The Absinthe Suissesse is not a New Orleans cocktail. But the city certainly makes a strong claim to the drink. And it was there that Neal Bodenheimer, co-owner of Cure, first tried it, sometime in 2010. It was served to him by Kirk Estopinal, a partner at Cure, who made it with absinthe, crème de menthe, egg white and cream. He immediately fell in love with the drink.
Bodenheimer characterizes the Suissesse as “a luscious drink that tastes almost like an anise-y eggnog,” ideal for holiday mornings. He included the recipe in his book, Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em, because, though it didn’t originate there, it’s one of those transplants—not unlike the Pimm’s Cup—that’s been adopted into the Crescent City cocktail canon.
Like a great many cocktails associated with New Orleans, the story of how the drink took up residence there and morphed after its arrival is convoluted at best. The origins of the drink lay outside the city, both in Europe and in northern U.S. cities like New York, where the Suissesse grew out of the common desire to temper the heat of absinthe with dilution and complementary ingredients.
One early ancestor is the Absinthe Frappé, a simple preparation served over crushed ice that sometimes features liqueurs like anisette or crème de menthe. The addition of egg white to the Suissesse seems to have come about around the turn of the last century, when Parisian bartender Frank Newman recorded his recipe with absinthe, egg white, grenadine and sugar, shaken and topped with soda. Other similar combinations emerged both in the States and abroad, including a German recipe that introduced orgeat circa 1910. In 1930’s The Savoy Cocktail Book, the Suisse, made with just absinthe, anisette, sugar and egg white—no orgeat—appears. Across variations, egg white, orgeat, various liqueurs, sweeteners and soda water are included or omitted.
Somewhere along the line, though, the Suissesse came to New Orleans. Absinthe runs through that city’s veins—and through its cocktails, as evidenced by the Sazerac’s rinse, the Obituary’s generous dashes and the aforementioned Absinthe Frappé. Indeed, the Suissesse is included in Stanley Clisby Arthur’s Depression-era compendium, Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em, which reflects the city’s popular drinks at that time. (Not only does Clisby Arthur’s spec omit orgeat and cream, it also includes French vermouth, an ingredient not seen in other variations.)
The spec published in Cure calls for an ounce and a half of absinthe, three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup, an egg white and a full ounce of cream. In the recipe, the crème de menthe—specifically, Tempus Fugit’s slightly funkier, intensely minty version—gets floated on top below a grating of fresh nutmeg. Like the first version he tried, Bodenheimer’s recipe does not call for orgeat.
Estopinal, on the other hand, appreciates the drink both with orgeat and without, and dispatches either version depending on the season. In hot weather, he prefers serving it without orgeat, citing the refreshing, clean combination of herbaceous absinthe and mint. Winter calls for the grounding nuttiness of the orgeat, which also lends “a little bit more texture and a more creamy mouthfeel.”
Today, Estopinal’s cold-weather take relies on just a quarter-ounce of the almond syrup laid over an ounce of high-proof absinthe; like Bodenheimer, he calls for an egg white and a full ounce of cream. He also finishes the drink with a float, but his preferred crème de menthe is Marie Brizard, which he favors for its candied quality.
With its minty liqueur, cream and rose water–infused orgeat, the drink overlaps with two New Orleans classics: the Grasshopper (crèmes de menthe and cacao, cream, sometimes brandy) and the Ramos Gin Fizz (gin, sugar, lemon, lime, cream, egg white, orange flower water, soda). It would follow that bartenders in the Crescent City took an absinthe cocktail in flux and combined its best aspects with those of established local classics, creating the Suissesse as we know it today.C
And though the drink didn’t originate in New Orleans, the Suissesse brings up memories of early Carnival mornings for both Bodenheimer and Estopinal, who remember fondly sipping the creamy, minty drink while the crowds pass by. “It has a very Mardi Gras connection to me,” says Estopinal. “It feels like the kind of drink you want to drink early in the morning.”
