CURE

It’s impossible to overstate the impact Cure had on cocktails in a city that arguably does them better than any other. Cure rolled into Uptown’s Freret Street corridor in 2009, simultaneously kicking off the revitalization of an area still recovering from Katrina two years after the storm and bringing the new-school mixology movement to a city that has never lacked in quality ‘tails. The minds behind this brick-walled spot now have a mini-empire, but the OG is still a winner thanks to a spacious patio that’s walled in by vines of jasmine, a subtly sexy indoor vibe, and creative combinations that riff on classics, from a low-proof fizzy take on the Hurricane called The Next Episode to a mutant Old Fashioned called the Picard loaded with smoked black tea, rhubarb, chocolate, and caramel.