Today’s guest post comes from blogger Heidi Jones.
From the time of the middle ages, the French commemorated ‘Fat Tuesday’ or Mardi Gras, by releasing all their reservations in life and indulging in certain sinful activities, with full zest and zeal. There is no iota of remorse seen amongst the people, during this celebration. Mardi Gras is hugely celebrated by unlimited eating, guzzling down all sorts of liquors, topped with some wicked acts.
The streets of Louisiana get mostly crowded by college-goers and other young people during this occasion. Right before the Catholics endure the forty days of Lent, to celebrate Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras takes place. Owing to this, one can find the streets, lanes, and by-lanes of Louisiana full of charged-up residents, onlookers, and tourists. All assemble to get the last-minute worldly pleasure of savoring tasty cuisine, drinking various liquors along with a slice of debauchery!
When the celebrations are at their peak, the streets are full of entertainers wearing sequin masks, brightly feathered revealing costumes, and not to forget loads of colorful beads of various sizes. As the tradition continues, you will see hundreds of bikers, revving the engine of their motorcycles. The blasting of the horns marks the beginning of the Mardi Gras parade.
Plan for a weekend tour and travel to witness the fest. Various delectable cocktail liquors and other drinks infuse the occasion. Let yourself loose over the five must-have liquors, well-infused with juicy seasonal fruits, and lots of alcohol! These cocktail liquors celebrate Mardi Gras with style. Get a know-how of these southern drinks by reading the details provided below. These all southern liquors will keep you shouting out loud, saying, ‘let the good times roll!’
Fat Tuesday Iced Tea liquor
One of the oldest traditions of the South is none other than sipping sugary tea! Famously quoted by Steel Magnolias’ Dolly Parton, as the ‘house wine of the south,’ it is a crispy and teeth-cringing sweet drink that these Southerners love. Fat Tuesday Iced Tea is one liquor, which never goes amiss while at the Mardi Gras fest. Forget your diet, and dive into this sweet-tasting liquor. Its heady sweet taste will aid you in relishing the fest even more.
Ingredients
- Citrus flavored vodka – 2 oz.
- Lemonade – 1 oz.
- Sweet iced tea – 3 oz.
- Lemon wedge – 1 or 2
How to make
Take a highball glass. Combine the mentioned ingredients, and top it with ice. Before sipping, remember to garnish with lemon wedges.
Mardi Grape liquor
Named after the famous Greek god of wine, Krewe of Bacchus stands as the significant element of Mardi Gras. It is a well-stocked organization, consisting of huge-sized floats, grapes, clusters of beaded necklaces and beads. Channelize your inner Dionysus with this famous liquor cocktail drink – Mardi Grape. A grape-infused vodka drinks, with sparkling soda and added grape juice for tingling sweet flavor. With this liquor drink enjoy the ‘Fat Tuesday’ to the fullest.
Ingredients
- Grape flavored vodka – 2 oz.
- Grape juice – 2 oz.
- Club soda – 0.5 oz
- Green and red grapes
How to make
Shake the ingredients well in a cocktail shaker. Strain it inside a Collins glass and fill it to the top with freshly crushed ice. Garnish it well with diced green and red grapes.
Beaded Lady liquor
Celebrating Mardi Gras fest without the Beaded Lady liquor cocktail is unthinkable. This cocktail is a concoction of a fascinating mixture made from passion fruit and juice of fresh pineapple. Its taste fixes the mood right for the fest. Mardi Gras fest, according to the Latin, connotes ‘farewell to the flesh.’ People go crazy during this time, and sometimes commit sinful acts for acquiring some beads! Right from Bourbon Street to the other corner of New Orleans, the streets are full of people rejoicing freedom. Well-known as the ‘biggest show on earth,’ Mardi Gras is thus never complete without the heady cocktail drink – Beaded Lady.
Ingredients
- Passion fruit-flavored vodka – 1 oz.
- Gin – 0.5 oz.
- Triple Sec – 0.5 oz.
- Lemon juice – 0.5 oz.
- Pineapple juice – 2 oz.
- Bitters (few drops)
- Soda Water
- Pineapple (star-shaped slice)
How to make
Take a cocktail shaker and club together all the ingredients, except for the bitters and soda. Fill it up with crushed ice. Give it a good shake. Strain the drink inside a tall iced pilsner glass. Before serving, top it with bitters and some soda. A star-shaped pineapple slice is an option for garnishing.
Southern Belle liquor
Southern Belle – this liquor is made of three kinds of rum, along with a tinge of raspberry liqueur and dash of dry gin. Noted well as one of the biggest highlights of Mardi Gras, this drink keeps the night immoral and alive, while at the Mardi Gras fest. Do not think twice, but prepare it to get the actual feeling.
Ingredients
- Pineapple flavored vodka – 2 oz.
- Light rum – 0.5 oz.
- Dark rum – 0.5 oz.
- Coconut rum – 1 oz.
- Gin – 1 oz.
- Raspberry liqueur – 1 oz.
- Triple Sec – 1 oz.
- Orange juice – 3 oz.
How to make
Take a cocktail shaker, put in all the ingredients, and top it with small ice cubes. Give it a good shake. Pour the drink inside hurricane glass. Start drinking it immediately, but do not forget to garnish well with an umbrella!
Red Rooster liquor
Last but not least is the rocking Red Rooster cocktail. It is the most preferred drink of the year, and one of the most traditional Mardi Gras cocktail drinks. Red Rooster stands as the favorite drink amongst cocktail lovers. Simple to prepare, and very much icy – this classic holiday cocktail is just perfect to beat the Southern heat. The texture is somewhat of a ‘spiked slush!’ Apart from the main ingredient, cranberry juice, the add-on ingredients vary. The cranberry juice gives a glowing red-ruby color to the drink. Enjoy the flavor, and the parade of bikers to spice up your moments.
Ingredients
- Raspberry flavored vodka – 1.5 oz.
- Cranberry juice – 2 oz.
- Orange juice – 0.5 oz.
- Cherry – one (diced)
- Orange – 3 slices
How to make
Put all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Give it a vigorous shake. Strain the whole inside a glass full of crushed ice. Garnish well with diced cherries and three slices of orange or lime.
Wrapping up
Enjoying New Orleans’ Mardi Gras is a life-time experience. It has no comparison. Jam-packed with costume parades, live performers, ecstatic tourists and onlookers, and not to miss the good old cocktail drinks! But you have to be present to feel the essence of the same. Gear up your traveling gear, and plan to whip-up the true spirit of Mardi Gras five cocktail liquor drink, while on the spin!
