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Jewel of the South

New Orleans

19th-century tavern with cocktails as storied as the building

If you want to try the best of New Orleans' classic cocktails, the irony is you should head to a relatively recently opened bar. Housed in an immaculately restored Creole cottage dating to 1835 in the city's captivating French Quarter, Victoria Espinel and John Stubbs' Jewel of the South only opened in 2019, and it wasn't long after that it became the city's showcase bar. 

Pretty much no one knows the city's drinking history better than Jewel's partner and resident drinksmith Chris Hannah, one of the great American bartenders and a local legend, having previously been behind the bar at Arnaud's French 75. 

That's not to say all the drinks served across this tavern's counter are tributes to yesteryear recipes – with a curator's touch, Hannah refines and reimagines his Crescent City's cocktails. Jewel of the South takes its name from the long-since-gone bar that in the 1850s gave rise to Joseph Santini's Brandy Crusta (made at Jewel with cognac, curaçao, maraschino liqueur, bitters, served in a sugar-rimmed glass) so when you visit, through the open courtyard and into the warm and welcoming wood-laden tavern, you should probably start with the drink for which this is the adopted home. There are signatures cocktails too, but it'd be remiss not to dabble in some more Nola favourites, not least Hannah's rendition of the French 75 (cognac, lemon, sparking wine) and the Jewel Sazerac (rye, Madeira, dry wine, aniseed liqueur and bitters).

Served with seasonal food, caviar, good wine and wrapped up in some signature Louisiana hospitality, Jewel's preciousness extends beyond the south.

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