FOOD NEWS
One Classic New Orleans Cocktail Has Been On Menus Since 1880
By Carly Weaver
New Orleans is known for cranking out some great cocktails, including Café Brulot Diabolique, which literally translates to "devilishly burned coffee."
Antoine's, the birthplace of the cocktail, is one of New Orleans's oldest and most renowned French-Creole fine dining restaurants, residing in the French Quarter since 1840.
The restaurant founder's son, Jules Alciatore, was inspired to create the cocktail from the French practice of putting a flaming, Cognac-coated sugar cube into coffee.
Café Brulot Diabolique is essentially a spiked, spiced coffee. It's a hot, bold, rich drink usually enjoyed after dinner and consumed in small demitasse cups.
The drink's base is usually an 8:1 ratio of strong black coffee and brandy. Sugar, lemon or orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon sticks add warmth, flavor, and sweetness.
Performed tableside, the brandy is mixed with the cinnamon, cloves, citrus peels, and sugar in a special fire-proof silver bowl and then lit on fire with a match.
The waiter ignites a ladle and stirs the mixture. The hot coffee is added to the bowl while everything is flaming, and it's usually poured over a spiraled orange or lemon peel.
Café Brulot Diabolique was added to the menu at Antoine's in the late 1880s. Now, you can also find it at other popular New Orleans fine dining spots like Arnaud's and Galatoire's.
