The Obituary Cocktail by Sue Strachan
Louisiana State University Press, July 2025
In a city that celebrates life in the face of death, New Orleans’s bohemian past is honored with Sue Strachan’s The Obituary Cocktail. This drink, made with gin, vermouth, and absinthe, was a staple of mid-20th-century café society before it faded into obscurity. This book, much like a good obituary, recounts the drink’s history from its 1940s origins at Café Lafitte, a hub for New Orleans’s vibrant café society. Author Sue Strachan explores the ingredients, offers recipes, and resurrects tales of other morbidly named cocktails. By including detours into secret societies and parades, The Obituary Cocktail gives this unique beverage new life.
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