Like many iconic cocktails, the Grasshopper was invented by a New Orleans bartender.
In this case, the bartender was the owner of legendary Tujague’s and the year was around 1918. Records are a bit shady prior to Prohibition. Regardless of the exact date. the Grasshopper was created eight decades after the Sazerac debuted in the Crescent City.
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Records reveal that Philip Guichet created the Grasshopper for a cocktail competition in New York City. While Guichet didn’t win the grand prize, placing second instead, he won an even bigger reward. More than a century after the competition, his Grasshopper remains a staple at bars, including Tujague’s, across America.
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Tujague’s has been a restaurant fixture in the French Quarter since it opened in 1856. We found its bar to be delightfully dark and oozing with history during our initial 2011 New Orleans bar crawl. Although the bar moved to the former Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. space in 2020 after its Decatur Street building changed owners, the Grasshopper is still the cocktail to drink at Tujague’s.
When we returned in 2021, our Tujague’s Grasshopper tasted creamier and less minty than the bar’s original prize-winning recipe. Plus, it had what appeared to be a brandy flip on top. Apparently bartender Maxton Kennedy had a few tricks up his sleeve, giving new life to this old cocktail and inspiring us to craft the classic Grasshopper recipe at home.
Buy Tujague’s Cookbook: Creole Recipes and Lore in the New Orleans Grand Tradition from Amazon to learn more about Tujaque’s storied past.
