Date of Award
Spring 2019
Thesis Date
4-2019
Degree Type
Honors Thesis-Unrestricted
Degree Name
B.A.
Department
History and Philosophy
Degree Program
History
Director
Robert Dupont
Abstract
Over the past twenty years, the national beverage industry adapted to a growing interest in historic cocktails and classic recipes. Among the many rediscovered classics, New Orleans’ own century-old recipes, like the Sazerac cocktail, garnered praise, national attention, and consumer embrace – even legislative endorsement. However, for most of the past forty years, the city retained a reputation as a place for wild abandon doused in alcoholic beverages of mediocre pedigree. Rather than dismiss the evolution of drinking trends from elegant, classic recipes to indulgent, high-proof booze-bombs as an inherent choice of local drinkers, this paper explores evidence in historic menus and the scholarship in New Orleans tourism marketing. From a careful examination of bar guides, advertisements, newspaper articles, menus and reviews, it is apparent that New Orleans did not eschew its appreciation for traditional, old-time cocktail customs. Rather, two parallel stories unfold; locals continued to demand beverages from previous generations, while business owners recognized the need to accommodate visitors wanting to experience the city’s liberal relationship with liquor. Though the local community is not always harmonious with the dependency on tourism, local bar operators continually offered traditional, historic drink options while also catering to the needs of tourists who chose New Orleans for the escapist experience the city marketed.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Enlil, Rhiannon, "Drinking Decisions: Twentieth-Century Marketing and Tradition in New Orleans Alcoholic Beverage Trends" (2019). Senior Honors Theses. 125.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/honors_theses/125
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this honors thesis in whole or part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the honors thesis.