Drinkipedia
Grasshopper
New Orleans is the birthplace of cocktails boozy and bourbon-y, from Hurricanes to Sazeracs to Vieux Carrés. But French Quarter icon Tujague's, which opened in 1856, is the unlikely origin of the sweet and minty Grasshopper. According to lore, Philibert Guichet, whose family purchased the restaurant from founders Guillaume and Marie Tujague in the 1910s, invented the cocktail while in New York City for a cocktail competition. Guichet's combination of equal parts crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream took second prize in the contest, and Guichet proudly brought the drink — supposedly named a "Grasshopper" for its bright green color — back to New Orleans.

Although some accounts place the Grasshopper's origins in the late 1920s, New Orleans food historian Poppy Tooker has found newspaper articles referencing the drink dating to 1919. "There wouldn't be a written record — especially during Prohibition," says Tooker, who is currently writing a book about the history of Tujague's. "But I'm certain that from 1919 on, in one way or another, you could get a Grasshopper at Tujague's." (Spirits/Cocktails)