“The Obituary Cocktail” Book Release at The Garden District Book Shop

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Garden District Book Shop will welcome back author Sue Strachan on July 18 as she celebrates the release of her latest book “The Obituary Cocktail.”

“The Obituary Cocktail” is a spirited dive into New Orleans’s bohemian past, chronicling how this cocktail – made with gin, vermouth, and absinthe—became central to mid-twentieth-century café society before fading temporarily into obscurity. 

Like a good obituary, this book shares stories about the drink, beginning with its 1940’s origins at Café Lafitte, the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the U.S. and the stomping ground for the city’s café society, which included Tennessee Williams, Ella Brennan, and a rich crop of prominent New Orleans visitors. Sue Strachan explores the history of the cocktail’s ingredients, shares recipes for home mixologists, and resurrects the stories of other morbidly monikered drinks. With detours into the world of secret societies, second-line parades, and celebrations of deathly holidays like Halloween and All Saints’ Day, The Obituary Cocktail gives new life to this unique beverage.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. The evening will kick off with music by Brazilian-born singer-songwriter Tiago Guy. Also, Bar Epilogue will be serving up Obituary Cocktails with the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc. A limited number of free drink tickets to be distributed to guests who purchase a copy of “The Obituary Cocktail.” Strachan will be available to chat with guests and personalize copies of her book. The event is free and open to the public but interested parties are encouraged to reserve copies in advance via Eventbrite.