Saturday, October 13, 2012

Abbeville Daiquiri Round-Up

Skip-N-Ria's, a daiquiri drive-through located in Erath, La.
My wife and I visited relatives in Abbeville, La., this weekend and, as always, I had my mind blown by a handful of daiquiris during the visit. In order of preference, they were:

1) "Red Hot"/Cinnamon Schnapp's from Cajun Blenders in Abbeville, La.
2) "Push-Ups" (190 Octane and Pina Colada mix) from Skip-N-Ria's in Erath, La.
3) Banana from Skip-N-Ria's in Erath, La.

The simple fact of the matter is that the stretch of highway that includes Gueydan, Kaplan, Abbeville and Erath is home to some of the best daiquiri shops in all of Louisiana. In this region, it's actually legal to sell mixed cocktails through a drive-through window, as well, so you can pick up a Crown Royal and soda at a drive-through. It's incredible.

I drank a handful of small daiquiris during our trip. The stand-out daiquiri of the trip was the "Red Hots" from Cajun Blenders, a little drive-through bar that I've heaped praise upon in previous blog posts. But this cinnamon-flavored daiquiri really is unusual - I've never seen it on any other menu, anywhere. It tastes exactly like the "Red Hot" candies that you ate by the handful as a child.

I also loved the banana daiquiri from Skip-N-Ria's (pictured). While it did taste faintly of bananas, it tasted more like rum-spiked homemade ice cream. I detected Eagle Brand pet milk in the mix somewhere. Just like the Red Hots daiquiri, the banana from Skip-N-Ria's is a rich, intense taste that (for me at least) had a nostalgic effect.

I love the daiquiri shops in this area and intend to review a few more soon.

The menu from Cajun Blenders in Abbeville, La. Note the Fallout 3 logo in the bottom-right.