Drink with Buddy Bolden, Enjoy a Pimm's Cup with a Twist

NEW ORLEANS (March 12, 2014) -- Just in time for spring, Emeril's Delmonico recently updated its craft cocktail menu using fresh local ingredients. Lead bartender and mixologist Colleen Vizents added new original cocktails to the restaurant's menu, which also features classic cocktails and the No. 21, a customer favorite from last summer. Since joining the Delmonico team in April 2013, Vizents has revamped the restaurant's cocktail program, expanding its craft cocktail selection and use of house-made syrups and other ingredients. The bar also offers a weekly changing specialty cocktail in addition to the regular menu.

Emeril's Delmonico offers happy hour Monday through Friday from 5-7 p.m. in the bar area with ½-priced original cocktails, $4 Absolut martinis, $3.50 well cocktails, $2.50-$3 domestic beers, and $5 select wines by the glass. View the full bar menu.

Delmonico's spring original cocktail list includes:
*    Buddy Bolden - Grey Goose Orange, sage simple syrup, fennel, naval orange, and Herbsaint
*    The Only Word - gin, chartreuse, Luxardo liquor, lemon, basil
*    Strawberry Basil Pimm's Cup - Pimm's, strawberries, basil, lemonade, ginger ale
*    Delmonico Sangria - A house blend of fresh citrus and wine
*    Ruby and Rye - Sazerac rye, Peychaud's bitters, Regan's orange bitters, lemon, grapefruit, rosemary sprig
*    No. 21 - Grey Goose la Poire, elderflower liqueur, cucumber, lime, fresh mint

Classic cocktails offered at Emeril's Delmonico include:
*    Sazerac
*    French 75
*    Ramos Gin Fizz
*    Brandy Milk Punch
*    Hemingway Daiquiri
*    Absinth Frappe Recipe

About Colleen Vizents
With 15 years' experience in the hospitality industry, seasoned bartender Colleen Vizents joined the Emeril's Delmonico team in April 2013. Vizents moved to the Crescent City in 2013 after spending seven years crafting cocktails in Seattle. Originally from California, Vizents began working in her family's Italian restaurant, Papino's, in Idaho when she was 15, bussing tables and helping as a hostess. At Delmonico, Vinzents enjoys reinterpreting classic cocktails for the modern palate, playing with seasonal flavors and house-made ingredients. "I like to create new fun flavors that make people happy," Vizents says. "It's always rewarding to make a new drink that makes someone light up." Vizents graduated from Antioch University in 2009 with a double major in Global Studies and Mass Media Communications.

About Emeril's Delmonico
Emeril's Delmonico is an 118-year-old restaurant located on the famed St. Charles Avenue streetcar line in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. The restaurant first opened as Delmonico in 1895 by Anthony Commander, the younger brother of Emile Commander, who opened a saloon called Commander's Palace in 1880. The restaurant's second owners, Anthony and Marie LaFranca from Sicily,  introduced Sicilian and Italian-style cuisine alongside traditional Creole New Orleans favorites. Chef Emeril Lagasse bought and reopened the historic restaurant in 1998 after an extensive renovation, paying homage to its classic, grand setting and original menus. Today, the kitchen is led by chef de cuisine Anthony Scanio, who infuses his love of Italian and Sicilian influences into the modern Creole palate. The restaurant features an ever changing in-house charcuterie program, a homemade liqueur program, and on-site dry-aged steaks, in addition to its revived classic New Orleans dishes. Emeril's Delmonico is open for dinner Monday-Thursday, 6-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 6-10 p.m. The bar opens at 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. To make a reservation, call 504-525-4937 or visit emerilsrestaurants.com.