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What I'm most proud about with people understanding when they're walking into a house that's over 200 years old is that's what we really wanted to do here. It's like I don't dislike Brooklyn, but not everything has to look like a Brooklyn style bar. So, it was important for me to be in a 200-year-old home, making 150y old cocktails and keeping that life alive for people to enjoy when you walk into Jewel of the South. I'm Chris Hannah, head bartender and partner here at Jewel of the South in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Jewel of the South is a vibe. You know, you walk in, you don't even realize it, but you're like walking right into like what
would be the kitchen. All of our servers welcome you once you walk in. Bar is going to be at the edge of the room. 1880s back bar behind the bar. Everybody's enjoying their cocktails and food. It's a lovely, lovely scene. It's really cool. Jewel of the South was uh the most important bar in all the South and New Orleans in the 1850s. Jewel of the South is the name of New Orleans. So, you had to be like pretty like ambitious if you were Joseph Santini by calling your bar Jewel of the South. You're basically naming it New Orleans. And it was the most famous bar and it's the only bar and he's the only bartender named in the
very first cocktail book written by Jeremy Thomas in New York. I don't know why the original Jewel of the South closed. Bringing this uh grill cottage here on St. Louis back to our city and people who are visiting was uh really important to us and it's very special. We're known for our classic cocktails and we're very proud of the our classics. You know, the Brandy Cresta, the Creole, the Night Tripper, Sazzarak, French 25, but our seasonal oil cocktails are a lot of fun. The Brandy Crust we're very proud of. It's the first sugar rimmed cocktail in the entire world. What's really interesting and kind of fun about the Brandy Crust and myself is I didn't know what a Brandy Crusta was when I started bartending at the French 75 bar and it's
2004 and this lady comes in and she has a travel book from Belgium and she asked me for a Brandy Crusta and I was like I didn't know what a Brandy Custa was and she says oh but it's a New Orleans drink and I was like so upset with myself in my mind I'm like this is I'm so mad right now. I can't believe I don't know how to make this drink. So, I looked at her book and I was just like, "Oh, wow. This is insane." And it's from New Orleans and nobody told me this and nobody's making this drink. I delved into the history of it. I balanced it. I got the cocktail. So, bringing that back to New Orleans and then guests who are visiting is very special to us. For me, my background in bartending and
passion is because I'm an old soul. And here in New Orleans, I've always been a big fan and of our jazz culture. Delving into it, I just realized that we also had a very large cocktail culture as well. And so all of my research into all the jazz musicians and their traditions, it was very natural for me to actually when I discovered that we had just a large cocktail culture as well to delve into that, find our old bartenders and older cocktails and the histories and where they're from. Bringing that back and teaching our bartenders as well to have our guests learn the knowledge has been very appropriate.
I was 6 years in the kitchen before I started bartending. So, a lot of these ingredients weren't available anymore. So, making them was pertinent to actually making these cocktails again. Some ingredients that are in the in these cocktails, the prep will take it could take from hours, but to be honest with you, it could be days and weeks for these certain types of infusions. And then after the infusions, it's like it's the sitting. We have like mesh bags for the milk washing and straining. And then they have to go over coffee filter. And then that'll sit and it'll like drip for 2 days. So a lot of these ingredients a lot of these cocktails
have ingredients that will take at least 4 days, you know, to make to like 2 weeks. So they're all pretty special and uh takes a lot of time. Teaching a bartenders and training bartenders to be behind the bar, I have to have them understand the exact same hospitality and knowledge that I have when I talk to guests. So if I'm gone, they have they can relay that. If our bartenders are knowledgeable about different neighborhoods and different bars and different neighborhoods, it enables them to help the guests get along with their stay. So, the guests are going to be here for one drink. We
don't know what they're going to do afterwards. So, we have to make sure that whatever they do, it's going to be a memorable experience. And that's what we do for community. winning a James beard and being on the 50 best, you know, world's 50 best list and winning tales of the cocktail spirit awards, it does add pressure and the thing that works in a good way, I would say, is that's what makes us wanting to make more drinks and uh having new different ideas for cocktails. It's lovely to be recognized um and to win these awards, but for me personally, it's uh it's more special to come back and thank the team for all their help because obviously I walk up and I get to accept the awards, but it's really nice
to be able to come back and thank everybody and say, "Hey, thank you guys so much for your efforts." Guests enjoying their cocktail and their and their moment here is our number one goal. and we're the only bar on this entire block at the edge of the French Quarter. So when guests leave here happy, it just makes us feel like everything we've done like before we open up prep and everything is worthwhile. What I really hope for this jewel the south is whoever wants to take over after I'm you know after I'm no longer behind the bar wants to keep this beautiful house alive and well and having it available for guests to come in and enjoy long
