New Orleans has quite a few iconic experiences in store for tourists.
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From its festival traditions to its famous ghosts to its colonial architecture to its Creole dishes, the city has culture, history, and a dash of mayhem that make for unforgettable trips. It’s got style, flavor, and enough intrigue to keep you hooked for your whole trip.
As you might have heard, New Orleans also has a very involved relationship with alcohol.
It’s one of the few districts in the United States to allow open containers. It’s also the birthplace of many famous cocktails, from the Sazerac to the Hurricane. (Along with other local favorites like the Brandy Milk Punch.)
If you love to sample cocktails, liquors, and home brews, you’ll have a smorgasbord of options at your fingertips in New Orleans, from dive bars to fine dining restaurants to neon-lit clubs. But if you want to dig a little deeper into topics like taste, mixology, and history, then you might want to book a boozy tour in New Orleans, instead.
That way, official guides can educate you on local spirits and cocktails while also teaching you how to whip them up yourself.
First up: Thanks to New Orleans’ open container laws and general acceptance of public drinking, you can turn many tours in Crescent City into impromptu drinking tours. When I visited and went on a swamp fan boat tour, I asked our guide if I could bring on a little cup of Mad Dog 20/20 jungle juice (I was in my twenties still, don’t judge me). She looked me up and down before asking rhetorically, ‘I don’t know—can you?’
Just make sure you ask your guide before you show up and treat the tour like a BYOB adventure. Below, I’ve split up my recommendations into four categories: history tours that involve alcohol, haunted pub crawls, regular pub crawls, and drinking tours that come with meals.
Best history-focused drinking tours in New Orleans
- New Orleans Cocktail History Walking Tour in the French Quarter: Visit four different locations to sample some of New Orleans’ most famous cocktails. You’ll also hear plenty about absinthe, including what makes the drink so popular and how it ended up banned in the US.
- New Orleans Cocktail and Food History Tour: Start off on Bourbon Street to learn about famous dishes like gumbo and fried plantains. As you learn bout famous dishes, you’ll also get to sample full-size drinks and cocktails.
Best haunted pub crawls in New Orleans
- Haunted Pub Crawl in New Orleans: Check out the oldest bar in the US, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar, before you pass by the Lalaurie Mansion. Along with learning about the city’s most spine-tingling haunted stories, you’ll get to visit haunted bars and sip on eerily delicious cocktails.
- Pub Crawl; New Orleans Lewd Spirits: This adults-only tour focuses on New Orleans’ most daring and chaotic true crime tales. You’ll drink at haunted bars, which include an infamous former brothel. You’ll need an interest in dark history to enjoy this one.
- Pub Crawl: New Orleans Drunk History Ghost Tour with EMF Meter: Bust out your detective’s hat as you explore haunted bars and learn the basics of paranormal investigations. When the time is right, you’ll even have the chance to use an EMF meter to connect with the city’s dearly departed.
- Haunted Drunken History Tour from New Orleans: Take on the French Quarter to learn about the city’s most notorious neighborhood. This adventure includes stops at famous bars, intriguing history lessons, and a juicy take on Nola’s most well-known ghost stories.
- Haunted French Quarter Original Cocktail Tour: Learn about New Orleans’ most iconic cocktails at famous bars in the French Quarter. As you sip on your Sazeracs, you’ll get a general intro to historic bars and their alleged hauntings.
- Pub Crawl: New Orleans Cocktail and Ghost Tour: This tour is a short-and-sweet romp through the French Quarter that introduces you to its best bars, along with chilling tales about its haunted history.
Best non-haunted pub crawls in New Orleans
- New Orleans Original Craft Cocktail Walking Tour: If you fancy yourself a sommelier of cocktails, this mixology-centric tour will be a treat. You get to sample New Orleans’ most renowned libations while you learn about the city’s culinary and mixology history.
- Frenchmen Street VIP Live Music Pub Crawl in New Orleans: Stroll around Frenchmen Street after dark to learn about the area’s colorful history and its most well-known cocktails. This tour includes VIP access to famous bars.
- French Quarter Small-Group Cocktail and Foodie Crawl: Taste your way through the French Quarter. All bites come with accompanying cocktails, letting you taste casual pairings in the Big Easy as a local would.
- New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup: Descend into the madness of Bourbon Street with an expert local in the lead. You’ll get to see the liveliest area of the city during prime time, letting you take on Nola as you refill your souvenir cup again and again.
- New Orleans VIP Bar and Club Crawl: Get skip-the-line entry to top bars and clubs across the city. A pro party host will lead the way to make sure you enjoy the experience, from ordering the right drinks to meeting other revelers.
Best drinking tours in New Orleans that come with meals
- VIP Jazz Dinner Cruise with Private Tour and Open Bar Option: The title says it all. You’ll step aboard the famed Steamboat Natchez to enjoy a cruise across the Mississippi River, with an open bar as your wingman.
- Bayou Cocktail Cruise with Cajun Seafood Boil Upgrade: Head out into Louisiana’s expansive bayous on a #MardiGras cocktail cruise. As someone who loves swamps, gators, and stiff drinks, I can’t imagine a better way to round off a visit to the Big Easy—especially considering this tour ends with a seafood boil.
- New Orleans Cooking Class and Cocktail Walking Tour: This tour includes a cooking lesson from a local chef, along with the chance to clear your plate afterward. From there, you’ll sample three classic New Orleans cocktails while you hear about the city’s culinary history.
