July 16, 2025 • 52 mins
Abigail Gullo is New Orleans' cocktail queen. She is a mixology muse and award-winning bartender who has appeared on The Tonight Show and Steven Colbert Show and who travels the nation presenting cocktail pop-ups. In New Orleans, she's Creative Director for LOA Bar at the International Hotel where every cocktail tells a story tied to the unique culture of the Big Easy. Gullo shares tips on mixing up your drinks repertoire to create light and refreshing aperitivos for the Magic Hour.
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Fearless Fabulous You is broadcast live Wednesdays at 12 Noon ET on W4WN Radio - Women 4 Women Network (www.w4wn.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
Fearless Fabulous You Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:20):
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for choosing W four WN Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Hello, and welcome to Fearless Fabulous You. I am your host,
Melanie Young, And it is a wonderfully beautifully hot, humid,
psultry Southern day in New Orleans. And I have a sassy, sunny,
wonderful guest who is gonna lift everybody up and refresh
us all with some amazing expertise. We're talking about local
(01:06):
friend and renowned cocktail mixologists Muse I Color the Mixologists
Muse Abigail Gulo, who is the consummate hospitality professional and
a friend. I've known her for years. She's been on
my other show, The Connected Table. In fact, I was
just listening to it to prep for this show, and
I invited her on for several reasons. One, I got
(01:29):
back from Italy and I'm just craving sprintss. I mean,
it was so hot in Italy. It was like a
heat wave over one hundred days degrees every day and
everybody was out having sprints. Because the Italians know how
to handle this, I think better than the Americans back
here in New Orleans. It's a heat wave two and
every afternoon I say it's time to be Italian and
sprits it up and relax with a light refreshing libation.
(01:53):
I also have been drinking a lot of lower alcohol wines,
and last night I crushed up the remains of a
watermelon and so some peace going it in a lime
and made my own little homemade juicy mixer. Anything to
freshen up. So we're going to talk about what you
can do to have refreshing cocktails now on your own,
and also some tips for having the best, most fabulous
(02:16):
bar for your pleasure and entertaining. But we're going to
talk about Avocal also because she's really a fearless, fabulous woman.
She is an third winning Bartend of the Year many
times over. She has been recognized by the James Spear Foundation.
This year, she was a semi finalist for Outstanding Professional
and Cocktail Service. She has appeared on The Today Show.
(02:40):
She has made drinks with Stephen Colbert, who's my favorite
late night host. And if you are lucky enough to
come to New Orleans, which I hope you are because
it's where I live and I chose to live, you
can find some of her creative libations at loa bar
at the International House Hotel, which is a great place
to hang out, one of my top ten bars in
(03:02):
the city. We're coming into a big event here in
New Orleans that happens every July, Calltales of the Cocktail.
I know Abigail's super busy. I know that I'm trying
to figure out how I'm going to juggle a million events,
but she is taking time to join me on Fearless
Fabulous Today. So Abigail welcome.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Thank you so much. Melanie.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
It's such a pleasure to be here and see your beautiful,
fabulous face.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, I can't wait to see you in prison and
take a splash in the pool. Hey, I just learned
something new about you. You are in now a mermaid.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Why are you.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
With all your other talents. Your now a certified water
aerobics and instruct instructor. What happened there? How did that
come about?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Well, last year I was suffering greatly under our Louisiana
heat coupled with perry menopause, and I just needed to
be submerged in the water at all times. And I
started taking classes at the New Orleans Athletic Club and
fell in love with my students, with my fellow students,
(04:02):
and with the teacher. And when she announced she was
having knee surgery, I said, well, I'll get certified so
I could sub and keep up with your classes. And
she had a successful surgery, and she's come back and
taken most of her classes. But I still have one
or two and I still sub and I'm actually the
classes are getting so popular that I'm thinking about creating
(04:23):
a new dance class in the water.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
So you're gonna have to come over to I do
water aerobics. I do it by myself. But I'm so
inspired to learn more about this because we all need
multiple ways to figure out what we're going to do
with the rest of our life. I love exercising in
the water, and I'm lucky enough to have a pool,
as you know, because you visit it. So you'll have
to come over here and we'll dance in the water together.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I will show you all the moves, babe.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
I mean, I am certified now so I can instruct.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I'm a certified mermaid.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
That's so awesome. Do you wear a Romaine outfit?
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Oh? Gosh, yeah I do. Actually I have a little
mermade bathing suit, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
I love it. Well. You make waves all over the place,
and you've certainly made waves in the world of mixology
and great cocktails winning awards. I mean, I was just
rereading you. You know, when we last interviewed you for
the Connected Table. You just won fifteen thousand dollars, but
I haven't held Bartender of the Year. What did you
do with all that money?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
I used it as a down payment for my first home.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
That's so awesome. I love that story. So you know,
that's a lesson to everybody there. If there's a contest Internet,
because you can't win if you don't enter. I mean,
I'm going to enter the buy You Radio contest to
get a portable generator because I'm worried about hurricanes and
I'm will listen to the song I'm going to enter
everything because you got to do that. It's so amazing.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, that was.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
That was an extraordinary, an extraordinary, extraordinary trip. And just
I met such wonderful people as part of that trip.
It was in Puerto Rico. It was my first time
to Puerto Rico. I fell in love with the island.
I fell in love with the people there, and it
just it really changed my life. And that was life
changing my for me. You know, we are bartenders. We
subsist on tips, and in a seasonal city like this,
(06:07):
it was very hard to kind of get ahead and
and and and save up enough money to buy a home.
And and that little bit really helped push me over
the edge and help help me get my first home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Well, you know, that's it's true. These days, I'm a writer.
I don't make any money and I do a podcast.
We were my sponsors. But you got you got to
juggle a lot of things these days to get ahead,
and you certainly have. You know, I also remember that
you study theater in college, so your original goal was
to be an actor, which is also one of those
(06:40):
jobs where you have to take a lot of jobs
to get ahead. What did you perform any shows I did.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
I was.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
I was lucky enough to I kind of, in a
young person's folly, was very proud of the fact that
I was a working actor in New York City and never.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Had to wait tables or work in hospitality.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
I was managed to get enough work either behind the
scenes or in front of the working the boards off Broadway.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
And I also supplemented by teaching.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
I kind of fell more into the teaching route because
I wanted to have my evenings free to work in theater,
live theater, so a hospitality job just didn't seem to
make sense for me. So instead I took jobs at
early morning jobs as an early childhood development specialist in teaching,
and then because of my background in my degree in theater,
(07:30):
I became a drama teacher and helped manage a children's
theater company.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Well here's a tip for you. My late mother, Sonia Young,
the Purple Lady of Chattanooga Alsho, majored in theater here
at Sophie newcom College now to Lane University of New Orleans,
and theater has always been in my DNA. She also
became a childhood development She worked with children with learning disabilities.
And later became an adjunct professor at the local University
(07:55):
of TENNESSEEE at Chattanooga in the Theater and Speech department,
teaching public speed. So a theater degree can mean so
many things if anyone's trying to think about what to
do with the rest of their lives or as you're
starting out, it can lead you to so many other
areas that can help other people develop skills as well.
So that's a lot that we have in common. I
(08:16):
love the theater.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
It's wonderful.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
It developed such beautiful soft skills. I had a wonderful professor.
He just retired this year. Ed Jarrow is still a
working actor as well, and he told me something that's
stuck with me in my first class with him. He said,
ninety percent of acting is reacting, and you can't react
unless you're a good listener. So the soft skills that
(08:38):
I developed as an actor being a good listener, being
working together as a team in theater, but also willing
to stand up and improv and think outside of the
box and be a leader and stand up when that
leadership is needed. These soft skills have really helped me
in all aspects of my career and in this stage
of capitalism quite late. It is important that we are
(08:59):
able to pivot from job to job.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
And I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
To say that I've been able to pivot and career
to career and found success and happiness wherever I land.
And it's mostly due to these amazing skills that I
developed as a theater professional, and you know, the absolute
privilege and assistance of my supporting and loving family.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Of course, where did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (09:24):
We moved around a lot when I was a kid.
My dad was a radio broadcast journalist and my mom
was a historical romance writer and he often you know,
people asked if my dad was in the military, and
my dad would answer, no, she's an air far spread
you're the radio journalists.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
So I always spent some time in outside.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
Of Atlanta, Georgia, in northern Virginia. I was born near
western New York, where my dad was from, and spent
some time on Long Island where my mom was from,
so in the Hudson Valley for a long time as well.
So mostly up and down the Atlantic coast though, was
kind of where I grew up. And you know, just
(10:07):
like just like the skills you pick up when you're
doing theater shows, or just like the skills you pick
up quite honestly, as a bartender, moving from gig to gig,
you pick up skills along the way. You pick up
habits from the people you love and admire and respect
and adopt them into your own life. And I think
that also really helped me when I was growing up.
Of course, I rebelled as soon as I became an
(10:27):
adult and moved into overd stabilized apartment in New York
City and stayed there about twenty years.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
So that was my rebellious age.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I did that too my mother. My mother's comment was,
you're going to be no, she says, New York is
going to age you.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Yeah, grow quickly in New York, That's true, because city
of survival, you have to learn how to survive very quickly.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Although these days it seems like everybody's surviving, you know,
not just New York. You know, thanks to your skills
you have, you have survived and thrived. What led you
into really embracing almost full time, you know, a career
in bartending and mixology, which are really different in many
(11:20):
ways but come to come together as well. What was
the reason that you started to just go whole in.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
Well, I uh, it was a matter of circumstances, you know.
Like I Like I said, I had been teaching for
a long time. I'd been performing as well and unknowingly
developing these skills to.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Be a great bartender.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
And I was always a cocktail nerd ever since I
was a little girl. So I was well aware of
the scene when it started to change in New York
at the turn of the twenty first century, and I saw,
you know, I saw restaurants developing better cocktail programs. I
went to cocktail bars. I got to see Dale de
(12:01):
Graf at work at the Rainbow Room and at Windows
in the World and find and seek out the people
who who were creating the cocktail culture that I was
interested in that I had always kind of recreated in
my house for house parties, but never really could find
out in the real world.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
And then suddenly I.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Happened to be there as these places are developing. So
it was a wonderful circumstance that coupled with the nine
to eleven which was a terrible disaster for New York City.
The two biggest job creators in New York City before
nine to eleven was finance and the arts, they created
the same number of jobs.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
After nine to eleven, that got all lopsided.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
And the final nail in the coffin was the economic
the global crisis of two thousand and eight. For the
kind of work that I did in nonprofit, in the
creative arts, in the theater, I just couldn't see a
path to survival anymore. And I looked to these cocktail
bars that were thriving and thought, wow, even when times
are bad, people drink maybe. And you know, like I said,
(13:05):
I was a cocktail nerd and I was only interested
in kind of craft cocktails, and suddenly.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
That was all the rage. So it was the right
place at the right time.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You jump the wave. You sort on what you jumped
on the wave, and you know it's true. You know,
in times are bad, people still have you know, people
need to eat and drink, and they want to be
nourished and they want to be made to feel welcome.
I mean that's the whole origin of the boarding houses
and the bars. As people went there to gather, it
was how they gathered and connected because remember way back then,
there was no internet, there was no phones. It's so
(13:36):
placed together was that these bars to have a community,
a communal feeling, and it's still that way. And you know,
as I walked around David and I walked around Italy,
you get that sense people have that Appartivo hour. It's
like the magic hour where suddenly all the tables turn
orange because every seems to be drinking spreads, which I
(13:58):
don't normally had not an apperall spirits Fregger, but I
do like spritzes. It's like, you know, at the end
of the day, it's like the bridge drink between you
know that for me and APARTIVEO. They say it's to
prepare your before eating and whatnot, But for me, it's
that bridge drink where you just put the day away.
It's the twilight drink just before sunset where you just
sit and go, ah, let's just chill and recap. And
(14:22):
it's so refreshing and and it's really gripped me here
in New Orleans because of the heat. You know, I
eat lighter later, drink later, and I'm looking for that
refreshing thing and and I was. We were talking with
Charlottevas last week, it was like, spritzes are just here
to stay, but other and other kinds of cocktails. Uh,
(14:44):
you know craft cocktails are at every layer, and goodness
knows what I'll discover tails of the cocktail next week.
But you I learned two things about you. One you
learned you told us in that the Connected Table that
you could read someone's body language to decide what kind
of cocktail person they are and what they would like.
(15:05):
Talk to me about that.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
I think it's really important that when you are listening
to somebody, you're listening beyond words. You're listening to their
eye contact and their body language and how they're feeling
and kind of interpret that and help nudge them into
because sometimes people come and they don't know what they
want to drink, and that's why they come to you.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
They're asking you, and they'll they'll say like, well, what
do you like? And I'm always.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Redirecting them from that, because you know, we're individual people
who have individual needs.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
What I like may not be what they like.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
But I can also say, well, I don't know, it's
really hot right now, I feel like I can go
for something light and spritsy.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Does that sound good to you? You know?
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And I could bound something off of them like that,
and then watching them how they react when you give
them suggestions. You watch very carefully and how they react.
If there's hesitation, go no, No, that doesn't seem like
what you want. Let's try something else. So you're always
watching for that react. That physical reaction is going to
tell you even before because people we're very self conscious, right,
(16:06):
we don't want to hurt other feelings sometimes and we
get nervous, and especially like post COVID, people are so
awkward now.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Don't know how to act in public right with people.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
And I always have a joke when when we have
like a particularly difficult person at the restaurant or at
the bar, I used to say, Oh, it's okay, be
gentle with them.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
It's their first time ever in a bar. And they
be like really, and I'm like no, but they're acting
like it. Sometimes we sometimes we act like is this
my first time here? I don't know how to act.
I don't know how to.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Behave You know, some people get nervous and they go,
and they go for different reasons. Sometimes they're happy since
they're sad, Sometimes they want to be alone, sometimes they
want to meet people. You have to understand that, and
you've worked a lot of places that are of note.
I think we first met you when you were at
Sobu and then Compare the Pen, and then you went
to Oregon for a while, and then you I don't
(17:02):
know where else after that, and then and then suddenly
you're back here in New Orleans where you belong. And
I love the title you have is creative direct Is
that's still right?
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Creative director creative director of Loa Bar. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Yeah, I put so much more into it than just
you know, making dirt great menus there. Loa is such
a special jewel box of a bar. You know, it's
like the first craft cocktail bar in New Orleans. We
opened up twenty seven years ago. First boutique hotel in
New Orleans. Were located, you know, nestled right downtown and
(17:37):
have this real distinct point of view, a sacred and
authentic taste of place that is New Orleans. And it's
not just the Spanish and the French, but it's the
it's Haiti and it's Havana, and it's Vietnam and Senegal,
you know, and it's there's a Loa is. The name
references the pantheon of Haitian voodoo god. So I really
(18:01):
feel like a witchcraft happens at that bar. You know,
we have a we have an altar, we light a
candle every day there. We have throughout the years ceremonies,
including a voodoo ritual in the lobby of the hotel.
So we take it very seriously. This this connection to place,
and that's something that always really.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Appealed to me.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
So the creative director title is encompasses all of that,
creating this feeling throughout the year in the hotel, not
just for the people who are visiting, but for locals
as well. To have this place, this established place that
connects you to to the authenticity of New Orleans.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Your cocktails tell a story too, right, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Every cocktail tells. It's very important that they tell a stories.
Sometimes I come up with the story before the cocktail.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So tell me a story and a glass.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
A story in a glass.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, I mean the most obvious one is the story
of New Orleans can be told in a glass of
the Sazaraq from the Antoine Pey showed and his his
refugee status fleeing the Haitian Revolution, to and his the
sacred mix of West African and Caribbean creole traditions in
his bidders to the rints of Absinthe with our French
(19:17):
connections and the cognac and rye, our French and our
American connection, even down to the sugar which is still
our number one crop here and the twist of lemon,
our Sicilian connection. Right, more Sicilians came through the port
of New Orleans than Els Island. The history of New
Orleans can be seen in a sazaac glass and I
(19:39):
kind of love that.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I love it too, and I remind the Sicilians every
time we go there. You know, there was a huge
Sicilian American population, heritage, and you need to come bring
your wines to New Orleans. We're trying to get it.
We want a Sicilian Wine and Food week to create here.
Oh good, I think that's the funding of and working
it and working it.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
I went to visit my great great grandfather's hometown with
my parents and.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
We found relatives, we found where is it. It's ali Manuosa.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
It's a little hill top rural town, agricultural town about
two hours outside of Palermo.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Heaving tan in a set and we just had so
much fun.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
But yeah, I was reminded of traveling with my parents
and sitting down for a parativo hour and them enjoying
the snacks and enjoying our spritss, and then going back
to the hotel and coming out getting changed for dinner,
and my parents are in their pajamas. I'm like, what
are you doing? And they're like, what are you doing?
I'm like getting ready for dinner. They're like, we just
had dinner. I'm like, that wasn't dinner. That was a
parativo hour.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
We still have to for anyone who dies. A parativo
is like a happy hour, bit better for so many reasons.
You know, a happy hour, the concept is a happy hour,
get happy, get drunk, have a half price drink. A
patibo hour is really about savoring a moment that to
ferni Ane, where you really don't have to do anything
but just have a drink, maybe some chichetti and potato
(21:05):
chips and a lot of potato chips and little munchies,
you know, yeah, and just sit and enjoy that moment,
that twilight, that pre sunset twilight time of day is
still hot, but you're chilling. It's great, you know. I
think that what I'm curious is, as I said, I'm
(21:28):
not a sorry pari, but I'm not an apple all
spritz person. It's all a matter of taste. I've started
doing a gin r M I love, I do too,
But what are some other and we'll start with pritzes
and then I want to get to something else. Britz
type beverages that you would be creative, that are easy
(21:49):
also to do at home, that you would recommend.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
There's so many.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
There's so many, because there's such a wonderful a pair
of TiVo and a fortified wine tradition in.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Your up that I think.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
I think New Orleans is like a wonderful place for
this because we do have such a healthy, robust drinking culture.
I think to incorporate a parativo hour is would be
an easy sell here.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
There are so.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Many more vermouths and aromatized wines and specials coming. I
just tried one last night, Melanie, you will die. It's
called Shambrosette.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Have you heard of schamras.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
No, but it sounds like something from Emily in Paris,
like champe Chambrosette.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
It is a from like the Alpine region of France
where they take blanc, a beautiful blanc vermouth. Blonk for
is a category that I don't think it's enough attention.
Blank for mouth is not as sweet as sweet for mouth.
It is usually clear. It is certainly not like driver mouth.
It is floral and elegant and one of the best makers.
(22:54):
Dolan has this tradition of macerating fresh strawberries hmm. And
it's called champaseet and you could buy it in a bottle, now,
little bottle with a strawberry on it. I never tasted
anything so delicious. Just top that with some bubbles or
some club soda instant sprits. You can throw some punch
to some strawberries in there too, some punch tool of strawberries.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
I also love.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
The more the more alpine amoros and liqueurs that have
a lot of those floral notes to them, dark and
rich like Pasubio or Browlio, or they could be light
and floral like Montenegro or Amara Amara nonino. So there
is wide variety of amari and fortified wines. And then
(23:44):
of course I would remiss in not mentioning my absolute
favorite fortified wine, which is shrry.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yes, the best sprits.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
I just made one over the weekend. I did a
pop up.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
Uh in Memphis, and I did this drink called the
Moon Goddess that used coconut water and gin and feno,
sherry and orgotte, and then you could top that with
like a sparkling coconut water. Oh my gosh, I mean
talk about hydrating and.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Refreshing at the same time.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well, I think I think you said a really important point. So,
you know, last night I was just, look, we're trying
to you know, both the hurricane season. We're trying to
empty out the refrigerator a cover in case we lose power,
like we may be losing power this week, who knows.
So we had leftover watermelon. I crushed it all up,
had that beautiful fresh watermelon, and then I realized we'd
have you know, I'm like, what's the sprisky part other
(24:39):
than opening another bottless champagne and we've done two for
a steel day. But somebody sent us this non alcohol
free sparkling wine bod or something, and we didn't really
like it as is, but we ended up mixing it
and using it as a sprits and it came out great.
I put in some basil, and I put in some
(25:01):
pisco and canto pisco and because I love pisco, and
some lime and it was delicious and it was just
like my own little creation. So I you know, for
everyone listening, you can be creative in your kitchen with
what you have. But you know, formoths, Okay, this is
what I'm looking for when I go to tails with
a cocktail vermoths, Tomorrow's Mars and anything in that. Bitters
(25:23):
I like because I don't have a sweet tooth. If
I eat fruit, it's got to be fresh, and you know,
like mascerted, So I like those bitter alpine pine flavors, licorice.
I love all that. But you know, sprits can be
as you said, sparkling coconut water. I had a sparkling
no alcohol wine which I turned into an alcohol beverage,
but I didn't I could have had it as a
(25:44):
non alcohol but just not adding the piste coo, and
it would have been a sprits, non alcohol, sprits with waste,
with watermelon, basil. You can find a lot of sparkling
and it doesn't have to be like prosecco or white
wine or family one.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Yeah, necessarily, and you can also, like a lot of
people are afraid, like you said, of opening up another
whole bottle, there's a great can option too. Yeah, you're
on behalf a bottle, you know, so if you're if
you if you don't want to overdo it and you
don't want to not that there's anything wrong. I mean,
leftover champagne really lasts. Anyway, you can also a key
(26:21):
for leftover champagne. Mix it with the sugar and you've
made a great syrup. Let's use for good idea ste flavor.
It's absolutely gorgeous. I love it in sidecars sours dackeries. Yeah,
that comes in really really handy.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Great idea and sherry I love share. I used to
work with one from Spain, Love Share. I love it
plant like a chilled I love love love Montiato. It's
my favorite, but I also like a good fino and
you know Corto Palocrtata, which I still have one. It's
been open forever. I don't know if it's any good anymore,
but I think I cooked with it recently. You know,
(27:00):
it has a shelf life. Yeah, so I try to
use everything that way. But sherrys are amazing, and yes,
they make all these things you can enjoy alone or mix.
And then I just saw the bitters Krystal Cotton's Bitterers
were on the Today Show Believe or Not? Yeah, believe it.
What's the name of our bidders, Chris Welbo. Yeah, and yes,
(27:21):
And I'm going to go pick some of it up there.
They're a bitters and soda, yes, cans. I haven't had
them yet, but I was like, that's a wonderful tradition.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
I mean outside, outside of America, you can get a
lot of non alcoholic kind of bitters and sodas, concoctions
and non alcoholic like appal sprits is and bottles and
stuff that's very, very common in grocery stores in Europe,
I'm sure you saw. And then that's a adding a
bitter component to something. It really elevates I think a
standard sour or standard dagger. The sweet you have, the sour,
(27:54):
you add bitter. You're layering in another layer of flavor.
And then you add something nutty and savory like sherry.
Fourth layer of flavor. You're layering in that very easy.
With four ingredients, you've created a very complex, beautiful drink.
And I'm so glad you mentioned herbs too. We have
my friend's garden is exploding with herbs. She keeps giving
me bushels of herbs, and I love putting in everything
(28:16):
I'm cooking, but also everything I'm drinking.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So I'm craving. We have rosemary outside that I logged
off my cousin's patio because they're renovating the patios. We
hold it over to our place. I'm craving a mint.
I'm craving mint, and we have a basil plant. Now,
you know these are wonderful herbs. But let's think about
creative ways to use them. First of all, let's think
about you know what to do this at home, and
(28:40):
maybe you're on a budget, but you want to have
some key products and ingredients that you can mix in
many ways. What would you recommend.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
As far as alcohol or as far as like mixers
to have.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Well, I would say, well alcohol, you probably need to
see the basics. But what would you have an addition
to the basic vodka rum tin in the brown spirits?
What is some enhance you mentioned vermouth for example, what
is it that people may not be buying that they
should be putting on their bar.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Well, a lot of people they'll buy that driver mouth
or that sweet for mouth to make a martine or
manhattan and then it just sits there.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
I suggest use it in it. You know, you've got
to use it right away.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Vermouth is a wine, a fortified wine, but just like wine,
you got to keep it capped, to keep it refrigerated,
and probably use it within a couple of months. It
doesn't go bad per se, it just doesn't taste as good.
And I'll tell you, even if something does get oxidized,
it doesn't mean it's bad. I saw a friend of
mine recently do an example of showing Saint Jermaine is
(29:38):
a product that doesn't have enough alcohol or sugar in
it that once it's opened, it can oxidize and it
gets dark in color and it.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Scares a lot of people off.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
Well, she did it tasting, and she did a wonderful
example of how it's different but not bad, and it's
just tasted. If things, you know, if it is like
turned to vinegar, cook with it. But if it's just
different and richer and more has more oxidation on it,
sometimes maybe that's better for brown spirits, Maybe that has
(30:08):
caramel notes to it. That will be good for something
that's a little bit darker.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
So there's no.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
There should be no waste first of all. So don't
feel like you have to throw something out just because
you've had a long time taste it. It's not going
to hurt you. Sprintzes are what people drink when they
could and these non alcoholic these light alcoholics, is what
they drank when we couldn't drink safe drinking water.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
It's one of the reasons why they had spent and
they had herbal qualities because that was medicine at the
time too. So so yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Absolutely experiment with more vermouths, with more fortified wines, Madeira, Circo,
all of these, all of these products are excellent on
their own on the rocks with just a twist with
this little side of olives or fritzing it up adding
some club soda to it. I am one of those
(31:03):
girls that always has like multiple cans of different flavored sodas,
and I loved making I'll take a little sip out
and then pour some booze in and take my can
walking in New Orleans as we do with a little
goat drink and a koozie can and make something really
spread sy and refreshing.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
You can, and you can, and we have a lot
of cans. Although we were out recently because we drank
them all because they're sot here. It's like, I have more.
And then we were burping a lot, so we kind
of backed off the bubbles for a while except for
champagne and it sprints. I also cooked with a lot
of stuff, so I made for that steel day, we
(31:46):
made sell a nisois. And because we're cooking in a
lot to save money, and David's a great cook, so
I made cherry for foodie.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
I learned, oh yeah, and I b Bton.
Speaker 5 (31:56):
I got a recipe from far Breton, and I'm now
I'm constantly getting prunes and cooking them in almagnac and
making a far Oh my gosh. And then I like,
I snack on it. That's like my breakfast, like on
the run.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I had it with yogurt with my homemade granola.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
It's so French, right, I'm like, it's eggs, it's eggs,
it's it's cream.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
It's breakfast, right, Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
And then I put I just grabbed some Grandmarnier because
I was like, what do we have that's just been
sitting around forever? Because I'm really trying to use everything
up before the big one. So I just poured some
stuff in. I don't measure anything. I just poured in
and it was just, you know, I just accent a
lot of our food, whether it's watermelon with some pisco
or my cherry CLIFFOUDI with, you know, Grandmartinier. I just
(32:43):
dress it up with spirits that have been sitting around
that are fine, but maybe I don't know what to
do with them. A lot of people and I remember,
so when we're packing up my parents' house, they had
a vintage bar. And I mean vintage because some of
the stuff in the bar must have been from the sixties,
you know, like cores that had gold gold in them
and stuff, I mean stuff. And this is the coolest thing.
(33:06):
I pulled this out. This is a you can't really
see it because I'm blurted. It's a Harlequin Cocto glass.
So much vintage barware. It made me sad that we
had to sell some of it. We had to, but
I kept the vintage barware. But behind me, I blurted,
so nobody can see our house. I we have a
cabinet filled with vintage bar wear and glassware. And they
had so many old you know, products, and we were
(33:28):
sniffing them and some were chocolatey, and we were dying
to try it, but I wasn't sure if any were
gonna kill me because we'd been there for so long.
On average, on average, when you do have that bottle
of something that's not being refrigerated, you know what what
is the most chafes? What are the most shelf stable
products that you can actually keep on a bar? And
(33:50):
do you need to keep your bar at a certain
temperature like wine?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
I don't think you do.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
As long as the alcohol is high enough and the
sugar content is high enough. Sugar is a great preservative
as well, you should be fine. Like I said, the
example of Saint Germaine, a low alcohol, low sugar a
liqueur can be left on the shelf forever and turn
dark brown and still be fine. So if it's it's definitely.
(34:19):
If it's like an eighty proof spirit, that's good forever.
Madeira was was created to be baked by the sun
and basically last forever as well. Court also can last
a long time, So I don't think there is there's
a There should be a lot of fear around, like
how long these have been staying around?
Speaker 4 (34:41):
I'd be worried.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
I try to drink my wine more. And that's one
thing I run out of, is like actual wine because
I'm so afraid of like missing the drink by date.
And and when I have people over, I love to
pop a bottle and finish, finish those bottles. I have
a whole bunch of like finished bottles on my table
right now because I had a little early birthday celebration
on Bestial Day and I said, I got all this
(35:03):
wine from California.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
And I today is your birthday, Today is my birthday.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
What are you going to do other than talk to me?
What are you going to celebrate?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
I'm going to work. I'm going to work.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
We have an event tonight and it's still still a
workday for me. So I'd love to spend it with
my team and spend it with the people at the
International House Hotel because it's such a wonderful, tight knit, small,
you know, boutique hotel, vibe, and I just love everyone
I work with, so it's a very very nice place
to spend my birthday for sure.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Well, I you know you're going to have to come
up first. You're going to come over here because we're
here now for the summer, and we'll celebrate here. We'll
uncork some stuff and on pop some stuff because we're
trying to drink the cellar before it all gets blown away.
And we'll do water aerobics together. Maybe we'll get David
to do some water aerobics.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
I you know, I.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
Befriended a man at the pharmacy the other day who said,
I need knee surgery, but I can't get it because
my heart can't take it.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
And I said, they are bothering you.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
I think I have something for that, and he's like, God,
I wish I could afford to go to your class.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
I'm like, now I'm coming to you. You have a pool.
He's like, I got a pool near me.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
I'm like, mister Melvin, I'm coming to your pool and
I'm going to teach you some things because nobody should
have to live in pain.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
It's really hard.
Speaker 5 (36:16):
It's really hard when I see people having a difficult
time with their bodies and breaking down, and you know,
our system is not set up to support people who
have who have issues, and I'm going to do what
I can to make him feel better.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
So I think it's really important.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
And men in particular, they get very fussy about you know,
we're so in touch as women, we're told to be
like in touch with our bodies.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
We are.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
We obsess over our bodies, our shape, our size, and
that I think leads us to be a little bit
more aware when something is wrong. And because men are
just not used to having that look on their you know,
that that that that microscope on their own bodies, they
can something that could be you know, easily fixable.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
So yeah, cool, yeah, you know, and everybody, you know,
every woman out there should be like without nagging, saying honey,
you know, let's set up a doctor's appointment, let's go
take a walk, let's do this, you know. And and
you know, water aerobics is for everybody. You know, It's
very popular with seniors because it is low impact but
effective and if you do have joint issues. I have
(37:24):
a degenerative lower back and my pet my medicare is ending,
and so I'm going to be doing more water aerobics
and certain types of bar to keep my core back.
And it's the pool is great, and you actually solved
a huge problem in New Orleans how to keep cool. Nate.
You get licenses at a water aerobic constructor, and then
(37:44):
you're in the water all the day and you're making
money doing it.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
And I have such a wonderful collection I have.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
I have men in my class, I have all different ages,
young women, I have pregnant women, I have I have
people who don't even know how to swim, and they're
taking this as away to kind of get over the
fear of the water, and they're learning swimming as well,
and so a lot of like the moves I teach
them are good swimming moves as well. So yeah, that's
really that's really important to me in this community and
(38:13):
to be able to tap into you know, I'm so
community based in my other job, but it's really nice
to see another side of the community. And I went
in to work yesterday and my bartender was like, oh,
you had two of your students from your water RUPs
class came in. That's twice over the weekend. They were great,
and so it's a it's really great to see them
out of the water.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Sometimes I don't recognize them.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I'm like, oh, well, don't don't you have to wear
like baiting camps. You know, it's like, oh, it's you,
you have clothes on it. I recognize you.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
But I didn't recognize you with your hair dry.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Yeah, it's it's very different. Well, I just love that
because you know it's also, I will say living in
New Orleans, which we've now done for a year, I
have to give a shout out to New Orleans wonderful
attitude about life, which is as good as the attitude
about life. And you know the French too, but I
sometimes think New Orleans is more Italian than French. The
body positivity mantra here, even though obesity is a big
(39:10):
problem throughout the state of Louisiana and whatnot, the body
positivity factor is very strong. People are confident in their bodies,
many of them. I think that's really important because living
in New York, where everybody's just absolutely neurotic about their
bodies and their looks, it's refreshing down here. Sometimes jarring,
(39:32):
but very refreshing.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
Also one of my personal mottos that I've learned, and
I think someone said this to me once, but I've
adopted it in my own to live in New York
City you have to be successful, angelus, you have to
be good looking.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
But to live in New Orleans, you just have to
be yourself. And it's just the best I love.
Speaker 5 (39:52):
About living here, and yes, obesity is we're coming to
realize that it is a medical issue, and it is
also a poverty and economic issue. Yes, absolutely, straight up
and down. And it's not a moral issue. It is
not moral failing. It is not a personal failing. It
is a medical diagnosis, and it is an economic side
(40:15):
effect of poverty.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Yes, not eating properly.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
So I think it's really important to not necessarily body positively,
but body understanding.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
What's also a movement issue. We are more sedentary. That's
why a lot of children are getting obese because they're
sitting in front of their computers. And that's really what
is causing my degenerative back, besides years of like producing
events and lifting everything because I did that for how
many years. I was always like, oh, I almost move
the table myself, you know, or lifting boxes of wine. No,
you can't do that. But the movement factor is also
(40:51):
really important as well as they go hand in hand
with nutrition, which is why your decision to teach water
aerobic so fascinates me. You have two air areas of
your career, your story career, that are so fascinating. One
you are you create these amazing libations that give people
such joy and satisfaction and pleasure, and we all need
(41:14):
more pleasure in our life. And you have a bar
that truly is tiny. It's a jewel and a gem box.
And I hear there's a great Japanese restaurant I' dying
to try, and you are made to feel welcome and
comfortable there, and it is beautiful. It's stylish, but it's
not stylish in that way where you're not feeling comfortable.
Everybody is welcome, and I think that's a great balance
(41:37):
between your helping people become stronger and more confident in
their their swimming and their body and their self through
water aerobics, and then bringing them comfort and making them
feel at home, which New Orleans does at LOA because
one of the great things about New Orleans is the
phrase welcome home, which people were saying to us before
(42:01):
we even moved here, and it made us feel like, finally,
and I'm writing about this, finally we have somewhere we
are welcomed home, and we have a place.
Speaker 5 (42:11):
Right absolutely absolutely, we treasure our community here. It's such
a unique and distinct culture that you can't find anywhere else,
and we're fiercely protective of it. Yeah, people, and it's
you know, no, lie, this is a difficult city to
live in for a long so when you choose to
live here, we are so happy to have you because
(42:31):
you add so much to the storied fabric of the
city and everything that it means to everyone here, everyone
in the past and everyone in the future.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
So two things, Where do you go to relax and
unwind in New Orleans? And so how would you describe
yourself as a cocktail? What would you be mixed up with?
That's your mix?
Speaker 5 (42:56):
I uh, where do I go to relax side the pool?
And Orlands Athletic Club, which I love just being in
the same pool that Tennessee Williams used to swim in.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
Yeah, that sung to me because I'm a Tennessee Williams fan.
Speaker 5 (43:12):
Yeah for sure, for sure. I kind of love the vibes.
And there is a bar in the gym.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Too, which is very nice.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
It is so funny, how perfect billy New Orleans, New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (43:23):
But also I love to take my dogs to the
park and I go to there's a little park in
the French Quarter. I just love walking around the French Quarter.
I live right outside of the French Quarter and I
love my neighborhood. I love its access to the French Quarter.
I love I have friends that live in the French
Quarter and I'll just sit on their stoop and just
(43:44):
watch the world go by and say hi to people,
and see all the characters and get all the story
and all the gossip.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
The French Quarter. People think of it as a tourist area.
It is a highly residential area with.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
Its own unique, distinct neighborhood vibes, and I love being
a part of that.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
So that's kind of where.
Speaker 5 (44:04):
I go to chill out if I need to go
and have a little bit more space. I love City
Park and I love walking through. There's beautiful, kind of
eerie groves of live oaks there that I just recently
found out are planted live oaks that used to be
on Clayborne Avenue and they rip them out when they
(44:26):
built the high really and destroyed, you know, kind of
destroyed my neighborhood, my neighborhood, the tremet in half with
this project. Very racist happens all over the country where
they put a highway through a thriving black neighborhood and
Claiborne Avenue used to be full of these beautiful live oaks,
(44:47):
and they rip them up and they replanted them in
City Park. So I go there and commune with those trees.
I feel a connection to my neighborhood there. It always
felt a little eerie, and I was wondered why I
was always on to this particular grove of live oaks.
And then I found out the history of these particular
live oaks that they were ripped out from my neighborhood.
And so that's where I like to go to find
(45:10):
peace and commune.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
And well, I know those live oaks. I was there.
That's my favorite place. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, those the
live oaks are beautiful. The Farmer's markets right there, and
it's it's magical. City Park is magical period and the
tre Mae is an incredibly beautiful historic neighborhood just adjacent
to the French Quarter. And I know exactly what you're
(45:34):
talking about with the highway going through, because I hate
that highway anyway, and it kind of does rip the
two neighborhoods apart. And yet everybody should go see the
history is great, and there's some very historic restaurants in
the tree as well, like cheshis use.
Speaker 4 (45:51):
For lunch, Dookie Chase, Gabrielle's. There's wonderful, wonderful restaurants.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
Yeah, I want to go try Gabrielle's. Not been, but
I love the Sauniers and as they do a dark
through gumbo that I'm just dying to do. And I'm
doing Dookie Chase Lunch, We're doing Little Disney's Lunch. We're
just do lunch.
Speaker 5 (46:13):
We gotta go out more too, amazing Haitian hood.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Oh is that Queen Trainy Lisa and yeah were Ty
Yeah on my list when culinary comes, I'm hoping culinary
because we're on a budget right now. But Coolinaria is
This a great program in New Orleans for about almost
six weeks six six or seven weeks where many of
the city's restaurants in August and early September, which is
(46:40):
just dudley in terms of getting business to the city.
They do these great prefeaks, lunches and dinners and there's
probably fifty restaurants that do it, and it's a great
way to go out and explore for the locals as
well as visitors to try different restaurants. It's also a
great month because you have buy one museum membership and
all the other museums are free. Actually, August in New
Orleans is awesome if you want to travel with a budget.
Speaker 5 (47:00):
Hey, people say, oh it's so hot, Well guess what.
We have air conditioning everywhere. You're still going to be
able to go into sign nice, cool, air conditioned restaurants
and bars and partake of everything that we have to
offer even when it's not hot here it's we do
the same thing. We just do a lot of it inside.
And you know, if you have to be outside, find
yourself a pool. There's a new restaurant a couple of
(47:21):
blocks from me called Los Coyote that has a pool
in the back, so you can go get drinks, go
and they have like snacks and they have beautiful a
beautiful menu.
Speaker 4 (47:29):
And then go hang out with my pool.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Oh, we have to check that out. We had to
check out out pool.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
You know, hey, New Orleans and Company, we are giving
you a huge promotional shout out. Come sponsor my show anyway.
So describe yourself as a cocktail or describe a cocktail
that you think most defines your.
Speaker 5 (47:50):
Personal Well, I'll say that it's probably my favorite cocktail,
one of my favorite cocktails to drink, to order I
love the history of it. I love the Adonis. If
I were a cocktail, of course I would be and Adonnis.
Speaker 4 (48:02):
I love the story behind it.
Speaker 5 (48:04):
The makeup of it is essentially it's a Manhattan, a
fifty to fifty Manhattan, but instead of very whiskey, it
uses sherry, a Montiano sherry, sweet remooth orange bitters. It
is a beautiful cocktail, drinks like a Manhattan, but a
little lighter, you know.
Speaker 4 (48:20):
And it's actually.
Speaker 5 (48:21):
Named for the first Broadway musical. It was created for
the first Broadway musical in New York in the eighteen
eighties or eighteen nineties or early twentieth century. But I
think of it as a as an unknown classic. I
think of it as dark and rich with great bones
(48:41):
of a classic, but light and.
Speaker 4 (48:43):
You can have a lot of it. So I guess
that's me in a cocktail.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
So you kind of describe the ideal man.
Speaker 5 (48:49):
Yeah, well, yeah, I'm always looking for the ideal man
as well.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
Sorry, David, am I blessing or what the story said?
You have to be the person you want to attract?
Speaker 3 (48:59):
So yeah, well, here's I'll drink to that. Well, it's
been really great chatting with you. Abigail where can our
friends and followers find and follow you to learn more
about what you're doing and all your wonderful advice.
Speaker 5 (49:14):
And you can follow me on Instagram at Abigail Galo.
Speaker 4 (49:20):
My name A B I G A I L g
U L L O I.
Speaker 5 (49:25):
I also have a website abiael Gallo that you could
check out a consulting group called Spirited Destinations, Uh if
you were and I do pop up So I just
got back from Memphis doing a beautiful pop up. So
available for cocktail classes and pop ups and uh and yeah,
and then that's where you can find me at Loah Loa,
(49:47):
New Orleans is our Instagram there. I'm at Loa during
the week and most nights and yeah, I definitely con
visit us. My team is amazing right now. Our menu
is very New Orleans focus is called of a pothole
based menu, So we have drinks like col Tomayo, Wedding
in a Pothole, Salt Wedge, the Spillway, seventy five.
Speaker 4 (50:12):
Yeah, ohing on very It's for the locals.
Speaker 5 (50:17):
People come in and they're not from New Orleans and
they're like, what is this menu. I'm like, oh, this
is the agony in the ecstasy of living in New
Orleans in the summertime.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
Living since we live in one of the most potholed
streets in Lakeview that has not been fixed since Katrina,
I so identify with that. Potholes are like legendary.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
I just hope we don't sink into one one day.
I know, I know, as I said, Ebagail knows how
to spin a story, stir a story in every glass,
and that pothole series is a great example.
Speaker 4 (50:52):
This menu, you love it well.
Speaker 3 (50:55):
Thank you for joining me, and of course you can
always join her in the swim and the Tennessee Williams
used to swim in swimming pool at the New Orleans
Athletic Club.
Speaker 4 (51:03):
Yes, yes, you can come.
Speaker 5 (51:05):
Yeah, come, you can be a guest, or if you're
a member of the New Orleans Athletic Club, come check
out one of our water aerobics classes.
Speaker 4 (51:10):
We have a really good time and yeah, I'd love
to see you there.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
All right, Well, thank you very much. A toast to you,
and let's get together and do some water aerobics together
and have a drink in the pool and.
Speaker 4 (51:21):
Be like I can't wait to sprint it up with
you baby.
Speaker 3 (51:25):
That's right, me too. I hope everybody's enjoying this show
I have. I'm in the spirit and we love the
spirit of New Orleans. So come on down and visit.
Go to Lowa Bar, check out. I have a girl's website.
Come down and support this wonderful city in the hottest
time of the year, because it is the best time
of the year to be here. If you want to
get great food and drink at a great price, and
(51:48):
you know, and entertain people at home, enjoy, have an appartivo,
don't rush, learn to sip saber and enjoy life. Because
you have a choice on how you live life. You
can choose it, and you should choose it on your terms.
And I say, choose fearless and fabulous. Thank you, follow
me Melanie fabulous and have a great day.
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(00:20):
be directed to those show hosts.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for choosing W four WN Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Hello, and welcome to Fearless Fabulous You. I am your host,
Melanie Young, And it is a wonderfully beautifully hot, humid,
psultry Southern day in New Orleans. And I have a sassy, sunny,
wonderful guest who is gonna lift everybody up and refresh
us all with some amazing expertise. We're talking about local
(01:06):
friend and renowned cocktail mixologists Muse I Color the Mixologists
Muse Abigail Gulo, who is the consummate hospitality professional and
a friend. I've known her for years. She's been on
my other show, The Connected Table. In fact, I was
just listening to it to prep for this show, and
I invited her on for several reasons. One, I got
(01:29):
back from Italy and I'm just craving sprintss. I mean,
it was so hot in Italy. It was like a
heat wave over one hundred days degrees every day and
everybody was out having sprints. Because the Italians know how
to handle this, I think better than the Americans back
here in New Orleans. It's a heat wave two and
every afternoon I say it's time to be Italian and
sprits it up and relax with a light refreshing libation.
(01:53):
I also have been drinking a lot of lower alcohol wines,
and last night I crushed up the remains of a
watermelon and so some peace going it in a lime
and made my own little homemade juicy mixer. Anything to
freshen up. So we're going to talk about what you
can do to have refreshing cocktails now on your own,
and also some tips for having the best, most fabulous
(02:16):
bar for your pleasure and entertaining. But we're going to
talk about Avocal also because she's really a fearless, fabulous woman.
She is an third winning Bartend of the Year many
times over. She has been recognized by the James Spear Foundation.
This year, she was a semi finalist for Outstanding Professional
and Cocktail Service. She has appeared on The Today Show.
(02:40):
She has made drinks with Stephen Colbert, who's my favorite
late night host. And if you are lucky enough to
come to New Orleans, which I hope you are because
it's where I live and I chose to live, you
can find some of her creative libations at loa bar
at the International House Hotel, which is a great place
to hang out, one of my top ten bars in
(03:02):
the city. We're coming into a big event here in
New Orleans that happens every July, Calltales of the Cocktail.
I know Abigail's super busy. I know that I'm trying
to figure out how I'm going to juggle a million events,
but she is taking time to join me on Fearless
Fabulous Today. So Abigail welcome.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Thank you so much. Melanie.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
It's such a pleasure to be here and see your beautiful,
fabulous face.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, I can't wait to see you in prison and
take a splash in the pool. Hey, I just learned
something new about you. You are in now a mermaid.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Why are you.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
With all your other talents. Your now a certified water
aerobics and instruct instructor. What happened there? How did that
come about?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Well, last year I was suffering greatly under our Louisiana
heat coupled with perry menopause, and I just needed to
be submerged in the water at all times. And I
started taking classes at the New Orleans Athletic Club and
fell in love with my students, with my fellow students,
(04:02):
and with the teacher. And when she announced she was
having knee surgery, I said, well, I'll get certified so
I could sub and keep up with your classes. And
she had a successful surgery, and she's come back and
taken most of her classes. But I still have one
or two and I still sub and I'm actually the
classes are getting so popular that I'm thinking about creating
(04:23):
a new dance class in the water.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
So you're gonna have to come over to I do
water aerobics. I do it by myself. But I'm so
inspired to learn more about this because we all need
multiple ways to figure out what we're going to do
with the rest of our life. I love exercising in
the water, and I'm lucky enough to have a pool,
as you know, because you visit it. So you'll have
to come over here and we'll dance in the water together.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I will show you all the moves, babe.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
I mean, I am certified now so I can instruct.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I'm a certified mermaid.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
That's so awesome. Do you wear a Romaine outfit?
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Oh? Gosh, yeah I do. Actually I have a little
mermade bathing suit, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
I love it. Well. You make waves all over the place,
and you've certainly made waves in the world of mixology
and great cocktails winning awards. I mean, I was just
rereading you. You know, when we last interviewed you for
the Connected Table. You just won fifteen thousand dollars, but
I haven't held Bartender of the Year. What did you
do with all that money?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
I used it as a down payment for my first home.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
That's so awesome. I love that story. So you know,
that's a lesson to everybody there. If there's a contest Internet,
because you can't win if you don't enter. I mean,
I'm going to enter the buy You Radio contest to
get a portable generator because I'm worried about hurricanes and
I'm will listen to the song I'm going to enter
everything because you got to do that. It's so amazing.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, that was.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
That was an extraordinary, an extraordinary, extraordinary trip. And just
I met such wonderful people as part of that trip.
It was in Puerto Rico. It was my first time
to Puerto Rico. I fell in love with the island.
I fell in love with the people there, and it
just it really changed my life. And that was life
changing my for me. You know, we are bartenders. We
subsist on tips, and in a seasonal city like this,
(06:07):
it was very hard to kind of get ahead and
and and and save up enough money to buy a home.
And and that little bit really helped push me over
the edge and help help me get my first home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Well, you know, that's it's true. These days, I'm a writer.
I don't make any money and I do a podcast.
We were my sponsors. But you got you got to
juggle a lot of things these days to get ahead,
and you certainly have. You know, I also remember that
you study theater in college, so your original goal was
to be an actor, which is also one of those
(06:40):
jobs where you have to take a lot of jobs
to get ahead. What did you perform any shows I did.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
I was.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
I was lucky enough to I kind of, in a
young person's folly, was very proud of the fact that
I was a working actor in New York City and never.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Had to wait tables or work in hospitality.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
I was managed to get enough work either behind the
scenes or in front of the working the boards off Broadway.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
And I also supplemented by teaching.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
I kind of fell more into the teaching route because
I wanted to have my evenings free to work in theater,
live theater, so a hospitality job just didn't seem to
make sense for me. So instead I took jobs at
early morning jobs as an early childhood development specialist in teaching,
and then because of my background in my degree in theater,
(07:30):
I became a drama teacher and helped manage a children's
theater company.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Well here's a tip for you. My late mother, Sonia Young,
the Purple Lady of Chattanooga Alsho, majored in theater here
at Sophie newcom College now to Lane University of New Orleans,
and theater has always been in my DNA. She also
became a childhood development She worked with children with learning disabilities.
And later became an adjunct professor at the local University
(07:55):
of TENNESSEEE at Chattanooga in the Theater and Speech department,
teaching public speed. So a theater degree can mean so
many things if anyone's trying to think about what to
do with the rest of their lives or as you're
starting out, it can lead you to so many other
areas that can help other people develop skills as well.
So that's a lot that we have in common. I
(08:16):
love the theater.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
It's wonderful.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
It developed such beautiful soft skills. I had a wonderful professor.
He just retired this year. Ed Jarrow is still a
working actor as well, and he told me something that's
stuck with me in my first class with him. He said,
ninety percent of acting is reacting, and you can't react
unless you're a good listener. So the soft skills that
(08:38):
I developed as an actor being a good listener, being
working together as a team in theater, but also willing
to stand up and improv and think outside of the
box and be a leader and stand up when that
leadership is needed. These soft skills have really helped me
in all aspects of my career and in this stage
of capitalism quite late. It is important that we are
(08:59):
able to pivot from job to job.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
And I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
To say that I've been able to pivot and career
to career and found success and happiness wherever I land.
And it's mostly due to these amazing skills that I
developed as a theater professional, and you know, the absolute
privilege and assistance of my supporting and loving family.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Of course, where did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (09:24):
We moved around a lot when I was a kid.
My dad was a radio broadcast journalist and my mom
was a historical romance writer and he often you know,
people asked if my dad was in the military, and
my dad would answer, no, she's an air far spread
you're the radio journalists.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
So I always spent some time in outside.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
Of Atlanta, Georgia, in northern Virginia. I was born near
western New York, where my dad was from, and spent
some time on Long Island where my mom was from,
so in the Hudson Valley for a long time as well.
So mostly up and down the Atlantic coast though, was
kind of where I grew up. And you know, just
(10:07):
like just like the skills you pick up when you're
doing theater shows, or just like the skills you pick
up quite honestly, as a bartender, moving from gig to gig,
you pick up skills along the way. You pick up
habits from the people you love and admire and respect
and adopt them into your own life. And I think
that also really helped me when I was growing up.
Of course, I rebelled as soon as I became an
(10:27):
adult and moved into overd stabilized apartment in New York
City and stayed there about twenty years.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
So that was my rebellious age.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I did that too my mother. My mother's comment was,
you're going to be no, she says, New York is
going to age you.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Yeah, grow quickly in New York, That's true, because city
of survival, you have to learn how to survive very quickly.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Although these days it seems like everybody's surviving, you know,
not just New York. You know, thanks to your skills
you have, you have survived and thrived. What led you
into really embracing almost full time, you know, a career
in bartending and mixology, which are really different in many
(11:20):
ways but come to come together as well. What was
the reason that you started to just go whole in.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
Well, I uh, it was a matter of circumstances, you know.
Like I Like I said, I had been teaching for
a long time. I'd been performing as well and unknowingly
developing these skills to.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Be a great bartender.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
And I was always a cocktail nerd ever since I
was a little girl. So I was well aware of
the scene when it started to change in New York
at the turn of the twenty first century, and I saw,
you know, I saw restaurants developing better cocktail programs. I
went to cocktail bars. I got to see Dale de
(12:01):
Graf at work at the Rainbow Room and at Windows
in the World and find and seek out the people
who who were creating the cocktail culture that I was
interested in that I had always kind of recreated in
my house for house parties, but never really could find
out in the real world.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
And then suddenly I.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Happened to be there as these places are developing. So
it was a wonderful circumstance that coupled with the nine
to eleven which was a terrible disaster for New York City.
The two biggest job creators in New York City before
nine to eleven was finance and the arts, they created
the same number of jobs.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
After nine to eleven, that got all lopsided.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
And the final nail in the coffin was the economic
the global crisis of two thousand and eight. For the
kind of work that I did in nonprofit, in the
creative arts, in the theater, I just couldn't see a
path to survival anymore. And I looked to these cocktail
bars that were thriving and thought, wow, even when times
are bad, people drink maybe. And you know, like I said,
(13:05):
I was a cocktail nerd and I was only interested
in kind of craft cocktails, and suddenly.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
That was all the rage. So it was the right
place at the right time.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You jump the wave. You sort on what you jumped
on the wave, and you know it's true. You know,
in times are bad, people still have you know, people
need to eat and drink, and they want to be
nourished and they want to be made to feel welcome.
I mean that's the whole origin of the boarding houses
and the bars. As people went there to gather, it
was how they gathered and connected because remember way back then,
there was no internet, there was no phones. It's so
(13:36):
placed together was that these bars to have a community,
a communal feeling, and it's still that way. And you know,
as I walked around David and I walked around Italy,
you get that sense people have that Appartivo hour. It's
like the magic hour where suddenly all the tables turn
orange because every seems to be drinking spreads, which I
(13:58):
don't normally had not an apperall spirits Fregger, but I
do like spritzes. It's like, you know, at the end
of the day, it's like the bridge drink between you
know that for me and APARTIVEO. They say it's to
prepare your before eating and whatnot, But for me, it's
that bridge drink where you just put the day away.
It's the twilight drink just before sunset where you just
sit and go, ah, let's just chill and recap. And
(14:22):
it's so refreshing and and it's really gripped me here
in New Orleans because of the heat. You know, I
eat lighter later, drink later, and I'm looking for that
refreshing thing and and I was. We were talking with
Charlottevas last week, it was like, spritzes are just here
to stay, but other and other kinds of cocktails. Uh,
(14:44):
you know craft cocktails are at every layer, and goodness
knows what I'll discover tails of the cocktail next week.
But you I learned two things about you. One you
learned you told us in that the Connected Table that
you could read someone's body language to decide what kind
of cocktail person they are and what they would like.
(15:05):
Talk to me about that.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
I think it's really important that when you are listening
to somebody, you're listening beyond words. You're listening to their
eye contact and their body language and how they're feeling
and kind of interpret that and help nudge them into
because sometimes people come and they don't know what they
want to drink, and that's why they come to you.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
They're asking you, and they'll they'll say like, well, what
do you like? And I'm always.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Redirecting them from that, because you know, we're individual people
who have individual needs.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
What I like may not be what they like.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
But I can also say, well, I don't know, it's
really hot right now, I feel like I can go
for something light and spritsy.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Does that sound good to you? You know?
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And I could bound something off of them like that,
and then watching them how they react when you give
them suggestions. You watch very carefully and how they react.
If there's hesitation, go no, No, that doesn't seem like
what you want. Let's try something else. So you're always
watching for that react. That physical reaction is going to
tell you even before because people we're very self conscious, right,
(16:06):
we don't want to hurt other feelings sometimes and we
get nervous, and especially like post COVID, people are so
awkward now.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Don't know how to act in public right with people.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
And I always have a joke when when we have
like a particularly difficult person at the restaurant or at
the bar, I used to say, Oh, it's okay, be
gentle with them.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
It's their first time ever in a bar. And they
be like really, and I'm like no, but they're acting
like it. Sometimes we sometimes we act like is this
my first time here? I don't know how to act.
I don't know how to.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Behave You know, some people get nervous and they go,
and they go for different reasons. Sometimes they're happy since
they're sad, Sometimes they want to be alone, sometimes they
want to meet people. You have to understand that, and
you've worked a lot of places that are of note.
I think we first met you when you were at
Sobu and then Compare the Pen, and then you went
to Oregon for a while, and then you I don't
(17:02):
know where else after that, and then and then suddenly
you're back here in New Orleans where you belong. And
I love the title you have is creative direct Is
that's still right?
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Creative director creative director of Loa Bar. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Yeah, I put so much more into it than just
you know, making dirt great menus there. Loa is such
a special jewel box of a bar. You know, it's
like the first craft cocktail bar in New Orleans. We
opened up twenty seven years ago. First boutique hotel in
New Orleans. Were located, you know, nestled right downtown and
(17:37):
have this real distinct point of view, a sacred and
authentic taste of place that is New Orleans. And it's
not just the Spanish and the French, but it's the
it's Haiti and it's Havana, and it's Vietnam and Senegal,
you know, and it's there's a Loa is. The name
references the pantheon of Haitian voodoo god. So I really
(18:01):
feel like a witchcraft happens at that bar. You know,
we have a we have an altar, we light a
candle every day there. We have throughout the years ceremonies,
including a voodoo ritual in the lobby of the hotel.
So we take it very seriously. This this connection to place,
and that's something that always really.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Appealed to me.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
So the creative director title is encompasses all of that,
creating this feeling throughout the year in the hotel, not
just for the people who are visiting, but for locals
as well. To have this place, this established place that
connects you to to the authenticity of New Orleans.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Your cocktails tell a story too, right, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Every cocktail tells. It's very important that they tell a stories.
Sometimes I come up with the story before the cocktail.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So tell me a story and a glass.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
A story in a glass.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, I mean the most obvious one is the story
of New Orleans can be told in a glass of
the Sazaraq from the Antoine Pey showed and his his
refugee status fleeing the Haitian Revolution, to and his the
sacred mix of West African and Caribbean creole traditions in
his bidders to the rints of Absinthe with our French
(19:17):
connections and the cognac and rye, our French and our
American connection, even down to the sugar which is still
our number one crop here and the twist of lemon,
our Sicilian connection. Right, more Sicilians came through the port
of New Orleans than Els Island. The history of New
Orleans can be seen in a sazaac glass and I
(19:39):
kind of love that.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I love it too, and I remind the Sicilians every
time we go there. You know, there was a huge
Sicilian American population, heritage, and you need to come bring
your wines to New Orleans. We're trying to get it.
We want a Sicilian Wine and Food week to create here.
Oh good, I think that's the funding of and working
it and working it.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
I went to visit my great great grandfather's hometown with
my parents and.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
We found relatives, we found where is it. It's ali Manuosa.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
It's a little hill top rural town, agricultural town about
two hours outside of Palermo.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Heaving tan in a set and we just had so
much fun.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
But yeah, I was reminded of traveling with my parents
and sitting down for a parativo hour and them enjoying
the snacks and enjoying our spritss, and then going back
to the hotel and coming out getting changed for dinner,
and my parents are in their pajamas. I'm like, what
are you doing? And they're like, what are you doing?
I'm like getting ready for dinner. They're like, we just
had dinner. I'm like, that wasn't dinner. That was a
parativo hour.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
We still have to for anyone who dies. A parativo
is like a happy hour, bit better for so many reasons.
You know, a happy hour, the concept is a happy hour,
get happy, get drunk, have a half price drink. A
patibo hour is really about savoring a moment that to
ferni Ane, where you really don't have to do anything
but just have a drink, maybe some chichetti and potato
(21:05):
chips and a lot of potato chips and little munchies,
you know, yeah, and just sit and enjoy that moment,
that twilight, that pre sunset twilight time of day is
still hot, but you're chilling. It's great, you know. I
think that what I'm curious is, as I said, I'm
(21:28):
not a sorry pari, but I'm not an apple all
spritz person. It's all a matter of taste. I've started
doing a gin r M I love, I do too,
But what are some other and we'll start with pritzes
and then I want to get to something else. Britz
type beverages that you would be creative, that are easy
(21:49):
also to do at home, that you would recommend.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
There's so many.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
There's so many, because there's such a wonderful a pair
of TiVo and a fortified wine tradition in.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Your up that I think.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
I think New Orleans is like a wonderful place for
this because we do have such a healthy, robust drinking culture.
I think to incorporate a parativo hour is would be
an easy sell here.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
There are so.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Many more vermouths and aromatized wines and specials coming. I
just tried one last night, Melanie, you will die. It's
called Shambrosette.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Have you heard of schamras.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
No, but it sounds like something from Emily in Paris,
like champe Chambrosette.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
It is a from like the Alpine region of France
where they take blanc, a beautiful blanc vermouth. Blonk for
is a category that I don't think it's enough attention.
Blank for mouth is not as sweet as sweet for mouth.
It is usually clear. It is certainly not like driver mouth.
It is floral and elegant and one of the best makers.
(22:54):
Dolan has this tradition of macerating fresh strawberries hmm. And
it's called champaseet and you could buy it in a bottle, now,
little bottle with a strawberry on it. I never tasted
anything so delicious. Just top that with some bubbles or
some club soda instant sprits. You can throw some punch
to some strawberries in there too, some punch tool of strawberries.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
I also love.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
The more the more alpine amoros and liqueurs that have
a lot of those floral notes to them, dark and
rich like Pasubio or Browlio, or they could be light
and floral like Montenegro or Amara Amara nonino. So there
is wide variety of amari and fortified wines. And then
(23:44):
of course I would remiss in not mentioning my absolute
favorite fortified wine, which is shrry.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yes, the best sprits.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
I just made one over the weekend. I did a
pop up.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
Uh in Memphis, and I did this drink called the
Moon Goddess that used coconut water and gin and feno,
sherry and orgotte, and then you could top that with
like a sparkling coconut water. Oh my gosh, I mean
talk about hydrating and.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Refreshing at the same time.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well, I think I think you said a really important point. So,
you know, last night I was just, look, we're trying
to you know, both the hurricane season. We're trying to
empty out the refrigerator a cover in case we lose power,
like we may be losing power this week, who knows.
So we had leftover watermelon. I crushed it all up,
had that beautiful fresh watermelon, and then I realized we'd
have you know, I'm like, what's the sprisky part other
(24:39):
than opening another bottless champagne and we've done two for
a steel day. But somebody sent us this non alcohol
free sparkling wine bod or something, and we didn't really
like it as is, but we ended up mixing it
and using it as a sprits and it came out great.
I put in some basil, and I put in some
(25:01):
pisco and canto pisco and because I love pisco, and
some lime and it was delicious and it was just
like my own little creation. So I you know, for
everyone listening, you can be creative in your kitchen with
what you have. But you know, formoths, Okay, this is
what I'm looking for when I go to tails with
a cocktail vermoths, Tomorrow's Mars and anything in that. Bitters
(25:23):
I like because I don't have a sweet tooth. If
I eat fruit, it's got to be fresh, and you know,
like mascerted, So I like those bitter alpine pine flavors, licorice.
I love all that. But you know, sprits can be
as you said, sparkling coconut water. I had a sparkling
no alcohol wine which I turned into an alcohol beverage,
but I didn't I could have had it as a
(25:44):
non alcohol but just not adding the piste coo, and
it would have been a sprits, non alcohol, sprits with waste,
with watermelon, basil. You can find a lot of sparkling
and it doesn't have to be like prosecco or white
wine or family one.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Yeah, necessarily, and you can also, like a lot of
people are afraid, like you said, of opening up another
whole bottle, there's a great can option too. Yeah, you're
on behalf a bottle, you know, so if you're if
you if you don't want to overdo it and you
don't want to not that there's anything wrong. I mean,
leftover champagne really lasts. Anyway, you can also a key
(26:21):
for leftover champagne. Mix it with the sugar and you've
made a great syrup. Let's use for good idea ste flavor.
It's absolutely gorgeous. I love it in sidecars sours dackeries. Yeah,
that comes in really really handy.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Great idea and sherry I love share. I used to
work with one from Spain, Love Share. I love it
plant like a chilled I love love love Montiato. It's
my favorite, but I also like a good fino and
you know Corto Palocrtata, which I still have one. It's
been open forever. I don't know if it's any good anymore,
but I think I cooked with it recently. You know,
(27:00):
it has a shelf life. Yeah, so I try to
use everything that way. But sherrys are amazing, and yes,
they make all these things you can enjoy alone or mix.
And then I just saw the bitters Krystal Cotton's Bitterers
were on the Today Show Believe or Not? Yeah, believe it.
What's the name of our bidders, Chris Welbo. Yeah, and yes,
(27:21):
And I'm going to go pick some of it up there.
They're a bitters and soda, yes, cans. I haven't had
them yet, but I was like, that's a wonderful tradition.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
I mean outside, outside of America, you can get a
lot of non alcoholic kind of bitters and sodas, concoctions
and non alcoholic like appal sprits is and bottles and
stuff that's very, very common in grocery stores in Europe,
I'm sure you saw. And then that's a adding a
bitter component to something. It really elevates I think a
standard sour or standard dagger. The sweet you have, the sour,
(27:54):
you add bitter. You're layering in another layer of flavor.
And then you add something nutty and savory like sherry.
Fourth layer of flavor. You're layering in that very easy.
With four ingredients, you've created a very complex, beautiful drink.
And I'm so glad you mentioned herbs too. We have
my friend's garden is exploding with herbs. She keeps giving
me bushels of herbs, and I love putting in everything
(28:16):
I'm cooking, but also everything I'm drinking.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So I'm craving. We have rosemary outside that I logged
off my cousin's patio because they're renovating the patios. We
hold it over to our place. I'm craving a mint.
I'm craving mint, and we have a basil plant. Now,
you know these are wonderful herbs. But let's think about
creative ways to use them. First of all, let's think
about you know what to do this at home, and
(28:40):
maybe you're on a budget, but you want to have
some key products and ingredients that you can mix in
many ways. What would you recommend.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
As far as alcohol or as far as like mixers
to have.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Well, I would say, well alcohol, you probably need to
see the basics. But what would you have an addition
to the basic vodka rum tin in the brown spirits?
What is some enhance you mentioned vermouth for example, what
is it that people may not be buying that they
should be putting on their bar.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Well, a lot of people they'll buy that driver mouth
or that sweet for mouth to make a martine or
manhattan and then it just sits there.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
I suggest use it in it. You know, you've got
to use it right away.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Vermouth is a wine, a fortified wine, but just like wine,
you got to keep it capped, to keep it refrigerated,
and probably use it within a couple of months. It
doesn't go bad per se, it just doesn't taste as good.
And I'll tell you, even if something does get oxidized,
it doesn't mean it's bad. I saw a friend of
mine recently do an example of showing Saint Jermaine is
(29:38):
a product that doesn't have enough alcohol or sugar in
it that once it's opened, it can oxidize and it
gets dark in color and it.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Scares a lot of people off.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
Well, she did it tasting, and she did a wonderful
example of how it's different but not bad, and it's
just tasted. If things, you know, if it is like
turned to vinegar, cook with it. But if it's just
different and richer and more has more oxidation on it,
sometimes maybe that's better for brown spirits, Maybe that has
(30:08):
caramel notes to it. That will be good for something
that's a little bit darker.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
So there's no.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
There should be no waste first of all. So don't
feel like you have to throw something out just because
you've had a long time taste it. It's not going
to hurt you. Sprintzes are what people drink when they
could and these non alcoholic these light alcoholics, is what
they drank when we couldn't drink safe drinking water.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
It's one of the reasons why they had spent and
they had herbal qualities because that was medicine at the
time too. So so yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Absolutely experiment with more vermouths, with more fortified wines, Madeira, Circo,
all of these, all of these products are excellent on
their own on the rocks with just a twist with
this little side of olives or fritzing it up adding
some club soda to it. I am one of those
(31:03):
girls that always has like multiple cans of different flavored sodas,
and I loved making I'll take a little sip out
and then pour some booze in and take my can
walking in New Orleans as we do with a little
goat drink and a koozie can and make something really
spread sy and refreshing.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
You can, and you can, and we have a lot
of cans. Although we were out recently because we drank
them all because they're sot here. It's like, I have more.
And then we were burping a lot, so we kind
of backed off the bubbles for a while except for
champagne and it sprints. I also cooked with a lot
of stuff, so I made for that steel day, we
(31:46):
made sell a nisois. And because we're cooking in a
lot to save money, and David's a great cook, so
I made cherry for foodie.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
I learned, oh yeah, and I b Bton.
Speaker 5 (31:56):
I got a recipe from far Breton, and I'm now
I'm constantly getting prunes and cooking them in almagnac and
making a far Oh my gosh. And then I like,
I snack on it. That's like my breakfast, like on
the run.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I had it with yogurt with my homemade granola.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
It's so French, right, I'm like, it's eggs, it's eggs,
it's it's cream.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
It's breakfast, right, Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
And then I put I just grabbed some Grandmarnier because
I was like, what do we have that's just been
sitting around forever? Because I'm really trying to use everything
up before the big one. So I just poured some
stuff in. I don't measure anything. I just poured in
and it was just, you know, I just accent a
lot of our food, whether it's watermelon with some pisco
or my cherry CLIFFOUDI with, you know, Grandmartinier. I just
(32:43):
dress it up with spirits that have been sitting around
that are fine, but maybe I don't know what to
do with them. A lot of people and I remember,
so when we're packing up my parents' house, they had
a vintage bar. And I mean vintage because some of
the stuff in the bar must have been from the sixties,
you know, like cores that had gold gold in them
and stuff, I mean stuff. And this is the coolest thing.
(33:06):
I pulled this out. This is a you can't really
see it because I'm blurted. It's a Harlequin Cocto glass.
So much vintage barware. It made me sad that we
had to sell some of it. We had to, but
I kept the vintage barware. But behind me, I blurted,
so nobody can see our house. I we have a
cabinet filled with vintage bar wear and glassware. And they
had so many old you know, products, and we were
(33:28):
sniffing them and some were chocolatey, and we were dying
to try it, but I wasn't sure if any were
gonna kill me because we'd been there for so long.
On average, on average, when you do have that bottle
of something that's not being refrigerated, you know what what
is the most chafes? What are the most shelf stable
products that you can actually keep on a bar? And
(33:50):
do you need to keep your bar at a certain
temperature like wine?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
I don't think you do.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
As long as the alcohol is high enough and the
sugar content is high enough. Sugar is a great preservative
as well, you should be fine. Like I said, the
example of Saint Germaine, a low alcohol, low sugar a
liqueur can be left on the shelf forever and turn
dark brown and still be fine. So if it's it's definitely.
(34:19):
If it's like an eighty proof spirit, that's good forever.
Madeira was was created to be baked by the sun
and basically last forever as well. Court also can last
a long time, So I don't think there is there's
a There should be a lot of fear around, like
how long these have been staying around?
Speaker 4 (34:41):
I'd be worried.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
I try to drink my wine more. And that's one
thing I run out of, is like actual wine because
I'm so afraid of like missing the drink by date.
And and when I have people over, I love to
pop a bottle and finish, finish those bottles. I have
a whole bunch of like finished bottles on my table
right now because I had a little early birthday celebration
on Bestial Day and I said, I got all this
(35:03):
wine from California.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
And I today is your birthday, Today is my birthday.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
What are you going to do other than talk to me?
What are you going to celebrate?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
I'm going to work. I'm going to work.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
We have an event tonight and it's still still a
workday for me. So I'd love to spend it with
my team and spend it with the people at the
International House Hotel because it's such a wonderful, tight knit, small,
you know, boutique hotel, vibe, and I just love everyone
I work with, so it's a very very nice place
to spend my birthday for sure.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Well, I you know you're going to have to come
up first. You're going to come over here because we're
here now for the summer, and we'll celebrate here. We'll
uncork some stuff and on pop some stuff because we're
trying to drink the cellar before it all gets blown away.
And we'll do water aerobics together. Maybe we'll get David
to do some water aerobics.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
I you know, I.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
Befriended a man at the pharmacy the other day who said,
I need knee surgery, but I can't get it because
my heart can't take it.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
And I said, they are bothering you.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
I think I have something for that, and he's like, God,
I wish I could afford to go to your class.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
I'm like, now I'm coming to you. You have a pool.
He's like, I got a pool near me.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
I'm like, mister Melvin, I'm coming to your pool and
I'm going to teach you some things because nobody should
have to live in pain.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
It's really hard.
Speaker 5 (36:16):
It's really hard when I see people having a difficult
time with their bodies and breaking down, and you know,
our system is not set up to support people who
have who have issues, and I'm going to do what
I can to make him feel better.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
So I think it's really important.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
And men in particular, they get very fussy about you know,
we're so in touch as women, we're told to be
like in touch with our bodies.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
We are.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
We obsess over our bodies, our shape, our size, and
that I think leads us to be a little bit
more aware when something is wrong. And because men are
just not used to having that look on their you know,
that that that that microscope on their own bodies, they
can something that could be you know, easily fixable.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
So yeah, cool, yeah, you know, and everybody, you know,
every woman out there should be like without nagging, saying honey,
you know, let's set up a doctor's appointment, let's go
take a walk, let's do this, you know. And and
you know, water aerobics is for everybody. You know, It's
very popular with seniors because it is low impact but
effective and if you do have joint issues. I have
(37:24):
a degenerative lower back and my pet my medicare is ending,
and so I'm going to be doing more water aerobics
and certain types of bar to keep my core back.
And it's the pool is great, and you actually solved
a huge problem in New Orleans how to keep cool. Nate.
You get licenses at a water aerobic constructor, and then
(37:44):
you're in the water all the day and you're making
money doing it.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
And I have such a wonderful collection I have.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
I have men in my class, I have all different ages,
young women, I have pregnant women, I have I have
people who don't even know how to swim, and they're
taking this as away to kind of get over the
fear of the water, and they're learning swimming as well,
and so a lot of like the moves I teach
them are good swimming moves as well. So yeah, that's
really that's really important to me in this community and
(38:13):
to be able to tap into you know, I'm so
community based in my other job, but it's really nice
to see another side of the community. And I went
in to work yesterday and my bartender was like, oh,
you had two of your students from your water RUPs
class came in. That's twice over the weekend. They were great,
and so it's a it's really great to see them
out of the water.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Sometimes I don't recognize them.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I'm like, oh, well, don't don't you have to wear
like baiting camps. You know, it's like, oh, it's you,
you have clothes on it. I recognize you.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
But I didn't recognize you with your hair dry.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Yeah, it's it's very different. Well, I just love that
because you know it's also, I will say living in
New Orleans, which we've now done for a year, I
have to give a shout out to New Orleans wonderful
attitude about life, which is as good as the attitude
about life. And you know the French too, but I
sometimes think New Orleans is more Italian than French. The
body positivity mantra here, even though obesity is a big
(39:10):
problem throughout the state of Louisiana and whatnot, the body
positivity factor is very strong. People are confident in their bodies,
many of them. I think that's really important because living
in New York, where everybody's just absolutely neurotic about their
bodies and their looks, it's refreshing down here. Sometimes jarring,
(39:32):
but very refreshing.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
Also one of my personal mottos that I've learned, and
I think someone said this to me once, but I've
adopted it in my own to live in New York
City you have to be successful, angelus, you have to
be good looking.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
But to live in New Orleans, you just have to
be yourself. And it's just the best I love.
Speaker 5 (39:52):
About living here, and yes, obesity is we're coming to
realize that it is a medical issue, and it is
also a poverty and economic issue. Yes, absolutely, straight up
and down. And it's not a moral issue. It is
not moral failing. It is not a personal failing. It
is a medical diagnosis, and it is an economic side
(40:15):
effect of poverty.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Yes, not eating properly.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
So I think it's really important to not necessarily body positively,
but body understanding.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
What's also a movement issue. We are more sedentary. That's
why a lot of children are getting obese because they're
sitting in front of their computers. And that's really what
is causing my degenerative back, besides years of like producing
events and lifting everything because I did that for how
many years. I was always like, oh, I almost move
the table myself, you know, or lifting boxes of wine. No,
you can't do that. But the movement factor is also
(40:51):
really important as well as they go hand in hand
with nutrition, which is why your decision to teach water
aerobic so fascinates me. You have two air areas of
your career, your story career, that are so fascinating. One
you are you create these amazing libations that give people
such joy and satisfaction and pleasure, and we all need
(41:14):
more pleasure in our life. And you have a bar
that truly is tiny. It's a jewel and a gem box.
And I hear there's a great Japanese restaurant I' dying
to try, and you are made to feel welcome and
comfortable there, and it is beautiful. It's stylish, but it's
not stylish in that way where you're not feeling comfortable.
Everybody is welcome, and I think that's a great balance
(41:37):
between your helping people become stronger and more confident in
their their swimming and their body and their self through
water aerobics, and then bringing them comfort and making them
feel at home, which New Orleans does at LOA because
one of the great things about New Orleans is the
phrase welcome home, which people were saying to us before
(42:01):
we even moved here, and it made us feel like, finally,
and I'm writing about this, finally we have somewhere we
are welcomed home, and we have a place.
Speaker 5 (42:11):
Right absolutely absolutely, we treasure our community here. It's such
a unique and distinct culture that you can't find anywhere else,
and we're fiercely protective of it. Yeah, people, and it's
you know, no, lie, this is a difficult city to
live in for a long so when you choose to
live here, we are so happy to have you because
(42:31):
you add so much to the storied fabric of the
city and everything that it means to everyone here, everyone
in the past and everyone in the future.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
So two things, Where do you go to relax and
unwind in New Orleans? And so how would you describe
yourself as a cocktail? What would you be mixed up with?
That's your mix?
Speaker 5 (42:56):
I uh, where do I go to relax side the pool?
And Orlands Athletic Club, which I love just being in
the same pool that Tennessee Williams used to swim in.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
Yeah, that sung to me because I'm a Tennessee Williams fan.
Speaker 5 (43:12):
Yeah for sure, for sure. I kind of love the vibes.
And there is a bar in the gym.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Too, which is very nice.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
It is so funny, how perfect billy New Orleans, New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (43:23):
But also I love to take my dogs to the
park and I go to there's a little park in
the French Quarter. I just love walking around the French Quarter.
I live right outside of the French Quarter and I
love my neighborhood. I love its access to the French Quarter.
I love I have friends that live in the French
Quarter and I'll just sit on their stoop and just
(43:44):
watch the world go by and say hi to people,
and see all the characters and get all the story
and all the gossip.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
The French Quarter. People think of it as a tourist area.
It is a highly residential area with.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
Its own unique, distinct neighborhood vibes, and I love being
a part of that.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
So that's kind of where.
Speaker 5 (44:04):
I go to chill out if I need to go
and have a little bit more space. I love City
Park and I love walking through. There's beautiful, kind of
eerie groves of live oaks there that I just recently
found out are planted live oaks that used to be
on Clayborne Avenue and they rip them out when they
(44:26):
built the high really and destroyed, you know, kind of
destroyed my neighborhood, my neighborhood, the tremet in half with
this project. Very racist happens all over the country where
they put a highway through a thriving black neighborhood and
Claiborne Avenue used to be full of these beautiful live oaks,
(44:47):
and they rip them up and they replanted them in
City Park. So I go there and commune with those trees.
I feel a connection to my neighborhood there. It always
felt a little eerie, and I was wondered why I
was always on to this particular grove of live oaks.
And then I found out the history of these particular
live oaks that they were ripped out from my neighborhood.
And so that's where I like to go to find
(45:10):
peace and commune.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
And well, I know those live oaks. I was there.
That's my favorite place. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, those the
live oaks are beautiful. The Farmer's markets right there, and
it's it's magical. City Park is magical period and the
tre Mae is an incredibly beautiful historic neighborhood just adjacent
to the French Quarter. And I know exactly what you're
(45:34):
talking about with the highway going through, because I hate
that highway anyway, and it kind of does rip the
two neighborhoods apart. And yet everybody should go see the
history is great, and there's some very historic restaurants in
the tree as well, like cheshis use.
Speaker 4 (45:51):
For lunch, Dookie Chase, Gabrielle's. There's wonderful, wonderful restaurants.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
Yeah, I want to go try Gabrielle's. Not been, but
I love the Sauniers and as they do a dark
through gumbo that I'm just dying to do. And I'm
doing Dookie Chase Lunch, We're doing Little Disney's Lunch. We're
just do lunch.
Speaker 5 (46:13):
We gotta go out more too, amazing Haitian hood.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Oh is that Queen Trainy Lisa and yeah were Ty
Yeah on my list when culinary comes, I'm hoping culinary
because we're on a budget right now. But Coolinaria is
This a great program in New Orleans for about almost
six weeks six six or seven weeks where many of
the city's restaurants in August and early September, which is
(46:40):
just dudley in terms of getting business to the city.
They do these great prefeaks, lunches and dinners and there's
probably fifty restaurants that do it, and it's a great
way to go out and explore for the locals as
well as visitors to try different restaurants. It's also a
great month because you have buy one museum membership and
all the other museums are free. Actually, August in New
Orleans is awesome if you want to travel with a budget.
Speaker 5 (47:00):
Hey, people say, oh it's so hot, Well guess what.
We have air conditioning everywhere. You're still going to be
able to go into sign nice, cool, air conditioned restaurants
and bars and partake of everything that we have to
offer even when it's not hot here it's we do
the same thing. We just do a lot of it inside.
And you know, if you have to be outside, find
yourself a pool. There's a new restaurant a couple of
(47:21):
blocks from me called Los Coyote that has a pool
in the back, so you can go get drinks, go
and they have like snacks and they have beautiful a
beautiful menu.
Speaker 4 (47:29):
And then go hang out with my pool.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Oh, we have to check that out. We had to
check out out pool.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
You know, hey, New Orleans and Company, we are giving
you a huge promotional shout out. Come sponsor my show anyway.
So describe yourself as a cocktail or describe a cocktail
that you think most defines your.
Speaker 5 (47:50):
Personal Well, I'll say that it's probably my favorite cocktail,
one of my favorite cocktails to drink, to order I
love the history of it. I love the Adonis. If
I were a cocktail, of course I would be and Adonnis.
Speaker 4 (48:02):
I love the story behind it.
Speaker 5 (48:04):
The makeup of it is essentially it's a Manhattan, a
fifty to fifty Manhattan, but instead of very whiskey, it
uses sherry, a Montiano sherry, sweet remooth orange bitters. It
is a beautiful cocktail, drinks like a Manhattan, but a
little lighter, you know.
Speaker 4 (48:20):
And it's actually.
Speaker 5 (48:21):
Named for the first Broadway musical. It was created for
the first Broadway musical in New York in the eighteen
eighties or eighteen nineties or early twentieth century. But I
think of it as a as an unknown classic. I
think of it as dark and rich with great bones
(48:41):
of a classic, but light and.
Speaker 4 (48:43):
You can have a lot of it. So I guess
that's me in a cocktail.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
So you kind of describe the ideal man.
Speaker 5 (48:49):
Yeah, well, yeah, I'm always looking for the ideal man
as well.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
Sorry, David, am I blessing or what the story said?
You have to be the person you want to attract?
Speaker 3 (48:59):
So yeah, well, here's I'll drink to that. Well, it's
been really great chatting with you. Abigail where can our
friends and followers find and follow you to learn more
about what you're doing and all your wonderful advice.
Speaker 5 (49:14):
And you can follow me on Instagram at Abigail Galo.
Speaker 4 (49:20):
My name A B I G A I L g
U L L O I.
Speaker 5 (49:25):
I also have a website abiael Gallo that you could
check out a consulting group called Spirited Destinations, Uh if
you were and I do pop up So I just
got back from Memphis doing a beautiful pop up. So
available for cocktail classes and pop ups and uh and yeah,
and then that's where you can find me at Loah Loa,
(49:47):
New Orleans is our Instagram there. I'm at Loa during
the week and most nights and yeah, I definitely con
visit us. My team is amazing right now. Our menu
is very New Orleans focus is called of a pothole
based menu, So we have drinks like col Tomayo, Wedding
in a Pothole, Salt Wedge, the Spillway, seventy five.
Speaker 4 (50:12):
Yeah, ohing on very It's for the locals.
Speaker 5 (50:17):
People come in and they're not from New Orleans and
they're like, what is this menu. I'm like, oh, this
is the agony in the ecstasy of living in New
Orleans in the summertime.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
Living since we live in one of the most potholed
streets in Lakeview that has not been fixed since Katrina,
I so identify with that. Potholes are like legendary.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
I just hope we don't sink into one one day.
I know, I know, as I said, Ebagail knows how
to spin a story, stir a story in every glass,
and that pothole series is a great example.
Speaker 4 (50:52):
This menu, you love it well.
Speaker 3 (50:55):
Thank you for joining me, and of course you can
always join her in the swim and the Tennessee Williams
used to swim in swimming pool at the New Orleans
Athletic Club.
Speaker 4 (51:03):
Yes, yes, you can come.
Speaker 5 (51:05):
Yeah, come, you can be a guest, or if you're
a member of the New Orleans Athletic Club, come check
out one of our water aerobics classes.
Speaker 4 (51:10):
We have a really good time and yeah, I'd love
to see you there.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
All right, Well, thank you very much. A toast to you,
and let's get together and do some water aerobics together
and have a drink in the pool and.
Speaker 4 (51:21):
Be like I can't wait to sprint it up with
you baby.
Speaker 3 (51:25):
That's right, me too. I hope everybody's enjoying this show
I have. I'm in the spirit and we love the
spirit of New Orleans. So come on down and visit.
Go to Lowa Bar, check out. I have a girl's website.
Come down and support this wonderful city in the hottest
time of the year, because it is the best time
of the year to be here. If you want to
get great food and drink at a great price, and
(51:48):
you know, and entertain people at home, enjoy, have an appartivo,
don't rush, learn to sip saber and enjoy life. Because
you have a choice on how you live life. You
can choose it, and you should choose it on your terms.
And I say, choose fearless and fabulous. Thank you, follow
me Melanie fabulous and have a great day.
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