A Bourbon Lover’s Dream: Briquette New Orleans

While many people know Downtown New Orleans restaurant Briquette for its popular coastal cuisine and lively, contemporary atmosphere, the upscale casual haunt is perhaps less known for its affinity for and large supply of the South’s most coveted liquor—the caramel colored, subtly sweet Southern whiskey we call bourbon. The secret is officially out, and as the New Orleans Bourbon Festival kicks off this March, Briquette is proud to partner with Sazerac Company in hosting a March 12 Bourbon Dinner.

“At Briquette, we pride ourselves on having one of New Orleans’ most extensive bourbon collections,” says Anna Tusa. “Our guests appreciate the opportunity to come in and try a bourbon or rye whiskey that they may not otherwise have access to,” says Tusa. Some of Briquette’s bourbons and ryes are rare, hard to find, or from small, boutique distilleries, and bourbon enthusiasts love that they can drink from a rare bottle at Briquette year-round—not just during the New Orleans Bourbon Festival.

At Briquette’s Bourbon Dinner, third-generation Buffalo Trace employee and tour guide Freddie Johnson will give a talk on various bourbons and lead a blind tasting of four bourbons before dinner guests will indulge in a four-course meal prepared by Briquette Executive Chef Peter Isaac. Chef Peter will prepare each course with the use of bourbon and Proprietor Anna Tusa will craft a cocktail to accompany each course. Dinner guests will depart with a special gift from The Sazerac House, Sazerac Company’s new interactive cocktail museum. Tickets for the Bourbon Festival Bourbon Dinner at Briquette can be purchased through the New Orleans Bourbon Festival or directly from Briquette and run $150 per person, all-inclusive.

“Bourbon is big right now,” says Tusa, “and we’ve got a number of beautifully hand-crafted bourbon cocktails that highlight its versatility and flavor.”

Briquette offers its own spin on classic bourbon cocktails with the Buffalo Trace Boujee Old Fashioned, Briquette’s Manhattan (made with Woodford Reserve and Herring Cherry Liquor), the New Fashioned (made with Longbranch Bourbon), and the Warehouse District Cocktail (made with Wild Turkey 101). In addition to Buffalo Trace, which is the restaurant’s regular house pour, just a few of the bourbons on hand include Pappy Van Winkle 10, 15, and 23 year, Thomas Handy Sazerac, George T. Stagg, The Weller Bourbon Collection, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, Chicken Cock, Jack Daniels Single Barrel Collection, Woodford Master Reserve, and Wild Turkey Decades.

Briquette is located in the Warehouse District and is housed in an old molasses factory at 701 South Peters St. Named for its featured method of seafood preparation, grilling whole fish over red-hot briquettes, the restaurant offers both whole fish and filets of redfish, snapper, halibut, and salmon, as well as USDA prime beef, pork porterhouse, and pasta dishes. Briquette is open for dinner seven days a week and offers lunch Monday through Friday. Happy hour runs daily, 3 – 6 p.m. For more information on Briquette and its upcoming events, visit Briquette-nola.com.  

 

 

Briquette Logo

701 South Peters St.

New Orleans, Louisiana

(504) 302-7496

 

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