#chrishannah

Where are you from and what brought you to New Orleans? My Dad was in the Navy and so I’m not really from anywhere as we moved every 3years from one Navy Base to another. Though we were stationed twice in San Diego so that’s where I saysometimes, but mostly the West Coast. Imoved to New Orleans for a Graduate Program at UNO 10 years ago in Hotels andTourism.

What do you love most about New Orleans? I love the Culture and Music, the style of dress and fun food. Also I like drinking outside man, I couldn’t ever go back to having adult beverages on a leash again. What are you looking forward to most in 2014? I’m looking forward to World Cup 2014, and to bartend in Jakarta, Indonesia. Gonna be a fun year.

How did you get involved at French 75 and what was the process from when you began to where you are now? I got involved with the French 75 Bar by just regular bartending. I started in the kitchen 6 years before moving to the bar which is where I’ve been the last 16 years, the last 14 years being in restaurant Bars.

You make a pretty unique Sazerac. Walk me through the process for it and touch a little on the history of how that drink has been made consistently the same way for 35 years. Our Sazerac is very unconventional and yes, quite unique. We take a double old fashioned glass from a freezer and pour ¾ oz of Herbsaint into and rinse the glass with it. When discarding we don’t dump all of it out, leaving close to a third of an oz in the bottom of the glass. Then we dash 5 to 6 Peychauds bitters into the glass, and a quarter oz of simple syrup…2 oz Old Overholt Rye and a splash of water from our soda gun. We give the cocktail a slight stir with a cocktail spoon, break lemon peel over the Sazerac and drop the peel in.

It’s close to a scafa cocktail, which is a non-diluted cocktail name from England. So, our Sazerac is the least diluted Sazerac you’ll get anywhere, and the most continuously made Sazerac possibly in the world. Bobby Oakes taught me the Sazerac he was making at Arnauds 15 years before I started 10 years ago, and so that makes 25 years. I don’t believe an establishment in the world can claim to have made the same exact Sazerac for a longer period of time. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, I’m quite positive there are fantastic Sazeracs all over the country and world…it’s just important to me, really, and something I’m proud to continue while I’m still at the helm of the French 75 Bar.

Are you involved with any other bar programs or collaborations? I’m a member of the New Orleans USBG Chapter, but that’s about it. I did work the Tales of the Cocktail C.A.P program of which I’m proud of, from its inception in ’08 until last year. That’s a pretty dope Collaboration.

Are you traveling anywhere this year that you’d like to share? I just got back from New York for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. I worked with Hennessy at a sexy little bar in Alphabet City, Evelyn Drinkery. I think I’ll be in Brazil, Indonesia, Kentucky and Cuba this year. Pretty dope.

What time do you usually wake up in the morning? I try and get up by 10am daily but it never works out that way.

Do you see yourself as a Bartender or Mixologist? What differentiates the two? Bartender. Mixologist was a word used to try and dissect the differences between types of bartenders: dive bar, club, cocktail forward, etc. I’m not so anti, I will just never use the word Mixologist really.

What was your introduction to cocktails? My introduction to cocktails was Brueller’s Cocktail Guide when starting at Duck News Café in Duck, N.C. in ’98, and then again at the French 75 bar 10 years ago when moving to New Orleans. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Any mentors along the way? My mentors along the way are Bobby Oakes and Chris McMillian. I now draw inspiration from my colleagues across the globe, amazing community of bartenders I’m lucky to be a part of. What is one of your favorite cocktails made by someone else? The Angostura Phosphate by Paul Gustings at Broussards is my favourite cocktail by someone else.

What is one of your favorite cocktails made by you? The Bourbon Saint Martin is probably my favourite drink I’m enjoying now, after work when I get home. Bourbon, Averna, Aperol. 2-1-1, on ice…then upstairs to check who’s talkin’ trash on bookface :)

Where are some of your favorite places for cocktails? Bar High Five in Tokyo, Shangai La Hotel, 3 Monkeys, Origin, Wyndam the 4th and Butler Bar in Hong Kong, Chiyanasa and Belka Bar in Moscow, Maison Premiere in Brooklyn, Evelyn Drinkery in Manhattan, Cane and Table in Nola, Eastern Standard and Drink in Boston, One Flew South on Atlanta layovers

What is the most difficult cocktail ingredient to pronounce? Byrrh is the most difficult cocktail ingredient to pronounce because I loathe pronouncing it correctly- Beer. I just don’t want to call it “beer”. It’s BYRRH!!