OUR HISTORY

The Handy Liquor Bar is named after 1800’s New Orleans bar keeper and mixologist Thomas Handy, who is known as one of the first expert barman in the United States and created what we know today as “America’s First Cocktail,” the Sazerac cocktail. Before his death in 1889, Handy recorded the recipe for the cocktail and the drink made its first printed appearance in William T. “Cocktail Bill" Boothby's 1908 "The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them."

The original Sazerac cocktail, as first created by Thomas Handy, now lives on 527 Broome Street at The Handy Liquor Bar.