Toast the Cocktail
New Orleans claims the honor of inventing the cocktail, and nothing here )nor anywhere else) has been the same since a local pharmacist mixed up the first concoction. The Count, having made his start as a liquor salesman, held a certain affinity for fine spirits. His daughter, Germaine, inherited his enthusiasm.
Arnaud’s was one of the many restaurants providing a “Gentlemen Only” area, at Arnaud’s was the Grill Bar. Germaine scotched that notion soon after she assumed command, so today the rendezvous is the French 75, a smart champagne and cocktail haven for both sexes.
The drink, dubbed by American doughboys in WWI to honor a French 75 mm artillery shell, was served before battle. As the war ended in 1918, Arnaud’s opened and began serving this invigorating cocktail.
As New Orleans reveled in the Roaring Twenties this festive establishment was doing very well: then, the National Prohibition Act was passed. Many New Orleanians didn’t even nod in acknowledgement and continued on their rollicking way.
Throughout the 1920’s liquor continued to be freely poured at Arnaud’s but rather carefully under the cover of locked private dining rooms, disappearing back bars and in china coffee cups rather than crystal stemware.
Though the Count was repeatedly fined for selling alcohol, his cavalier attitude remained intact. his mansion was even raided and a ransom in whiskey which had been stored there since before Prohibition was removed.
Nevertheless, he was finally tossed into jail and the restaurant briefly padlocked. Ultimately, he won over the jury with an impassioned explanation of his philosophy. He was acquitted as Prohibition ended and the Count turned his infamy into promotion for his restaurant.
The golden age of Arnaud’s was underway.
Excerpt from Arnaud’s Cookbook, by Kit Wohl, Pelican Publishing Company