BY: EVE KIDD CRAWFORD, PHOTOGRAPHED BY EUGENIA UHL

The Fourth of July and Tales of the Cocktail give us ample reason to celebrate this month.

This deep into a New Orleans summer, only sugar and alcohol can be relied upon to make us feel better. Sugar, for me, takes the form of brightly hued snowballs; cold, fizzy Coca-Colas; and sweet tea; alcohol comes in the form of icy Coronas, chilled white wine and the perfect gin and tonic. When the two join forces –– giving us the margarita, the mudslide, the Brennan family’s signature brandy milk punch –– something magical happens.

Ann Tuennerman, founder of Tales of the Cocktail, obviously understood this when she planned the annual summer festival celebrating the history of cocktails and food in New Orleans, running this year from July 16 to July 20.

So when the brutal heat and the choking humidity have left you totally defeated, revive yourself with something cold and sweet and make your way to the French Quarter to raise a toast to our city’s culinary heritage.