Tuesday, May 22, 2012

NOLA Drinking Tour


The New Orleans' Original Cocktail Walking Tour provided by Gray Line Tours is a must! It combines two of my favorite things - drinking and history. Be warned though: this is a pricey tour. We paid $29 then had to purchase all of our drinks on the tour which ranged from $8 to $15.

Our tour guide was a sassy older woman named Sandy that we instantly took a liking to. She was a straight shooter who knew her alcohol. If you do take this tour, try to get paired up with Sandy!

To start off the 2 1/2 hour tour we jumped straight into the booze with absinthe and Tony Seville's Pirate's Alley Cafe. The thought of drinking the same alcohol that probably caused Vincent Van Gogh to cut his own ear off wasn't the most appealing to me but I had to try it. Plus now that opium isn't a part of the ingredients we figured we'd be OK. Not so much. That stuff is nasty! Unfortunately I didn't get any real good pictures but you don't just drink absinthe. The green alcohol is mixed with a sugar cube in a spoon then heated with fire, turning yellow. Because the taste is similar to black licorice it was suggested that we mix in soda to give it a root beer flavor. Didn't help. The smell is much more worse than the actual taste. Tiffany and I shared one cocktail and we couldn't even finish it and ended up tossing it.


We then headed over to Antoine's Hermes Bar for sidecars. It was my first time drinking one but from what I remember I liked it, although it was strong. Much better than the absinthe. The woman behind the bar was awesome and let us get to go cups (we wanted to get a collection of souvenir cups).


Next stop was Court of Two Sisters. They specialize in a sangria that they created and it was my favorite drink of the tour. After we grabbed our drinks the group headed out to the patio/dining section which was so pretty. Unfortunately the staff was really rude to everyone and they were clearly annoyed we were there. Not sure why since our group was about 15 people and we all dropped $9 a drink. So it's not like we were loitering.


The last stop on the tour was The Bombay Club. It was a bit fancy and the drink prices were steep but it was the perfect place to relax on the patio with a stiff martini (they're martini list has a little something for everyone). I got the cucumber martini and it was refreshing although so strong I couldn't drink it all!


We ended our night at what came to be our favorite bar in New Orleans - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. It was built between the 1720s and 30s and according to the bar's Web site is reputed to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States. It was a really cool place and you could feel the history being there.


If you ever go to NOLA, I highly recommend visiting Lafitte's!

And that finally concludes my New Orleans recaps. But there's still one more post coming, written by my friend Tiffany who traveled with me.

20 comments:

Marian said...

I have a friend heading there. She enjoys a drink or two...I'll definitely have to share this with her! Sounds like a good time!!

Lindsay @ Lovely Life Styling said...

I'm pretty jealous of your 'drinking tour'!! My BF is going to NOLA for a bachelor party this weekend :/ I'm sure it will be PG...at least that's what I'm telling myself!

Stesha said...

this sounds so amazing! I am jealous!

xx

C said...

I'm doing a drinking tour the next time I go somewhere! How fun!

Jayme @ Her Late Night Cravings said...

Sounds like so much fun!! Can't wait to read Tiffany's post!!

Jayme @ Her Late Night Cravings

Annemarie said...

All the drinks look so yummy! I hate when the staff is rude to customers like that. It looks like it was a pretty setting though! Your whole trip seems like so much fun. Definitely bookmarking this post for when we go next year!

Christianna said...

A drinking tour sounds like a lot of fun! Great pics, great stories and a good time!

Redheaded Daybook said...

Omgosh!!! This looks amazing!!!
If I ever get the chance to go I'm def stopping by Lafitte's

henning love said...

i have tried absinthe before, yuck!! and it tried it with the setting the sugar cube on fire and then downing it shortly after. it was a very very cold day in prague when i tried it and i felt the restaurant feeling very very warm and that was the only drink i had the entire time. i would loveto try the sangria

Sami said...

What a fun idea! I love this and I want to do it if I ever go back to New Orleans! I tried Absinthe once but it was pretty late in the evening and I don't exactly remember what it tasted like haha. I love Sangria though!!

Julie (Little Pink Rain Boots) said...

This sounds like a great tour, I'm definitely writing this down for future reference!

Life Through Preppy Glasses said...

this sounds so fun! Although the paying for drinks in addition is a bit odd

dreaming en francais said...

This looks like soo much fun.. I would absolutely love to visit NOLA and a drinking tour would just make it that much better! xo

http://dreamingenfrancais.blogspot.com

Lauren said...

This looks so fun! I wanna go someday!!

Selma @ Crazy Little World Of Mine said...

I am prepared for my NOLA trip...some time in the future! That's for sure!

bananas. said...

holy drinks galore...I WANT TO GO!!!!

that cucumber martini sounds soooo good!

Mimi said...

now that i can drink, i am definitely gonna go to all of these places when i go back to new orleans! :)

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/
$100 Shopbop Gift Card Giveaway -- Open internationally!

Ann said...

Oh yes, nothing beats travel, drinking, and history... not necessarily in that order.

Josie said...

Aw, this sounds like SUCH a blast, doll!
xo Josie
www.winksmilestyle.com

Leesh said...

A drinking tour?!!?! I have to try going on one some day. It sounds like you had great stops and a good variety of drinks. I just had a sidecar on Thursday and yes, it was strong. But strong drinks mean you are getting good bang for your buck (especially when it costs $16). I had my first sidecar in NYC. I asked the bartender which drink he hated making the most and he said "sidecar" so I said, "Great, I'll have one of those". I got hammered off one!