Its vibe and influence is mighty, especially for a smaller city. Altogether, this multifaceted city is one of the most exciting, if complicated, places on Earth. Its music scene is equally vibrant and historically - and currently - unmatched anywhere. Of course, New Orleans food is a national treasure and unique in the world. The city’s craft distilling scene is small but vibrant, with local distilleries in the city including Atelier Vie (see distiller interview in 2014 Summer Distiller ), Old New Orleans Rum ( ), Seven Three Distilling ( ), Lula Restaurant Distillery ( ), NOLA Distillery ( ), and this issue’s distiller interview, Roulaison Distilling ( ). And even the sweets-centric bakery and cocktail bar, Bakery Bar ( ), serves a mean dessert cocktail, like a classic Pink Squirrel. Bubbly (and beyond) cocktails center the airy Effervescence Champagne bar ( ). Tiki shines in Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s Latitude 29 or Tiki Tolteca, hidden upstairs above Felipe’s Taqueria. While New Orleans was late to the latest cocktail renaissance of the last couple decades compared to the cities that started it (New York and San Francisco), once Cure opened in 2009, bars of varying styles begin to trickle in, providing more options and range in this historic bar mecca. No other city in the world has an equal number of historically important bars still going strong. Examples include the truly magical pirate hideout Jean Laffitte’s ( ) the musty Old Absinthe House ( - head to the back room to see the historic absinthe fountain) Tujague’s ( ), home to top-notch Sazeracs since 1856 the tiny, elegant French 75 ( ) bar at Arnaud’s Pat O’Brien’s ( ), which created the Hurricane cocktail in the 1940s and 1700s historic treasure, Napoleon House ( ), famous for their (subpar) Pimm’s Cup. The Big Easy is also home to some of the most historically preserved bars, the kind of bars where, sadly, the drinks are not good but the atmosphere is, “bar none,” an unparalleled step back in time. As one of the world’s truly great drinking cities, its crucial place in cocktail history includes being the city where many of history’s best cocktails were invented: Sazerac, Ramos Gin Fizz, Vieux Carré, Absinthe Suissesse and Absinthe Frappe, to name but a few. New Orleans’s celebratory spirit and joyous sensuality is unmatched.

Absinthe new orleans