Bayou St. John, 1810.

Recently I was asked to write an article for a The Preservationist, a publication done in conjunction with a board I serve on and it wound up being a pretty interesting story to research.  The article I wrote was about what James Pitot, 2nd Mayor of New Orleans, would have consumed at The Pitot House on Bayou St. John while he owned the house there from 1810-1819.  I started off figuring I’d roll out a quick lay-up and send in the article but what turned up was far more interesting than I thought and I wanted to share the piece here.  Now, this is the version that hasn’t been touched by “professional” literary editors, no friends, this is just the rambling version penned by yours truly free of those pesky little touches those nutty editors make to effort an article that is readable and fluid.  That said, its still a great peek into what might have been the “jagerbomb” of choice two centuries ago at 1440 Moss Street.

The Original Vino on the Bayou

During James Pitot’s time owning the home at what is now 1440 Moss Street on Bayou St. John New Orleans was just beginning its run as “The New Paris,” lavish parties and entertaining were de rigueur and it could be suggested that the Pitot House might have been indeed a place of much imbibing.  With a lineage of French nobility, the wealth of a successful Cotton trader and a man of education and political clout, certainly James Pitot would have entertained at his home.  Of this there is no doubt.  The nature of the tipple, however, is a source of a little investigation.

Considering Pitot’s background, raised in Normandy, home of France’s finest apple brandies and ciders, with a family background in Languedoc, home to the sites of France’s oldest viticulture and educated in Paris, it is certain that from an early age Pitot was aware of a level of elegance in alcohol that the new world hadn’t even yet begun to understand.  Moreover, the brief time Pitot spent in Santa Dominga, though a boy, really, would have no doubt given him at least some exposure to the Spanish inspired brandy and rum trade, of which New Orleans was a major port of call.  Certainly by the time he arrived on the bayou as a cotton merchant in 1810, Pitot would have been well versed in the ways of the spirit.  However, in 1810 the term “cocktail” was nothing more than a mistaken utterance in a book in New York, Antoine Amédée Peychaud was over 20 years away from mixing up the first Sazerac, the fledgling new Union had no significant identity as a producer of wine or spirits and James Pitot did not have the luxury today’s residents do of making a “quick trip” to the wine store on the other side of the Bayou.

What Pitot did have in his favor was a body of water just outside of his front door that was quite an active transport corridor for popular offerings of the day.  Perhaps the most prevalent spirit of that time was rum or “aguardiente de caña” imported from Cuba, Martinique and other West Indies locations. Rum, however, was more of a commodity than a beverage and did not share the cachet and excitement of two other products that an educated gentleman such as Pitot and his social and business connections would have enjoyed.  At that time the tone of the city was decidedly French which meant, of course, Cognac and other French Brandies were prevalent.  French wine, however, was then difficult thing to ship and have the product remain fresh so many noblemen took cues from the former British Colonies of the American northeast and enjoyed another European wine.

Madeira Wine would no doubt have had a place front and center as the tipple of choice in the Pitot household.  Made on the island of Madeira, south of Portugal and west of Morocco, Madeira was an incredibly popular beverage in the British colonies, primarily since the British authorities banned the importation of products made or grown in Europe unless shipped on British vessels from British ports.  The island of Madeira was specifically exempted and a significant wine trade grew between merchants in Madeira and Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston and Savannah.[1] Although New Orleans never recognized British rule, the port of New Orleans nevertheless saw more than its fair share of Madeira shipments.  Even after the War of Independence across the new nation popularity of Madeira wine remained high and it was the popular wine of choice for prosperous new Americans throughout the late 1700’s and early to mid 1800’s.  While it seems as though Pitot’s French lineage would have made him long for claret, the quality wine persisted.  Pitot’s time in Philadelphia would surely seen him in social settings allowing him develop an appreciation for Madeira wine, in its predominance, its travel worthiness and symbol of status.   The hearty, fortified Madeira aged well, traveled well and was so popular in fact that it became an item in high trade demand against American products as indigo, corn and, yes, even cotton.[2] This trade continued throughout the mid 1800’s.  It has been published that “Madeira Parties” were a much envied social event of the time and could be considered akin to today’s wine tasting parties.  Perhaps even today’s “Vino on the Bayou” events at The Pitot House Museum could be mere extensions of the wine fetes replete with casks of Madeira held in Pitot’s time.

The other spirit certainly imbibed at the Pitot House was Bourbon, a relative newcomer and, because of New Orleans, one of America’s first premium sprits.  In the late 1780’s New Orleans developed a de facto Bourbon trade when Kentucky whiskey distillers would use the Natchez Trail to transport Bourbon from Lexington to New Orleans for shipment to sea.  At the time Bourbon was a bitter, high proof and clear Corn Whiskey, hardly the premium product we know today.  To ready this firebrand corn whiskey for its trip through the Natchez Trail and down the Mississippi River, through the French Quarter and out onto the Bayou for shipping to the East Coast, it was stored in old fish barrels. To clean the barrels the distillers would burn the insides, store the whiskey in them and send them down river, a trip in total that took upwards of three months or more.  When the Bourbon arrived in New Orleans what happened was the charred oak had unintentionally mellowed the Bourbon and turned it from a hard, high alcohol Corn Whiskey into a mellow, delightful product.  Instantly Bourbon became popular in New Orleans and was the drink of choice for the growing American socialites of the city.  Keep in mind that Pitot, though born French, had indeed become an American citizen and was a popular businessman of his day.  To engage in the Bourbon trade was common and it was fashionable for American gentlemen in New Orleans to have their own connection to a whiskey house in Kentucky.  Though there is no financial record of Pitot paying taxes on Bourbon or records of any shipping bills of lading, certainly someone with Pitot’s connections in both politics and the cotton trade would have a hand in helping transport and consume Bourbon.

All the while the “New Paris” mentality flourished in New Orleans and the city remained very much a French colony in spirit, conveniently flying the American flag by association, these “new Americans” such as James Pitot, buoyed by their prosperity were certainly as swayed by popular trends in libations as much as we are today.  The opportunity to entertain and be a part of the burgeoning jewel of the south, to grow business, to live and laugh, to eat and dance and develop a centuries old tradition of New Orleans joie de vivre was one that was not lost at the Pitot House.  Then, or now.

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[1] source: The Rare Wine Company, website.

[2] same

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