In no other city are spirits and cocktails so inextricably linked than in New Orleans. Here you can sip a Vieux Carré, named for the French Quarter, while seated at a stool around the slowly revolving Carousel Bar where it was invented; or marvel at the lengthy hand-shaking required for the silky-smooth emulsification and mile-high airy foam of the Ramos Gin Fizz, an ethereal, heady drink created by Henry Ramos in 1888.

In NOLA, spirited libations are as woven into its DNA as jazz notes drifting from hidden courtyards and Sunday afternoon crawfish boils.

Need more proof ? The first cocktail was born here in the 1850s when local Creole apothecary Antoine Peychaud stirred a few dashes of his homemade bitters with Cognac from the Sazerac family, sugar and ice, and strained it into an absinthe-rinsed glass. (When phylloxera decimated European grapevines later that century, bartenders switched the base to rye — a substitution that stuck.) In fact, the Sazerac cocktail captures the very essence of the global influences that have shaped New Orleans’ beverage scene for centuries, and one destination perched on the edge of the French Quarter brings that glorious legacy vividly to life.

© Sazerac Company

Sazerac House is part museum, micro-distillery and mixology lab, with a healthy dose of booze lore and history and healthy pours of some of the world’s most revered libations. Built by combining several 19th-century Italianate structures that had fallen into disrepair, the multilevel immersive experience, opened in 2019, shakes up the perfect introduction to New Orleans’ drinking culture.

I took a hard hat tour during construction and recently returned for an advanced taste of a few soon-to-release expressions. The structured palate and notes of baking spices, pepper, anise and citrus in Sazerac Rye Whiskey 100 proof are designed with the bartender in mind and made to stand up to bold stirred cocktails such as the Manhattan (and, yes, the Sazerac). Timed with completion of the distillery’s 10-year expansion project, Eagle Rare 12’s profile is complex yet accessible and oh so sippable, with indulgently sweet aromas of oak and almond and a toffee-tinged finish.

Sazerac’s portfolio reads like a spirit world’s list of most beloved and revered brands, from Buffalo Trace to Blanton’s to Van Winkle, and Sazerac House even offers a choose-your-own-adventure visit designed for both the novice and aficionado. Highlights of the complimentary, self-guided House Tour include a bar integrated with virtual mixologists who share technique and history, an exhibit about the process for making Peychaud’s Bitters, and free tastes of cocktails or spirits from carts set up throughout. Sign up for a free one-hour guided tour to glean insider details.

To delve deeply into the ABCs of ABV, book a paid experience, which might include an expert-led tasting of rare or premium whiskey or Cognac in an intimate speakeasy, a session covering the cultural significance of rum and its place in tropical cocktails, or a hands-on mixology class to mix up seasonal sips. Hit the shop to snag vintage-style glassware, branded apparel and bottles to take home, including rare exclusives you can’t get anywhere else.

So next time you’re in New Orleans, before throwing back a deceptively strong Hurricane at the raucous Pat O’Brien’s or ordering a round of elegant, eponymous, effervescent cocktails at the French 75 Bar (a drink not created in the city but arguably perfected here), step into the place where The Big Easy’s culture, history and cocktails converge.