Mardis Gras Is Next Month! Why Not Host A New Orleans Mystery?
Unmask the Mystery: Host a Murder Mystery Party in New Orleans for Mardi Gras 2024 with "Murder in the French Quarter" Fat Tuesday is Tuesday February 13th! But you can really play anytime in February as Mardi Gras Fetes last all month long!
Attention all party planners and mystery enthusiasts! Are you ready to add a touch of intrigue to your next event? Look no further than hosting a murder mystery party set in the heart of New Orleans during the vibrant festivities of Mardi Gras 2024. It’s an INSTANT DOWNLOAD and you can play at home! And what better way to set the stage for your sleuthing adventure than with "Murder in the French Quarter" – the perfect 1940s period-themed mystery set amidst the enchanting backdrop of the French Quarter.
Immerse Yourself in the Atmosphere: Picture yourself stepping back in time to the 1940s, where the sultry sounds of jazz fill the air, and the streets of the French Quarter are alive with excitement. "Murder in the French Quarter" turns your home or venue into a bustling New Orleans restaurant with all your friends and family in character and in costume. Transport your guests to a bygone era of glamour, intrigue, and suspense as they become entangled in a web of secrets and betrayal in the heart of the Crescent City.
What To Eat & Drink? No murder mystery party in New Orleans would be complete without indulging in some authentic Creole and Cajun cuisine. To complement your "Murder in the French Quarter" experience, here are some New Orleans-themed food and drink options that are sure to tantalize your taste buds:
Gumbo: A soul-warming stew featuring a medley of meats, seafood, and spices, served over a bed of rice. Gumbo is a classic New Orleans dish that pairs perfectly with the mystery and intrigue of your party.
Sazerac: Transport your guests back to the 1940s with the official cocktail of New Orleans – the Sazerac. Made with rye whiskey, absinthe, sugar, and bitters, this iconic libation is sure to add a touch of sophistication to your event.
Beignets: Treat your guests to a taste of New Orleans with these delightful deep-fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar. Served warm and fresh, beignets are a sweet indulgence that pairs perfectly with a cup of chicory coffee.
Muffuletta: Originating from the Italian immigrants in New Orleans, the muffuletta is a hearty sandwich layered with cured meats, cheese, and olive salad on a round Sicilian sesame bread. It's a delicious and satisfying option for your party's main course. Make MINI Muffulettas to whet the palate!
Are you ready to unmask the mystery? Purchase and play "Murder in the French Quarter" today, and let the adventure begin!
Shortbread Planchette Ice Cream Sandwiches!
In honor of the newest mystery, “A Seance In London” we’ve taken the liberty and have concocted our very own delightfully ghoulish dessert! This is a fun, easy and crowd pleasing dessert that can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer!
Ingredients
Rectangular Short Bread Cookies
Two Pints of Ice Cream (Your Choice)
Decorative icing (Blue Or Black)- Small Tube_
Powdered Sugar and Mint For Decoration
Step 1
Arrange your triangles upside down on a clean work surface or cutting board. In the meantime take your ice cream out of the freezer. This can be a little messy to assemble, so we recommend latex/food prep gloves if you have them. These upside down triangles will be the bottom of your cookies. Have the serving tray nearby that you plan to serve your sandwiches on…
Step 2
Take about 1-2 spoon-fulls of your chosen ice cream and carefully place them on top of the cookie so there’a about a 1-1.5” ice cream layer. Continue mix and matching your ice-creams and assembling the cookies. This is the stickiest part! Affix the top of the triangle and gently press down, being careful not to squash the ice cream of break the cookie
Step 3
Once your cookies are assembled, reach for your small tube of decorative icing. You will start with an oval eye shape, then a pupil in the middle and then eye lashes or dots above the eye. Repeat on each of your cookies. When done, arrange all of your cookies on your serving tray and store in the freezer
Serving
Take your planchettes out of the freezer roughly 10-20 minutes before you plan to serve them. Sift a sprinkling of powdered sugar over the cookies for a finishing touch. Add berries or mint to the serving tray for the final decoration. Enjoy!
A New Mystery Coming Soon!
Because it’s Halloween and we’re always wickedly working on something. We’re excited to share that we have an all new mystery coming soon! We’re excited to tell you more about it!
A Seance In London
Set in London, 1899, the esteemed Earnest Bancroft’s twin sister Eleanor has mysteriously vanished. The authorities are have proved useless in shedding any light on the case so Earnest has taken the investigation into his own hands. In the height of the Spiritualist movement Earnest has planned a Seance in hopes of making contact with his sister and finding out where she is. Hopefully she is still of this earth! Mr. Bancroft is humbling inviting you to join his seance and find answers to his tragically missing twin sister…
Mardi Gras: Sex, Masks, Food And Love, A Brief History Of The Best Mystery Party In the World
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll because it’s Fat Tuesday! The name is derived for the practice of enjoying FATTY (and let’s be honest- the most delicious foods) before Lent starts the following Wednesday. If you missed Sunday school, Lent is the 40-day long fast when Christians give up some of the things they most enjoy. It’s a sign of sacrifice and self-discipline that represents Jesus Christ’s 40 day sojourn in the desert before dying on the cross and rising again three days later. But how did we get such a wild party with religious influences?
Well it always wasn’t influenced by Catholicism. Mardi Gras is said to have pagan roots that date centuries back to the ancient roman festival of Lupercalia traditionally held in February. The festival celebrates health and fertility and involved sacrifice of various animals (usually goats) prepared by vestal virgins with blood marking their foreheads. Partiers would strip the flesh of goats and sew the animal hide into furry thongs that wore to revel in…The name of these goat thongs were called, februare, and you guessed it, where we have the word February today.
Image source: Public Domain / Wikimedia
Beyond animal sacrifice there was plenty of feasting, drinking and random sex. The Romans really knew how to party : ) Apparently these festivals began in a cave called the Lupercal on a hill outside of Rome. The cave is infamous as the hiding place for twin brothers Romulus and Remus who were abandoned the wild by King Amulius of Alba. The babes were nursed to health by a “she-wolf.” To this day, the image of the twins suckling a she-wolf has been the symbol of the city of Rome.
As the Roman Catholic Church began to rise in popularity, so did conservative Christian morals. However, communities blended new religious beliefs and holidays with age-old traditions as a way to help people transition from paganism to organized religion. Today, Mardi Gras stretches back in American history to the late 1700’s. If you’ve visited the outlying city of Mobile, Alabama you’ll learn that it hold’s the distinction of the first Mardi Gras in the United States… not NOLA as most people believe. The issue is hotly debated…
You may see the influence of Venetian Carnevale and masquerade masks in New Orleans today. Yep, you’re right there’s a connection! Originally masks were worn in the 13th century during Venetian celebrations to conceal identity. These fetes were open to the bourgeois as well as the lower class simultaneously at parties. Masks allowed for upper and lower classes to mingle without revealing class or identity. Well, there’s that… and the disguise also allowed for discretion for activities in which concealing one’s identity came in handy: affairs and mistresses, gambling, murder and just about any other indulgence that came to mind. Today, Masquerade masks are synonymous with Mardi Gras and New Orleans. In fact, it’s ILLEGAL to not wear a mask or face paint while on a float and conversely, the wearing of masks in public outside of Halloween, the circus and Mardi Gras is illegal!
Mardi Gras isn’t simply a party. Like the city itself, Mardi Gras too is the blending of cultures, traditions, religions, the rich and the poor, and it’s been happening around the world for centuries, not just the United States. It’s the great equalizer where people lay down their differences and come together to celebrate the best-of-the-best in life without fear of ridicule or discrimination. For a moment in February people gather to unapologetically, without permission. allow themselves to be wildly and wonderfully free. Free from societal expectations, free to be their most primitive or most hidden, and perhaps most authentic selves. It’s funny how putting on a mask can show one’s true self. Besides, Mardi Gras has all the hallmarks of a GREAT party AND a GREAT mystery. What’s hidden behind that mask tells a story—Who doesn’t love illicit affairs, hidden identities set against the backdrop of delicious food and the best party in the United States!
We hope that you all have a wonderful Mardi Gras wherever and whatever form your celebration takes!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
The Mystery Co.
The Sazerac: A Perfect French Quarter Party Drink
What does every party need? A signature drink! Sure, when you think of NOLA there’s the hurricane and the controversially gauche hand-grenades found up and down Bourbon street, but the quintessential drink has to be the Sazerac. The Sazerac was born in the heart of the French Quarter and couldn’t be more indicative of The Big Easy! The name comes from Sazerac de Forge et Fils a brand of cognac brandy that served as the base of the beverage before the now popularized Rye Whiskey version that people drink today.
Most people are also surprised to learn that the beverage was trademarked in 1900 by the Sazerac Co. A company that is alive and well today! The drink fell into fashion by bourbon and rye whisky makers in the South sending their spirits down South to the crescent city along the Mississippi. For a fascinating timeline visit the Sazerac Company’s website for a detailed historical timeline. At its most basic version it’s a drink consisting of whiskey, Peychaud bitters and some sugar. Naturally there are variations that will also call for cognac in addition to Rye, as well as twist of lemon and an absinthe rinse.
Since the Sazerac is a euphemistically “spirit forward” drink (don’t tempt us with a good time!) we highly recommend using a Rye whiskey that you’d enjoy sipping on… aka use top shelf! High West Distillery “Boureye” “Sazerac Rye 18 Years,” “Angels Envy” are all terrific choices.
The Sazerac works both as an aperitif as well as a digestif. Most guests don’t mind arriving to a party and sipping a Sazerac as a way to break the ice and get the party started. Or it works just as well at the end of the night when dinner plates are cleared away and laughter is becoming louder than the brass band. Any way you do it, the Sazerac is a stylish and authentic drink that will make you an impressive (and more importantly) fun host or hostess!
The Sazerac
Ingredients:
1-1/2 to 21/2 Oz Rye whiskey
I cube or 1 tsp sugar
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Lemon peel for garnish
Absinthe (for a rinse)
Step 1
Chill a rocks or old fashioned glass and when cold to the touch add and roll a few drops of absinthe to rinse the glass. Add several cubes of ice. Some people are purists who also call for their Sazerac straight-up. So ice here is optional.
Step 2
In a separate rocks glass muddle the sugar with several drops of water and a couple dashes of the bitters.
Step 3
Add whiskey and ice cubes and stir for several minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
Step 4
Strain your whiskey mixture into first glass. Cut a lemon in half until you have a circular disc. Cut half way through people and twist the peel above the cocktail and run along the lip of the glass. Use the remaining peel to create a lemon twist garnish if you should be so bold… Simply remove the remaining lemon keeping the peel and twist into a coil, it should hold firm and make an elegant garnish to your drink.
Summer Camp Slasher! Coming Soon…
Variety is the spice of life, and although Murder In The French Quarter is the debut game, there are more mysteries in store! If you are a fan of horror, slasher, 1980’s and summer camp then, we have the mystery for you! Pack up your knap-sack, tease that hair and get ready for an 80’s summer camp slasher mystery! Set in picturesque Camp Caribou, a misfit team of teenage camp counselor converge for an unforgettable summer! Big hair, daisy-dukes, mustaches and mullets, summer breezes, beer and brats; what’s not to love? Rumors of a dark and bloody history dampen the otherwise serene summer camp. It’s legend that countless souls have met an unfortunate end Camp Caribou. With each year there are increasing accounts of unexplained accidents, deaths and disappearances. Perhaps this year will be different? Stay tuned for an all-new immersive mystery game!
GRAND OPENING SALE!
We have officially launched! It’s been over a year in development, but we’re happy to announce that we have officially launched the Mystery Company! And what better way to celebrate than to get you playing our debut game, “Murder InThe French Quarter!” For three days only we are offering our first game for $39.99!
CLICK HERE TO BUY MURDER IN THE FRENCH QUARTER
You receive:
Thoroughly tested and beautifully designed Host Guide, Character Menus, Clues and Blue Print
High-quality audio tracks
Party Support Website access for you and your guests
Party ideas, host check-list, awards, name tags, AND MORE!
