I picked up these two Louisiana rums at a grocery store around the corner from our hotel in the French Quarter. I was so impressed a bottle of the now-discontinued 504 Silver from Louisiana I wanted to try some other brands.
Both are 80 proof pot still rums made from sugar cane juice and bottled without age in a barrel (edit: Bayou is made from molasses, Sweet Crude from sugar cane syrup). The overly heavy grassy notes you sometimes see in cane juice rums aren’t present, though the softness I found in 504 or in the Cacachas I’ve tried isn’t there either. Both are clean with mild flavors and a bit of astringency. Nothing particularly special other than the idea of having a rum made in America and using cane juice rather than molasses, and the promise that a rising tide of rum production in Louisiana will lift all boats.
Both were similarly priced, though the Bayou White seems a little richer than the Sweet Crude.
Because what is my best Mai Tai may not be your best Mai Tai, as I’ll explain.
Latitude 29: Approachable All-Star
Latitude 29’s Mai Tai was fantastic when I visited in 2018 and remains a stellar entry, combining rums from Martinique and Jamaica, plus a small amount of a secret rum, and Berry’s signature Latitude 29 Orgeat. The rich cocktail has a lot of flavor but it doesn’t hit you in the face with grassy or brine notes that can be a big turn-off for many cocktail drinkers. Even after dilution there’s still a lot of great flavor.
Cane & Table: The Rum Lover’s Flavor Bomb
I was totally blown away by the rich and potent flavors of the Cane & Table Mai Tai that features three rums: Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico. The barrel notes from the Appleton combine with the vegetal flavors from the sugar cane juice rums in a way I’ve seldom experienced, with brine notes and only subtle grassy notes. The heavy rums really worked for me, because I like heavy and boozy rums in a Mai Tai. But I suspect many cocktail drinkers would not share the sentiment.
Different Audiences
I know that not really picking a winner seems sort of like a cop-out, but I do think these are made for two different audiences.
Latitude 29 challenges the casual NOLA drinker with elevated cocktails that are so much better than the frozen Daiquiris on Bourbon Street. But this is still a safe and mainstream option, a perfect introduction for tiki newbies.
Meanwhile, Cane & Table’s Caribbean-inspired culinary menu bleeds over into the cocktails, challenging customers with flavors they may have never experienced before. If you know, you know – but not for everyone.
They are the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.
Latitude 29 Mai TaiCane & Table Mai TaiMai Tai To Go at Latitude 29Latitude 29 Mai Tai
We bookended two visits to Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 during our visit to New Orleans, making sure to visit more than once to the preeminent restaurant and tiki bar from acclaimed author and cocktail historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Look at the menu of nearly any tiki bar and you’ll find Berry’s original cocktails or more likely cocktails whose recipes were lost until uncovered by Berry. Check out his books Potions of the Caribbean or even better the 10th anniversary edition of Sippin’ Safari for all the historical details written in the Bum’s inimitable style, but suffice to say that every single fan of this genre owes the Bum a huge debt of gratitude.
Inside Latitude 29, there are tables and booths on one side and bar / hi-top seating on the other, and we got to experience both on the trip. There’s a smallish food menu her and while I loved the burger and pimento cheese rangoons, it was tough for Mrs. Mai Tai to find something she liked between the fishy catfish bao and Korean fried chicken. Our service was generally good, though it appeared staff was one server shy of a full crew both times.
Mai Tai and Burger
But nobody comes to Latitude 29 for the food; we come for the immersive tiki bar decor and the amazing cocktails. We’ll talk more about the Mai Tai tomorrow but we’ll say that overall the standard cocktail menu items were really great, including the Navy Grog (the Bum’s favorite), Zombie, and a fab Rum Barrel with a ridiculously over the top garnish. A top-notch Cobra’s Fang was on the special Halloween menu which also featured some other impressive cocktails. You can even get drinks to go, which we took advantage of with a to-go Mai Tai!
Rum Barrel
Latitude 29 was well-decorated for Halloween and it is great to see special decor and the standard stuff mixed in between, complete with a killer spooky soundtrack. There’s a cabinet of historical items in the bar area, plus Beachbum Berry merch if that’s your thing. We loved our visits to this wonderful bar and must-see destination for any NOLA visitor interested in cocktails.
Entrance on Peters StreetExtra Cranberries!Navy GrogMai Tai To Gowith Joe and MaggieCobra’s Fangwith Amyand David
Cane & Table came highly recommended for their rum-focused cocktail program, but we really enjoyed the Caribbean-inspired dining options as well. Located in the French Quarter on Decatur Street just past the French Market, the venue’s organic feel includes a relaxing patio and plenty of space in the main dining room and bar. My grilled coulotte steak was truly outstanding, featuring avocado puree and fried yucca, and the service here was friendly, efficient, and knowledgable.
Hurricane & Table
But certainly the cocktails are the highlight here, seemingly the best in town. I thoroughly enjoyed the well-balanced Hurricane & Table that is made with house-made Fassionola, easily the best Hurricane that I tried during our visit. Our entire table enjoyed the cocktails.
Cane & Table Mai Tai
There’s a Classic Mai Tai on the menu but I went bold and had the upscale Cane & Table Mai Tai that includes three rums which were Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico at the time of our visit. I didn’t miss the Martinque rhum that’s supposed to be in here at all, since there’s still a ton of sugar cane juice rum flavors to work with. If you love a bold rum blend, it is hard to beat this monster combo and the rest of the cocktail was expertly prepared to highlight the incredible flavors. One of the best Mai Tais of the 2024 and possibly the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.
One of the things I made sure to do in New Orleans was get signed up with the New Orleans Rum Society from the Black Duck Bar on the second floor of the Palace Cafe. There’s no cost to sign up and you get a checklist of 37 rums to purchase and taste, and when you complete the list you get your name on the plaque on the wall.
For my first rum I wanted to do something local so chose an aged expression of Old New Orleans Rum. I found this to be quite delicious and plenty flavorful even at 40% ABV. And this pour was really cheap, $6!
Even better is that members get a free pour of the rum of the month, which was the new Mister Fogg Navy Rum when we visited in October. I didn’t love this rum when I bought a bottle a couple months ago but it was pretty nice during our Jazz Brunch visit. We really enjoyed our brunch, by the way, as the Palace Cafe’s food and Dixieland jazz really worked great for a hangover Sunday.
There is a selection of over 130 rums here, so there’s plenty of different brands and styles to choose from when you complete the list or decide to choose your own adventure. If I was a local I’d be able to knock this out in a few fortnights but it’ll be a while in tourist mode. Still, something cool to check out next time you’re in NOLA.
The neighborhood surrounding the Frenchman Hotel just past the French Market in the tip of the Marginy triangle is a little rougher than the tourist areas in town, but we had a grand time relaxing in the hotel’s tropical patio called Tiki Tock. There’s a nice entrance off the street and inside there are covered tables and some seats at the bar, very pleasant and shady for us on a dry afternoon.
The “tiki” in the name refers to the cocktail menu, inspired by historical cocktails from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s, but there aren’t any actual tikis here so it technically isn’t a tiki bar. But we really had a great visit and some quality cocktails. In addition to classics there are some house cocktails including the very good Tally Me Banana that comes in a cool banana mug. The standard Mai Tai comes with Don Q Silver and Zaya 16, so I knew it wasn’t going to be my favorite, so instead I spotted a bottle of Hamilton New York blend asked for a Mai Tai with that instead. That Hamilton expression featuring Jamaican and Demerara rums played just great in the Mai Tai that was well balanced.
There’s even a tropical wall that worked great with some “prom photos” with our friends David and Amy.
The music was very relaxing here and we saw several groups come and go during our hour plus stay. Being completely shut out from the hustle of the streets of New Orleans was quite a change of pace and indeed is quite escapist even with the modest theming and limited roof. I’d definitely recommend trying Tiki Tock the next time you’re in New Orleans.
We had a great time on the complimentary tour of the Sazerac House on Canal Street in New Orleans. There are a couple cocktail tasting tour packages but we chose the free experience that does include little tastes of three cocktails based on the history of the Sazerac company and New Orleans traditions. Reservations for time slots can be made online, though I think that walk-ins are unlikely to need to wait long.
The House tour covers three floors and includes historical displays and artifacts covering Peychaud’s Bitters and some of Sazerac’s spirits including Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Sazerac Rye. Production and cocktail recipes are well covered in this facility that was acquired and completely renovated in the last ten years, so everything looks fresh and includes some modern high-tech displays. The best of these are some stations where you have a bartender on screen in front of you making one of New Orleans’ many classic cocktails, such as Ramos Gin Fizz or Sazerac.
The cocktail samples included the Sazerac cocktail, made now with Sazerac Rye rather than cognac that was used in the original cocktail. There were also rum and bourbon-based cocktail samples provided. Pretty informative and enjoyable to spend an hour or so.
There’s a small distillery on the first floor making Rye, plus a well stocked and very reasonably priced souvenir shop. You can pick up basically anything in the Sazerac portfolio, including Myers’s Rum and Jung & Wulff luxury rums Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados. I picked up a nice little bottle of Herbsaint.
Sazerac House is a fine option in the tourist corridor of New Orleans and is far from a tourist trap. Be sure to check it next time you’re in NOLA.
