The stillness of a night lit only by a crescent moon has made many an interloper doubt his courage and sanity. The slow movement of the black water pushes the pirogue, but not in any particular direction – or maybe in all directions. Broad-winged owls seem to melt into the ill-defined outlines of hanging moss. From time to time you glimpse eyes reflecting soft moonlight, focused on you from the water, the rises of land and the limbs of tall cypress. Oh yes, there’s life in the shadows. Every once in a while, there are ripples in the water. Gator? Beaver?
Snake? Loup Garou? As still as it is, the swamp never denies it’s alive.
Better for most of us, and our urban sense of adventure, is 8 Block Bar and Restaurant, located in the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which commemorates Upper Bourbon Street customs. And you know exactly what those are.
Combining Louisiana’s swamp culture alongside the unique street scene of New Orleans’ most famous thoroughfare, all in one drink, seems an impossibility. But here you are, and there you go.
Honey Island
2 ounces Old New Orleans Cajun Spice Rum
.75 ounces honey syrup*
.75 ounces lemon juice
3 drops Peychaud’s Bitters
Add rum, lemon juice and honey syrup to shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until mixed. Strain into an old fashioned glass over fresh ice.
Garnish with a lemon and top with three drops of Peychaud Bitters.
*Honey syrup: two parts honey to one part warm water, stirred. It can be stored for up to 2 weeks (watch for fermentation).
Created by Rhiannon Enlil , 8 Block Bar at Hyatt Regency New Orleans
