Photo courtesy of LOA.
Adam O'Connor, a transplant from the deserts and prairies of the southwest, has been calling New Orleans home for a little over 15 years. Despite barely landing his first gig as a bareback at Cellardoor, he quickly worked his way up to bartender, and eventually even ran the bar program as its manager . Seeking to sharpen his skills as a bartender, Adam left Cellardoor to find his new home at LOA in New Orleans.
LOA is located in the heart of the CBD inside the doors of the International House Hotel. It's said that Loa are the spirits of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. They are also referred to as "mystères" and "the invisibles" and are intermediaries between Bondye —the Supreme Creator, who is distant from the world—and humanity.
Under the creative direction of Alan Walter, Adam found a new forest of herbs and spices, and a proverbial garden of fresh fruit and vegetables to play around with (and sometimes eat). One such revelation: cucumber with salt. The quickly became one of his favorite bar snacks. Simple. Refreshing. Nutritious.
Never one to be overly selfish, Adam shares his snacks with his friends across the bar in liquid, alchohlic form. His newest drink (we tasted it first and its delicious!), "Foraging, For Bartenders," lets cucumber do the talking. With supporting cast provided by the eild-rice funkiness of Batavia Arrak and the sweet tree sap known as Mastiha; all of which is dazzled with a tongue tingling salt rim.
Pro tip: if you leave some of the salt rim, you can always salt and eat the garnish.
Photo courtesy of LOA
If you would rather have Adam shake or stir you up a cocktail you can find him at
LOA, International House Hotel, 221 Camp St, New Orleans, LA 70130
FORAGING, FOR BARTENDERS
1.25 oz Batavia Arrak
1.25 oz Cucumber juice
.5 oz mastiha
.25 oz lime juice
Egg white
Add all ingredients to shaker, dry shake, add ice, and shake again. Don't shake too much--you want the egg white body without too much of the egg white foam head. Double strain into a salt rimmed coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a whole cucumber wheel.
Download the recipe below!
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