Tag: jazz

6-Pack To Go, Season 4, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 086 | 6 Pack To-Go Series: Favorite New Orleans Bars w/ Amber Gunn of Hop Around Nola

The Boozy Blondes

Grab your 6-packs, lushes! It’s that time again – and today we’re filling them with the best bars in New Orleans, Louisiana, better known as NOLA. The Boozy Blondes chat with Amber Gunn of Hop Around Nola, who is a true expert when it comes to the New Orleans scene, especially where to get a good drink.

Amber fills her 6-pack and then the Boozy Blondes take a stab at it – and ask Amber to grade it. So tune in to see how they do!

As for Amber’s 6-pack, these are the places you need to go in New Orleans:

  1. Barrel Proof | Amber’s favorite neighborhood dive bar – “a margarita bar with a whiskey problem.” If you are looking for a bar offering an impressive variety of whiskeys and bourbon, make this place a stop on your visit! Amber claims you can get the best margarita in the city here too! And if you go on a Friday night, there is a good chance you’ll see Amber there!
  2. Chandelier Bar | This is located in the Four Seasons Hotel downtown (The Boozy Blondes actually mention this bar in Episode 059 | New Orleans, Part 1 – Jazz Parade – listen here!) – serving amazing classic cocktails and specialty cocktails by some of the best bartenders in the city!
  3. Carousel Bar | Located in Hotel Monteleone, this bar actually rotates! It takes 15 minutes to make a complete rotation. Serving great cocktails – Amber’s is the French 75 – and she recommends waiting for a seat at the bar for the full experience.
  4. Cure | This bar has a little upscale feeling with unique cocktails! Pro tip – order the deviled eggs! Fun fact – this is where Amber and Chrissy met for the first time in real life!
  5. Pigeon and Whale | This is more of a restaurant than bar, but they are serving up amazing cocktails – including the best espresso martini in the city! They also specialize in Negronis. This is also a great place to get oysters.
  6. Pepp’s Pub | This is a dive, dog bar with incredible margaritas. Very laid back and a perfect place for dog owners to bring their pups! And if you want to try Malört, they will take your picture while you try it and add your description of this scary spirit to the bottom of the photo!

The Boozy Blondes share their 6-packs with Amber, and are very proud that they matched two of her bars! But you have to listen to hear their grades!

Molly’s 6-pack:
• Bacchanals Wine
• Chandelier Bar
• Carousel Bar
• Davenport Lounge
• Mahogany Jazz Hall
• Lafitte’s

Chrissy’s 6-pack:
• Lafitte’s
• Apple Barrel Bar
• Mahogany Jazz Hall
• Polo Club Lounge
• Carousel Bar
• Bacchanals Wine

Be sure to follow Amber on Instagram for more great NOLA content and send the Boozy Blondes a message with your favorite NOLA bars! Also…you can hear more about great New Orleans places in Episodes 059, 060, and 061!

Season 3, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 059 | New Orleans, Part 1 – Jazz Parade

The Boozy Blondes

Settle in, lushes. The Boozy Blondes are about to take you on a “jazz parade” through the Crescent City – New Orleans, Louisiana! This is Chrissy’s favorite city in the country, and admittedly, Molly has warmed up to it over the years. In this episode the girls take you on a tour around town, dropping it at different hotel bars to listen to some great jazz music! Chrissy dubbed this tour a jazz parade, hence the episode title. (There is no traditional parade referenced at all!)

The DOE is a New Orleans classic – Romas Gin Fizz. This drink is delicious but very labor-intensive. It combines gin, citrus, simple syrup, egg whites, heavy cream, orange flower water and club soda. The original recipe called for 12 minutes of shaking! (Molly thanks Chrissy for all her hard work making this masterpiece!)

The parade started at the Chandelier Bar at the Four Seasons. Chrissy drank an espresso martini, Molly and Phil had the World’s Fair Fizz (gin, lemon, wildflower honey, egg white, butterfly pea flower tea and Champagne), and Rainer enjoyed a glass of Reposado. This is a fairly new bar which seats 85. Visit the website for special events and experiences like “celebrate like a local” and “Oysters Take Flight.”

The second stop was not at a hotel, but at the Mahogany Jazz Hall. The bar offers live jazz music 7 nights a week! The bar is very small and intimate and hosts pop-up Burlesque shows. This place also serves Absinthe in the traditional French style!

Next on the parade was the Sazerac Bar in the Grand Roosevelt Hotel. Each one in group ordered the New Orleans classic Sazerac. The bar is very small and doesn’t offer reservations, so it can be tricky to get a table here. If you visit, ask to speak with Russ Bergeron, the mixologist/historian on site. He helped reopen the Sazerac Bar following Hurricane Katrina. Fun fact – they serve about 40,000 Sazeracs each year!

The group moved on to the Davenport Lounge in the Ritz Carlton from here. This was definitely a group favorite! The lounge is named after its resident musician Jeremy Davenport and his band. The piano bar lounge is the perfect place to listen to favorite sing-a-longs, sip craft cocktails and enjoy mouth-watering munchies! Chrissy drank an Aperol Spritz and Molly sipped on Prosecco.

The final stop on the parade was the Polo Club at Windsor Court Hotel. It’s another great place for food, cocktails and live music. The ambiance is reminiscent of of a private English club boasting an aristocratic charm and the old fashioneds are fantastic!

These five stops were perfect for a night out sampling hand crafted cocktails, New Orleans classics and delicious light bites. This sampling is a tiny piece of all the jazz clubs NOLA has to offer, but it was a great start for the Boozy Blondes! Do you have a favorite jazz bar in New Orleans? Share it with the girls!