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What are the best places to drink in New Orleans?

Writer: Guide Michelle
Guide Michelle
Aug 27, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Sep 29

New Orleans tour guide on Bon Moment Bywater food tour

Tour the vibrant New Orleans cocktail scene like a local with Bon Moment NOLA & discover local spirits, historic bars, and mixology history in the non-touristy bars of the French Quarter- Book a French Quarter Cocktail tour

Sazerac museum display with tourists

Sazerac House - A museum to New Orleans' signature cocktail

  • Location & Duration: A self-guided cocktail history tour located at the Canal St. edge of the French Quarter that takes about 1.5 hours to complete.

  • Topics Covered: The history of New Orleans' signature cocktail—including the contributions of a cognac importer and two apothecaries (known for custom bitters and French WWI pastis knowledge)—as well as the origins of rum, the whiskey trade, and how coffeehouses birthed cocktail bars.

  • Perks & Cost: Includes complimentary tastings throughout the tour and is completely free to visit.


Visit a Distillery

  • Atelier Vie offers a totally free tour and makes whiskey, rum, gin (definitely try their Euphrosine barrel aged gin), brandy, absinthe (a red and a green variety)... a great idea for learning more about what goes in the glass. Hopefully, you'll like what you try and bring home a bottle to spark memories of your visit to New Orleans.

  • Seven Three Distillery offers tours & flights of the bottles you see on many bar shelves around town, all named for the city's neighborhoods.

Cocktail tour drink on French Quarter tour with Bon Moment

Best Bartenders in New Orleans

Cheers to all your cocktail adventures in NOLA: the city is full of crafty movers & shakers.

  • Some of my favorite folks behind the bar include Jewel of the South, Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, Cure, Manolito, Fives, Atchafalaya, Nightbloom, Jolie & Bar Tonique. You can catch Chris McMillian often at his quiet little bar & cafe Revel that he runs with wife Laura.

  • Get fancy at Arnaud's French 75 Bar, the Carousel Bar in the Monteleone & the Sazerac Bar

Best Dive Bars in New Orleans

  • My favorite neighborhood dives: Pals, 12 Mile Limit, Parasol's, Pete's Out in the Cold, Vaughn's Lounge, BJs, Bar Redux, Finn McCool's, R Bar and Snake & Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge just for the experience.


New Orleans cocktail book Lift Your Spirits

Books about New Orleans Cocktails

Lift Your Spirits - a fun, easy read by local historians Liz Williams & Chris McMillian to learn about NOLA history, drinking culture & how trade (and ice) shaped the drinks world we know today. And there's recipes for you to sip a bit of New Orleans at home.


Cocktail Dive Bar: Real Drinks, Fake History, and Questionable Advice - Written by 12 Mile Limit owner T. Cole Newton, it has an alphabetical compendium featuring classic, original, and exotic cocktail recipes; Entertaining, colorful, and fictional backstories paired with real stories behind the drinks.



 
 
 

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