sweet vermouth, like a Manhattan, that sharpness is what holds the balance.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Bénédictine
- A French liqueur made with honey and 27 botanicals. Sweet and spiced; it usually pairs with cognac or whiskey, and because it does the sweetening, the recipe skips syrup.
- Absinthe
- The anise spirit, 55-70% alcohol. In cocktails it is used as a rinse rather than a measure: most recipes have you coat the glass and pour the rest away, leaving only the aroma.
- Peychaud's bitters
- The New Orleans bitters — anise and rose, and red in colour. It is what a Sazerac tastes of, and swapping in Angostura makes it a different drink entirely.
The Story
The house cocktail of the Restaurant de la Louisiane in New Orleans, recorded by Stanley Clisby Arthur in his 1937 book on the city's famous drinks.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a La Louisiane mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a martini glass.
- How strong is a La Louisiane?
- Roughly 29% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a La Louisiane be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a La Louisiane hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.