Created by Chilled 100’s Konrad Kantor for BAYOU RUM
Chilled Drink of the Week: Romper Chomper
Romper Chomper
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Bayou Satsuma
- 1 oz. Bayou Silver
- 1/2 oz. Lime
Preparation: Build in a tall glass; add ice, top with Reed’s Ginger Ale. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Meet Konrad Kantor
Chilled 100 Member New Orleans, Louisiana
Konrad Kantor has tended bar and managed for French Quarter heavy-hitters Sobou and most recently Doris Metropolitan, but is currently making drinks, coffee and even food at El Libre, a quaint French Quarter charmer that opened just eleven months ago. El Libre, where he is one of four owners, is inspired by Cuban/South Floridian street food, with Cuban coffee a la Cafe Bustelo and a short but highly optimized menu of classic Cuban cocktails.
Konrad often challenges himself to make drinks based on the ingredients already available at El Libre, which, measuring a mere four-ft.-three-and-one-half inches, is the smallest craft cocktail bar in New Orleans. Featuring only twenty-five rums and a few “odds and ends” ingredients that help him construct classics like the Presidente or a Daiquiri Number 3, the bar (and the limited menu offerings for that matter), is a perfect representation of the expression “If you’re going to do one thing, be the best at it.” ”
El Libre keeps me humble,” Kantor says, “as you’re just as likely to see me delivering food and coffee to service industry employees as shaking classic Daiquiris.”
Konrad Kantor – Chilled 100 Ambassador, New Orleans
In his spare time Kantor devotes much of his attention to music and has been a staff writer for the heavy metal music publication Last Rites for over five years. But he’s just as likely to be seen at a hip-hop, house, jazz or reggae show. He’s also crazy about classic video games and loves the Nintendo Entertainment System, currently being one of the top fifteen players in the world at speedrunning Ninja Gaiden.
“There is a bi-annual event called Awesome Games Done Quick that donates all proceeds to cancer research and charities such as Doctors Without Borders,” he says. “It’s somewhat of a video game Olympics and I always watch with great joy as gamers tackle incredible feats.”
The inspiration for my Bayou Rum cocktail “Romper Chomper” is two-fold. First and foremost, it’s a simple, down to earth long drink that’s super easy to make. The flavors of the Bayou Satsuma are delightful yet potent, and after a few sips you should tread as lightly as you would walking along the shores of the alligator infested swamps of the Louisiana Bayou. Secondly, sometimes improvisation is key, and knowing what ingredients can be found around the block is as important as knowing the ones you’ve got at your home bar. Rocket Fizz soda shop is around the corner from El Libre, so when the sodas we carry at the cafe weren’t making the cut with the flavors in this drink, all it took was two minutes to snag a bottle of Reed’s Ginger Ale to fill in the missing ingredient.