Searching for a chic retreat to escape the heat, my sister and I ducked into the Peacock Room for much-needed refreshing cocktails.
Awash in dreamy teal with life-sized peacocks, this ultra-glam lounge inside the Hotel Fontenot boasts plenty of eye candy with open rooms flavored in delicious mauve and rich blue velvets. Essentially it’s a total vibe for shared bites and curated cocktails.
“Just what the doctor ordered,” Marcella remarked, as we both sipped a Copper Canvas, a signature Peacock Room bubbly cocktail made with Malfy Blood Orange Gin and Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur.
All summer I’d been a little obsessed with the ruby red-hued Malfy gin made with Sicilian oranges. The Copper Canvas on the Peacock Room menu had us at the mere sound of cucumber and Pimm’s (a magical combo, especially in New Orleans) with sparkling wine.
One sip from that elegant Nick & Nora glass and I knew we would be back for the recipe—and to find out more from its creator behind the bar, Jordan Deis.
It’s hard not to think of two classic New Orleans cocktails merged together in the Copper Canvas, but that was not Jordan’s intention.
“Sure, it’s similar to a French 75 and a Pimm’s Cup, but when I’m making up drinks I don’t tend to think of them as a play on this or that, but often they come out that way.”
Try Something New: perhaps a Bamboo?
It was at the Peacock Room that I also sipped my first Bamboo, a stirred cocktail dating back to the mid-1800s, made with equal measures of dry vermouth and sherry.
The Bamboo is Jordan’s personal favorite cocktail on the menu and “not a bestseller.” To prove I wasn’t afraid of vermouth and sherry, and was, in fact, extremely curious, I ordered one.
“The Bamboo goes back to an era when people liked vermouth and dry sherry—and that’s all that’s in the drink,” Jordan notes. “We use a Spanish vermouth that’s a little unusual, made with both apple wine and grape wine.”
The Peacock Room tweak on the Bamboo: they infuse Manzanilla sherry with nutmeg and put those together in equal parts with orange bitters. It’s also dressed up with a fancy Nick & Nora glass, nodding back to another century, with a float of an orange swath and rosemary.
Let’s Pregame
For bites at Peacock Room, the Peacock Burger was ruffling burger fanatic feathers when it first opened, but I love ordering the Snack Board for the table, especially for the Manchego Stuffed Bacon Dates.
The Peacock Room is a big bold sip for the senses down to the exquisite garnishes.
Peacock Room
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot
501 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans
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