HOURS 5:30 p.m-11 p.m. Sun-Thu; 5:30 p.m.-midnight Fri and Sat NO HAPPY HOUR (Were just happy)
French 75 is where I would have the last drink of my life. Well, one of them French 75 is where I would have the last fancy drink of my life. The beer and shot would be around the corner at the Erin Rose. French 75 is not a historic location; it opened in 2003. The bar, however, dates to the midnineteenth century, installed here by Arnaud’s when they converted a gentleman’s waiting room into this charming, tiny saloon.
French 75 is best enjoyed if you have had a hectic day and need tending to. Settle into one of the leopard-print loveseats stationed between the cheeky monkey lamps, and enjoy the table service. Bartender Chris Hannah is the star of this spot, but all of the staff here are top notch. I have never had an even mediocre cocktail here, and I drink here as regularly as my pocketblog allows. The cocktail menu is always full of surprises, but don’t be afraid to order a favorite standard; this is the place to get that perfect, classic daiquiri or Manhattan. While you wait for your drink, make sure to read your cocktail napkin’s drinking quotes, including my favorite from Mark Twain: Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough. If you are lucky to get Chris as your bartender and it’s a slow night, you can learn more than you ever imagined about classic drinks, including, of course, the French 75. Some other bartenders make it with gin, but Chris prefers to use brandy and even has on offer a small, well-researched treatise confirming brandy as its definitive spirit. The drinks here are not cheap, but when you think of the price as rent on a chair, it’s one of the town’s most economical ways to rejuvenate and face the raucousness of the French Quarter.
