While looking up things to do in New Orleans, I came across the Sazerac House. They offered several different types of events: tastings, demonstrations, virtual events, and even a free tour with a tasting. The free/complimentary tours were limited to 6 people of the same household, so we had our time slot all to ourselves.
It was honestly one of the best museum type of tours we have been on and it was FREE! They have been open about a year and have some cool technology in their exhibits.
We entered on the main floor and were given disposable gloves. They also had disposable masks available. All staff wore gloves and masks as well. After you had your gloves and mask on, you went to the temperature taking station. Once we were cleared, we headed over to the desk to check in with Tim (he was a fellow Ohioan!) and received a map of the facility, a wrist band for the adults (after checking ID’s), and a touch screen key.
Our tour guide was Kristine Lou. She did a great job during the tour and pointed things out the boys might like to try (the interactive exhibits).
We took the elevator up to the third floor to the history of “coffee shops”, which were apparently upscale bars where women were not allowed. Along one wall, there was a projection screen with a moving illustration of an 1800’s scene. There were history facts and displays along the wall.
We learned about bitters and moved on to the bitters tasting room. They also bottle the bitters here. Bitters are aromatics and seasonings steeped in alcohol, then filtered and added to cocktails. We tried three types: Hellfire (jalapeño), Xocolatl Mole (chocolate), and Peychaud’s bitters. They make bitters on-site and had several barrels of rum aging on-site as well. The bourbon gets shipped to Frankfurt, Kentucky for aging.
We moved onto another room where we learned about the official cocktail of New Orleans, the Sazerac. We also learned about Absinthe. It was in a lot of cocktails and was banned in 1912 for health concerns. A man recreated it and substituted the wormwood (the ingredient they thought was causing problems) and renamed it Herbsaint (used all the letters in Absinthe and added an R, according to our tour guide). This room also had information on Prohibition and how New Orleans kept the drinks coming. There were these really fun interactive tables here as well. There were three different shapes of coasters (round, square, hexagon). You placed your coaster on the table and it told a story based on the coaster shape. You tapped the table to go to the next information screen.
Video
We had our first drink tasting of a Sazerac and watched a short video. Our tour guide poured the boys a limeade, that they make on-site as well.
We walked down to the second floor and had fun “ordering” drinks from the interactive bar. There were four different stations/bar types. There was also an option to take a selfie with your bartender at the end!
Our second tasting was of a rum drink called Aku Aku and limeade again for the boys. This one was a nice mix of sweet and sour. We moved on to the Bourbon room where we learned about charring the barrels to release the sugars in the wood and to add color to the drink. There were some really cool displays with interactive glass windows. You could even tap over a bottle of their alcohol and have a recipe sent to you. (Here is the link to the drink I choose.) We walked through the Rum section, where we saw some barrels sitting to age. There was another short video to watch as well.
The tour ended with you back on the main floor to see the distillery, where we had our last tasting of straight Sazerac Rye Whiskey and got to see the equipment. After the distillery, you end up in the shop area, where you checked in. The bottle prices didn’t seem that outrageous compared to going to a liquor store.
Everyone enjoyed the tour. It was a fun history lesson with lots of things to read for Will, tastings for the adults (although the limeade was good too!), and interactive screens and videos for those with a shorter attention span. Everything was super clean. I thought they did wonderful job with the tour and the museum. I would definitely recommend it!
DETAILS: *
- TICKETS: Due to COVID, you need to make reservations online ahead of time. We took the Complimentary tour (free), but they do offer other tours and events ($30 and up).
- HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday. Tour times vary (usually 11:00 am to 4:20 pm)
- PARKING: Pay parking on street or nearby lots
- BATHROOM: Yes
- TIME RECOMMENDED: Ours was about a 90 minute tour, others may vary
- *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
