New Orleans poured the first Sazerac with rye and gave the Vieux Carré its start on a spinning bar in the Monteleone. From a Black-owned cigar living room on Bayou Road to 500 bottles on Magazine Street, eighteen rooms worth the pour.
Tap a gold pin to see the bar and jump to its card below.
A Black-owned whiskey and cigar room on the Bayou Road corridor, set up like somebody's good living room. Leather club chairs, Mardi Gras Indian art, a bourbon and rye shelf worth studying, and a fire-pit patio out back where the smoke goes. Members carry a key card.
Pip’s Tip Bourbon, rye and three humidors, Bayou Road
A Black-owned cocktail lounge a block off Canal, and a smart place to start a downtown night. Low light, a grown crowd that dressed on purpose, and a bartender who will build your Old Fashioned the right way. Friday and Saturday run until 1am.
Pip’s Tip Black-owned CBD lounge, grown-folks pour
Larry Morrow's Black-owned steakhouse on Julia Street feels more like a night out than a dinner. Crushed-velvet booths, a DJ-level soundtrack, a 40-ounce tomahawk flamed tableside. Grab a seat at the bar, order bourbon neat, and let the room come to you.
Pip’s Tip Tomahawk, velvet booths, brown liquor after
The city's serious whiskey room. A long, low-ceilinged, wood-paneled bar with more than 500 whiskeys stacked behind it, from bottom-shelf honest to the allocated stuff. The bartenders know the shelf cold. Tell them what you like and let them walk you somewhere new.
Pip’s Tip Five hundred bottles behind one long bar
Dickie Brennan's corner of Bourbon and Iberville carries one of the deepest American whiskey lists in town, and it's home to the New Orleans Bourbon Society. Big picture windows on the street, raw oysters on ice, and a frozen bourbon milk punch that settles any argument.
Pip’s Tip Oysters and 250-plus American whiskeys
Inside the Roosevelt, an African walnut bar under Paul Ninas murals, and the rye Sazerac the city claims as its own. Dress a little. Sit at the bar, not a table, and watch them rinse the glass with absinthe before the whiskey goes in.
Pip’s Tip The city's cocktail, poured at the source
The Freret Street bar that kicked off New Orleans' modern cocktail era, with a James Beard award to show for it. An old firehouse with a tall back bar, a patio, and a brown-spirits list deep enough to keep a whiskey drinker busy all night.
Pip’s Tip James Beard winner that started it all
Arnaud's old gentlemen-only bar, now open to everybody and still wearing its late-1800s woodwork. White-jacket bartenders, a serious cognac and whiskey list, and a Sazerac made without shortcuts. Credit cards only. Order the soufflé potatoes and take your time.
Pip’s Tip Cognac and rye at a 1800s bar
A 19th-century Creole cottage on St. Louis Street with some of the best-built drinks in the country. Candlelight, a small bar, and a menu that treats whiskey classics with real respect. Come early or plan to wait, and ask what's new on the back bar.
Pip’s Tip Brandy crusta, whiskey classics, candlelit cottage
Inside the Hotel Monteleone, the bar itself turns a full circle every 15 minutes, and it has since 1949. The Vieux Carré was born here: rye, cognac, sweet vermouth. Live music seven nights. Stools go fast, so the lounge side is your backup plan.
Pip’s Tip Spinning since 1949, one Vieux Carré
The Pontchartrain Hotel's dark, clubby bar on St. Charles, with painted bayou murals and live music Tuesday through Saturday. A good bourbon, a leather seat, the streetcar rolling by outside. Grown and quiet enough to actually talk.
Pip’s Tip Streetcar-side hotel bar with live jazz
The Bourbon Orleans Hotel's bar sits right on the busy stretch but plays it cooler. Candlelit room, live music every night from 4pm to midnight, and a wheated-bourbon Weller cocktail on the menu. Your quiet escape when the street gets loud.
Pip’s Tip Candlelit jazz off the Bourbon crowd
A small bar in the Celestine on Toulouse, named for the pharmacist whose bitters made the Sazerac. Rye, sugar, bitters, absinthe rinse, poured in a quiet room a few steps from the Bourbon Street noise. Order the house namesake first, then explore.
Pip’s Tip Rye Sazerac at its birthplace
A Prohibition-themed room on Iberville where the old gangsters used to drink. Pressed tin, dark wood, portraits of the bootleggers on the wall, and live jazz most nights. The menu leans whiskey. Order a Manhattan and settle in.
Pip’s Tip Prohibition-era rye, live jazz nightly
Three floors on the corner of Canal and Magazine telling the city's spirits story, with a working micro-distillery and free tastings along the way. Book the distiller-led tasting for a deeper pour. A smart afternoon before the night starts.
Pip’s Tip Free tastings where the rye gets made
A working distillery on Claiborne that names its bottles after New Orleans neighborhoods, from Bywater Bourbon to Whiskey Tree. Tours come with a cocktail in hand and end at the tasting bar. Bring the crew, fill your own bottle, and take a piece of the city home.
Pip’s Tip Local bourbon, tour, cocktail in hand
The Ritz-Carlton's big, plush lounge on Canal, with live jazz Wednesday through Saturday and a spirits list built for a slow nightcap. Deep chairs, room to spread out, and service that remembers your order. Good for a date or a closing deal.
Pip’s Tip Ritz lounge, jazz, a proper nightcap
A high-end cigar lounge in Metairie with a deep humidor and a bar that pours strong. They'll pair a smoke with your whiskey if you ask. Worth the short drive when the crew wants a long, easy evening out of the Quarter.
Pip’s Tip Metairie humidor, strong pours, pairings
A Black-owned whiskey and cigar room on Bayou Road, set up like a living room with leather chairs, Mardi Gras Indian art and a fire-pit patio. Pull up once, and next time they'll know your pour.
Members-first night of bourbon, cigars and good company on Bayou Road.
Whiskey is one chapter of Pip's Lifestyle, find the lounges, rooftops, jazz clubs and the Domino Club below.
