That’s the Spirit: Flower power – Floral cocktails at Tallulah

More often than not, I find that people are deterred from bars or restaurants located inside hotels. But I’m fully committed to the camp of people who enjoy good food and drinks no matter where you get it. For example, some of my favorite food and drinks in New Orleans can be found inside The Roosevelt Hotel.

I’ve been hearing for months that I needed to check out Tallulah, a food and wine bar located in the Renaissance Hotel. I was not disappointed. The bar area and outdoor terrace, which were beautiful, were packed with a mix of your typical business-attired happy hour goers and people who appeared to be staying at the hotel. Plus, bars with live music are the best kinds of bars.

At the recommendation of my bartender, Caleb, I decided on the Pear Flower Martini. I was on the fence until he told me about the edible orchid garnish I’d be getting on top. I’m a sucker for presentation.

As soon as I received the cocktail, Caleb asked me to try it and vowed that he would make me anything else if I didn’t love it. If he hadn’t completely won me over with the edible flower, he had bagged me with his personable attitude.

The martini was a mix of Riesling, pear vodka and St. Germain elderflower liqueur. I was interested to see how the pear vodka mixed with the Riesling, as Rieslings can be pretty sweet with fruity aromas. (There are obviously some very dry Riesling options, too.)

I was happy to find that the pear vodka and St. Germain cut the wine taste and made it feel more like a fruity vodka martini and less like a wine cocktail. Then again, in my eyes, a little St. Germain can make anything taste better. It was a little too sweet to have more than one, but definitely refreshing.

I’d like to circle back to the “edible orchid” for a moment. While I do appreciate the ingenuity of this garnish, it pretty much just tasted like a flower. Not the good “This is meant to be eaten” flower, but the “Oh, I’m eating a plant now” flower. I’ll probably skip that next time.

Overall, my experience was fantastic. I can’t wait to go back and try the whole menu—there was a Caipiroska I had my eye on. What can I say; I’m a sucker for vodka.

In June, 225 interviewed Tallulah’s sous chef Heskeith Flavien about new farm-to-table menu items. Read that story here.