Local pour · checked 2026-09-03

New Orleans is rum, rye, and French 75 country, and the city will tell you so itself: the Sazerac has been the official cocktail of New Orleans since June 2008, and the Sazerac House opened on Canal in fall 2019 as a museum and distillery devoted to it. Happy hour is where that history gets cheap. The local pour is a $7 French 75 on a balcony, a $5–$8 rum special on Magazine, and a $7 rye old fashioned in the Warehouse District.

Rum runs Magazine

The Rum House on Magazine Street posts Island Time Happy Hour weekdays 3–6 PM with $5–$8 drink specials, excluding Tuesdays — so the row runs Monday and Wednesday–Friday. That $5–$8 band is the lowest printed cocktail range in the Garden District, and it tastes like the Caribbean end of the city's history: rum, lime, cane.

Rye runs the Sazerac side

The rye half of town centers on the French Quarter and the Warehouse District. Tableau (616 St. Peter) posts Wednesday and Thursday happy hour drinks only 3PM–6PM and Friday–Sunday full balcony sips and bites 3PM–6PM, with $4 DB private label chardonnay and cabernet and $7 select cocktails and bubbles — sparkling rosé, classic lime daiquiri, and a French 75 in gin or cognac. Meril (424 Girod, Warehouse District) posts happy hour at the bar every day, 3pm–6pm: ½ off wines by the glass, $4 draft beer, $7 vodka cocktails, $7 palomas, $7 old fashioneds, and a $10 select vodka martini. Couvant (317 Magazine Street) posts happy hour every Tuesday through Saturday from 5 PM to 7 PM at the bar, with wine, cocktails, and spritzes for $7 each.

How to drink it like a local

  • Balcony hour: $7 French 75 at Tableau, Wed–Sun 3–6 (drinks only Wed–Thu).
  • Rum hour: $5–$8 specials at the Rum House, Mon and Wed–Fri 3–6.
  • Rye hour: $7 old fashioned at Meril (daily 3–6, bar) or $7 cocktails and spritzes at Couvant (Tue–Sat 5–7).

Windows and prices move — confirm on the venue's own page via Deals or On now before you go. Our rum primer and whiskey primer cover what goes in the glass; the gin half of the French 75 lives in the gin guide.

Sources

Poured here: Tableau · The Rum House · Meril · Couvant