On Bourbon Street this is the Tropical Isle where you can get a popular drink called the hand grenade. It comes in both liquid and frozen form. I don’t recommend drinking too many of those. I drank ten once and it didn’t go well the next morning.

I’m skipping the Tropical Isle and heading to the Old Absinthe House on the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets.

Old Absinthe House is the location where the pirate Jean Lafitte met with General Andrew Jackson to discuss cooperation in the war of 1812.

I’m having a Dixie Blackened Voodoo beer here.

Next I’m off to the Hermes Bar at the famous Antoine’s Restaurant.

I’m able to catch one of their cocktail specials with the Paris Lemon Drop. But I’m disappointed that I can’t order Oysters Rockefeller here for another two hours (5:30pm). Oysters Rockefeller was invented in this very restaurant in 1889 and I wanted it to be a part of this barhop.

Next I take a detour to the Garden District and a fairly new brewery called Port Orleans. This place is owned by former Saints offensive tackle and current Saints play-by-play voice Zach Strief. This also happens to be where Saints Quarterback Drew Brees celebrated his birthday this year.

I’m going for the stout first. This is the Pusher.

Next I go for the Brown ale. This is the Slack Water.

For my last beer I’m looking for something unique. This is the Mango Lassi Ale.

I’m back on track in the French Quarter at the famous Pat ‘O Briens where the Hurricane was invented.

There are several areas inside Pat O’Briens and two entrances. The entrances are on St. Peter Street and Bourbon Street. I’m entering on St. Peter.

The first bar you come to is a nice size bar with a big screen TV. It isn’t may favorite part of Pat O’Briens though. I move on.

The next area is a piano bar with dueling pianos. If you’re looking for a romantic spot in Pat O’Briens, this is it. You’ll see a lot of couples in here.

Next we get to the courtyard which is the most popular area. They have waitresses and a walk-up bar. Beware if you get a hurricane in a fancy glass you may be paying for the glass.

Years ago they had problems with people stealing their glasses so they just started charging people for them when they bought their drinks. Then you can return the glass for a refund.

I prefer not to mess with the fancy glasses. I like my hurricane’s in the no extra charge single use cups. They give them to you in those every time at my favorite Pat O’Brien’s bar–The bar on the Bourbon Street side.

This is my favorite bar in this establishment. They have TVs on either side of the bar and a window and door leading out to Bourbon Street.

I’ve seen a lot of things out that window. I’ve seen a fist fight. One time they had that window open and a girl that had too many hurricanes pulled up a chair like it was a movie ticket window and was charging passers by $1 for a….flash.

Next stop is Napoleon House.

This was the home of the fifth mayor of New Orleans, Nicholas Girod. In 1821 Girod prepared the house to be the home of Napoleon Bonaparte who was to be rescued from Saint Helena. Napoleon became ill and passed away before the recuse attempt. 

I was able to secure a seat at the bar and am enjoying an original Pimm’s Cup.

Next I’m off to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.

The Bar is on a carousel. It makes a revolution every 15 minutes. Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams all sat here.

I’m ordering a rum cocktail that was invented here called The Goody.

Here is a time lapse video from a portion of my time at the Carousel Bar. This is about 45 minutes in 33 seconds.

Next up Spirits on Bourbon Street. If you watch the TV show Bar Rescue, you may recognize this one.

Next up is Lafite’s Blacksmith Shop. At nearly 300 years this is the oldest building in the country currently used as a bar. This is believed to be where the Lafite brothers ran their smuggling operation.

Let’s take a walk around Lafite’s Blacksmith Shop.

Next up is the Pirate’s Alley Cafe. The Pirate’s Alley Cafe is really a bar but St. Louis Cathedral is on the other side of the alley and a bar isn’t allowed to operate this close to a church. The Pirate’s Alley Cafe is constantly under threat of closure due to it’s skirting of the laws.

I’ll use this next bar to bridge the next article because it’s between the French Quarter and Frenchman Street, which is where we’re going next.

If you’ve seen NCIS: New Orleans you’ll recognize this as the Tru Tone bar in the show.

• New Orleans