The Carousel Bar

Hotel Monteleone

214 Royal Street

New Orleans

Louisiana 

The Carousel Bar & Lounge is an historic 25-seat rotating bar located inside the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter.  Opened in 1949, it is New Orleans' first and only revolving bar.  The circular, 360-degree bar is housed inside an illuminated circus-themed merry-go-round that turns once every 15 minutes.  It features an old-school, swanky hotel lobby bar with a vintage fairground ride.  Legendary literary figures like Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams famously frequented the lounge.

Known for classic New Orleans staples like the Sazerac* cocktail alongside elevated craft drink menus.  The Vieux Carre, a classic New Orleans cocktail invented at the hotel in the 1930s is a classic, spirit forward (high alcohol content) alcoholic cocktail with a balanced, velvety texture. It features a blend of warm spice, herbal depth and rich fruit notes. The cocktail invented in 1938 by Walter Bergeron (the head bartender at the Monteleone's Swan Room) prior to the bar's carousel revamp, this classic drink remains the signature order.  It features a potent blend of rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and bitters.  

The name translates from French as "old square" which is the historic name for the city's French Quarter.  It is often described as a richer, more complex cousin of the traditional Manhattan. 

*The Sazerac is a classic, bold New Orleans cocktail made with rye whiskey or cognac, sugar, Peychaud's bitters and an absinthe glass rinse. It is served without ice and was officially recognized as the signature cocktail of New Orleans in 2008. The drink traces its roots back to the 1830s and 1840s in New Orleans credited to Creole apothecary Antoine Peychaud.  The Sazerac is similar to an Old Fashioned though it relies specifically on Peyshcaud's bitters rather than the standard Angostura bitters in an Old Fashioned. 

The Carousel Bar is most famous for the Vieux Carre cocktail. 

Under the Floor

A single motor still turns the two thousand rollers beneath the floor, moving the barstools on a track around a central stationary bar. In the hotels early days the adjoining lounge space hosted legendary performers like Liberace and Louis Prima.

When speaking of New Orleans one cannot go without mentioning the most famous "doughnut" in the city .. the beignet.  Specifically, it is the iconic French-style square pastry piled high with powdered sugar from Cafe Du Monde. One must order a beignet with coffee and chicory.* Folks in the Big Easy have been enjoying these sweet delights since 1862.

*New Orleans-style coffee and chicory is a dark, nutty brew made by mixing roasted coffee beans with the dried, roasted root of the chicory plant.  Chicory is used in coffee by roasting and grinding the root which is then brewed alone or blended with coffee grounds to add a wood, nutty and caramel-like flavor while reducing caffenine.  It is commonly used in New Orleans-style coffee typically mixed in a ratio of 1 part chicory to 2 parts coffee. The traditional preparation is often served as a "cafe au lait" mixed with steamed milk.  Because chicory is more water-soluble than coffee, a little goes a long way offering a richer, less acidic brew.  

The original Cafe Du Monde is located at 800 Decatur Street directly across the street from Jackson Square in the historic French Market.