Craft Cocktail Crawl – New Orleans

This post is all about New Orleans craft cocktails. Put your guide books down, because I’m about to lay out a map for you of six craft cocktail bars that we visited on a completely unintentional bar crawl. We had planned to go to Compere Lapin for a nice evening of drinks, but never made it there. Like most bar crawls, we started with the requisite “top ten craft bars in New Orleans” search. And quickly determined that we could hit all multiple places by walking, thus almost obligated to visit many more places than originally planned! (We took Lyft to bar #1 and back home at the end of the evening- I highly suggest you do the same.)

I’m sitting in my hometown (Houston, Texas) as I write this, in a bar called Anvil Bar and Refuge. If you pay attention to the craft cocktail world at all, you’ve certainly heard of Anvil and probably visited, or want to. Anvil spoiled me- it sets a very high bar and is what I compare all other craft cocktail bars against.

Spoiler alert (!) – we loved several of the bars, liked others, and were really disappointed in one. So, without further ado, here’s the list, in the order we hit them.

The classic!

Sazerac Bar

You should go to Sazerac Bar, located in the Roosevelt Hotel,  just to walk through the sumptuous  lobby. Although you’ll feel like you should be wearing an evening gown or tuxedo, this bar seems to welcome all comers. With low lighting, a long highly polished wood bar, and plush seating, you feel completely classy and therefore compelled to order the $18 Sazerac, the specialty of the house. The uniformed bartenders produced four beautiful drinks for our group – the Sazerac (of course), an Old Fashioned, a Clover Club, and a Ramos Gin Fizz.  While everything about this bar (including the prices!) screams elegance, it somehow still feels welcoming and non-judgmental. Highly recommend!

21st Amendment 

Inventive cocktail menu

Our second stop pays homage to the amendment that repealed Prohibition (thanks,FDR!). This is a surprisingly small bar, but felt comfortable with multiple sets of french doors open to the street. The decor was fun, with photos of notorious bootleggers and gangsters on the walls, and The Godfather (the scene where Fredo gets shot) playing on the above-bar mounted TV. Our favorite part (other than the drinks) was the superb live band playing at just the right volume to allow us to talk without yelling. Our bartender, Scott, made us a Last Word (his suggestion when I asked for his favorite gin drink), an Oh, Dory, and the Pimp’s Cup (yeah, you read that right), a featured special with Zucca Rabarbo. Overall, this felt like a bar you want to go to on a beautiful day, feeling the sunshine on your back while listening to great jazz music. One of my favorites of the night.

The Carousel Bar & Lounge

This ridiculous fun bar is located in Hotel Monteleone. It’s called The Carousel Bar because it is actually a carousel…that spins! The seats are just bar stools – there’s no lions and tigers and unicorns to sit on/in, but this bar is a kid-at-heart paradise. Great drinks while spinning in New Orleans? Sold! This bar is packed to the brim so you may have to wait for a seat (although there is also plenty of non-carousel, non-spinning seats). We got lucky and slid into two just-vacated seats, but waited for 10 minutes for service with dirty plates in front of us. However, I will say the bartenders work hard, and it is amazing watching the two bartenders at work – they somehow don’t lose their place, even though their customers are in constant movement. They work in a tiny space and once acknowledged, we had very attentive service and heavy pours. Since we had already waited awhile for a drink, we went for easy gin and tonics, which were indeed delicious. Overall, this is a gimmick, but a great gimmick and a tourists’ delight. A must see.

The fearless crawlers

Beachbum Barry’s Latitude 29

This tiki-themed bar and restaurant was fun; with quick, knowledgeable service, and a huge drink menu. The atmosphere was welcoming and the tiki decor makes you smile. We ordered the Navy Grog and the Suffering Bastard, which I thought was especially delicious. This was probably the bar we spent the least time in, but only because by this point we had several drinks and were focused on food. While Latitude’s food menu looked great, we wanted something fast and greasy, so we vowed to return at a later date, and went next door for a quesadilla. Will definitely return.

The French 75

We almost didn’t go this bar, but we were so glad we did. When you step in, you are swept back to the early 20th century, with gleaming wood and brass, velvet seating, and uniformed bartenders. Much like The Sazerac Bar, The French 75 is classy but completely approachable.  It turns out that our bartender, Chris, is the head bartender and crafted the cocktail program. We spent quite awhile talking with him, and learning from him. We drank the El Guapo Fashioned, the St. Martin, and The Contessa; all beautifully presented and delicious. The atmosphere here is great – next time I want to be wearing flapper dress and pearls. A perfect place to go on a romantic date or with a small group.

Bar Tonique

This was the last stop of our evening, and we actually walked out of our way to get there as I had heard good things about this bar. Unfortunately, the whole experience was a complete bust. The atmosphere is great, but our bartender couldn’t answer several questions, and didn’t look particularly motivated to help. The other bartender seemed to know what he was talking about, but didn’t step in when we were clearly seeking answers, even though he was clearly not busy, as the bar was quite empty. The leather bar stools were torn and ripped, and the bathroom had clearly not had attention in a long, long time. We paid $22 plus tip for two sub-par cocktails (Negroni and Corpse Reviver); so even the drinks couldn’t save the day. We declared this a dive bar with artisan prices. Wholly disappointing as the space was interesting, the spirit list extensive, and the location – away from the crowds of the Quarter – was appealing. We clearly won’t be returning anytime soon.

Wrapping up…

I hope this is helpful for your next trip or night out in New Orleans. We had a blast and I hope you do, too! Let me know about your experience and add more bars and your thoughts in the comments. Cheers!