After two years at sea, Alois decided it was time to return to land. Following a brief stay in San Francisco, he headed southeast to New Orleans — the city of jazz and cocktails, nicknamed The Big Easy. He found work at Hotel Monteleone, a gathering place for travelers, musicians and writers. Alois’s supervisor was head bartender Walter Bergeron, the creator of the iconic Vieux Carré cocktail.
One evening, Louis Armstrong stopped by the bar, taking a break from his concert tours to visit his hometown. He asked for something “strong and unusual,” so Alois drew on Bergeron’s recipe and made it his own. He mixed rye whiskey, cognac, Dubonnet and a dash of bitter. Armstrong liked it so much that he kept ordering it all evening and even remarked that “this new drink surpasses anything they've ever served at Monteleone.” Bergeron didn't take kindly to such praise. “From that day on, working at the bar slowly turned into a daily battle. I had no choice but to hand in my resignation and leave the place,” Alois wrote in his diary.
The Big Easy