Ever since we visited Barcelona and drank our way through all the bars on the San Pellegrino Best Bars list, I’ve been paying special attention when I’m in a new city. I’m not a beer or wine drinker, so a bar with excellent specialty cocktails is the way to my heart. So, with an upcoming trip to New Orleans, I was on the lookout for cool bars in the city to visit during my time there.

Jewel of the South
Housed in a restored 1830s Creole cottage in the French Quarter, Jewel of the South is currently number 44th on San Pellegrino’s The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 list. It is also a 2024 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Bar. Its theme is, “classic New Orleans tavern”, but with a twist. Helmed by Chris Hannah, the cocktail list focuses on historic ingredients and local nuance.

I had two drinks during my dinner at Jewel of the South – Pouves-Vous Poulet and the Whirling Dervish. The Pouves-Vous Poulet features Duck and Chicken Fat-Washed Rums, Smoked Maple Syrup, and Bitter Queen’s Caribbean Bitters while the Whirling Dervish features Avua Cachaça, Agricole Rhum, Mango Sticky Rice Cordial, and Lime. The Pouves-Vous Poulet was very similar to your classic Old Fashioned, but smokier and sweeter. The Whirling Dervish was very good, you can really taste the notes of mango sticky rice. It was a very refreshing cocktail to end the night.

I picked Jewel of the South because of its status as one of the best bars in the United States, but they serve a fantastic dinner as well. I highly recommend that you come for food as well as their inventive cocktails. The waitstaff at Jewel of the South are some of the best that I have ever encountered. They really know the menu and can give you tasting notes and recommendations for all of their cocktails. I was able to make excellent, educated choices based on their feedback, which was so valuable.

If you only have one free meal in New Orleans, Jewel of the South is a very, very solid choice. And if you only have time for a drink or two, do it!

Cure
Cure’s cocktail program is known for its emphasis on both the classics and adventure, with seasonal/rotating cocktails. The menu often includes tasting notes, which really helps you choose which cocktail you’d like. In 2018, Cure won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program and it has repeatedly placed on North America’s 50 Best Bars list.

I stopped into Cure for a drink or two after an early dinner. The bar was absolutely packed on a Thursday night, so I was given a table for myself. To start, I went with the La Vida Normal, which their menu states is, “a breezy, warm weather Old Fashioned featuring malty Japanese whiskey with notes of yuzu, gentian, and sarsaparilla root”. This was a slightly different take on a classic Old Fashioned and I really enjoyed the notes of yuzu and the smoky Japanese whiskey.

For my second drink, I went with the Written Invitation. The menu notes it as, “lavender, pear, and alpine aromatics make for a crisp and utterly refreshing whisky sour, evoking a leisurely jaunt through a sunny meadow”. This was, indeed, a very refreshing drink that contrasted with the Old Fashioned that I had earlier.

Cure does have a food menu, but I was absolutely stuffed so I did not partake. It does have a bunch of bar-style items that sounded very good.