(You can read the published feature HERE)

Three and a half years ago, New Orleans’ party spirit was temporarily but emphatically dented, but even after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Crescent City picked itself up, dusted itself down and ordered another drink. Nowhere in America does decadence and unabashed hedonism quite like The Big Easy, and Mardi Gras (attendance has returned to pre- storm levels) is the ultimate distillation of those forever-rolling good times. Katrina is gone but not forgotten, and the unpredictable climate only adds to the need for celebratory times. Cheer on the parades, clamour for cheap plastic beads, and if it’s your first time in town, you’re hereby granted amnesty to get a Hurricane at Pat O’Briens on Bourbon Street; still an institution, still gloriously touristy. N’Awlins has a far more interesting choice of cocktailing-holes for its famous festival, though…

Igor's Lounge
Saint Charles is the upscale backdrop for much of the parade action, but don’t let the mansion-heavy ‘hoods fool you – this is New Orleans, and quirkiness permeates the entire city. How many cities offer you a CHOICE of combination bar-laundromat-pool halls, for instance? Thanks to Igor, you have at least three. If your Mardi Gras finery needs freshening up, this is the place to do your dirty washing in public, and with your feather boa on a spin cycle, you can sidle up to the bar and order a house Bloody Mary. The perennial college crowd will be diluted by locals having too good a time to catch the streetcar back into town, and you’ll be too busy partying to worry about fabric conditioner – leave the service wash until you get home (2133 Saint Charles Ave, 504-568-9786, no website).

Napoleon House
If the (possibly fictitious) plot to smuggle Napoleon Bonaparte to New Orleans had worked, it’s a fair bet he would have been happy with this proposed safe house, now a café-bar named for the Little Corporal. The faded plaster and blistered paint outside belies a more elegant, polished wood interior, though if you can find a spot amid the greenery of the bijoux courtyard, all the better. Since opening as a drinking haunt for bohemian locals in 1914, the recipe for an English-sounding Pimms Cup has been more successfully smuggled across, and while the daytime menus attract tourist crowds, late nights are a much more eclectic affair, with plenty of dark corners to make mischievous Mardi Gras plans. Famously, it serves the only heated muffuletta in New Orleans, which doesn’t sound like a big deal until you try it (500 Chartres Street, 504 524 9752, napoleonhouse.com).

Muriel’s
Voodoo and general spookiness are never far away in New Orleans and the Quarter is filled with spirits beyond the dubious shooters being downed by obnoxious Spring Break frat boys. Share bar space with one of the FQ’s most famous phantoms (former owner, Mr. Pierre Jourdan) in the opulent first floor Séance Lounges at this legendary restaurant and bar. Dramatic drapery and red velvet enhance the Victorian ambience, and you can channel your Mardi Gras spirit guide after a few rounds of sazeracs, made with rye whiskey and bitters in an Old Fashioned glass, and a far superior local cocktail to the lurid Hurricane. (801 Chartres Street, 504 568 1885, muriels.com).

Pravda
Running parallel to Bourbon in the French Quarter, Decatur Street has always been a less touristy stretch, even if some of its 24-hour bars have traditionally been a little rough around the edges. Among the new generation of drinking holes is this thoughtfully-designed den. Instead of spit and sawdust, there’s kitsch Communist-era décor and crowd that’s usually just shy of oblivion, unlike many of the neighbours’ clientele. It seems churlish to order anything but a White Russian, and you can take it out to the atmospheric back courtyard and trade flirty glances with your favourite elaborately-costumed co-drinker. (1113 Decatur, 504 525 181, myspace.com/pravdaofnola)

Bar Tonique
An audacious new addition to the outer-lying edges of the French Quarter, Tonique comes from the same stable as uptown’s gastropub par excellence, Delachaise. Even a simple gin and tonic here is an experience, made with not only a selection of rare premium gins, but also the sublime infused tonic water that the owners make each day right on the premises. Unpretentious punters trade banter from stools around the classic square bar, and there’ll be a steady stream of revellers dropping by for gimlets and daiquiris that are a true cut above the usual FQ bar fare. (820 Rampart Street, 504 324 6045, no website)

Lafitte's in Exile
The friendly epicentre of the French Quarter’s ‘fruit loop’, no-one is going to be celebrating Mardi Gras more outrageously than the gaily-attired queens of this castle. If you’re (cross)dressed to impress, you may even be able to battle your way up to the balcony and lord it over the Bourbon Street masses. Get yourself a pitcher of beer, elbow your way past the drag queens and dangle your beads at the baying crowds -you can afford to be very selective with your throwing (901 Bourbon St, 504 522 8397, lafittes.com).

The Columns
Bring a civilized touch of Tennessee Williams to the proceedings in the 19th century surrounds of this New Orleans institution. Arrive early for a refreshing Mint Julep cocktail, to be sipped whilst reclining on a chaise longue in the Victorian mahogany saloon. Many of the best parades will pass by on what is usually the uptown streetcar route, and you can cheer on the floats whilst maintaining your elegant poise on the veranda (3811 St Charles Avenue, 504 899 9308, thecolumns.com).

One Eyed Jacks
The city’s urban tribes, from brooding Goths to feather-hatted flappers to hipster college kids mix happily among the careworn couches and pinball machines at this late night lair. Hip, tattooed bartenders will be slinging beers and the usual cocktails to a post-parade crowd, who intermittently slink into the back to catch some of the city’s best alternative music acts. Don’t be surprised to find Hollywood types propping up the backroom bar whilst eyeing up the musical talent – the place is owned by Rio Hackford, stepson of one Helen Mirren, herself a sometime N’Awlins resident. (615 Toulouse Street, 504 569 8361, oneeyedjacks.net)

Circle Bar
Lee Circle is where uptown meets downtown, and party people of all persuasions will be crammed into this rickety mainstay on St Charles Avenue. The boho crowd is noticeably local – easily spotted as they’re the ones that got in early to bag a seat – and it’s a favourite for up-and-coming, as well as down-and-going musicians. The intimate, house party feel is enhanced by nothing much more exotic than a steady flow of bottled beers, so grab a Blue Moon and get ready to make some new best friends (1032 St Charles Avenue, 504 588 2616, circlebarnola.com).

Snug Harbor
It’s on Frenchman Street that you’re likely to find yourself sharing bar space with the odd jazz legend, and some of them are very odd, even for New Orleans. This restaurant, bar and club is held in higher esteem than most of the ersatz juke joints, though. Address your party-induced hunger pangs by arriving early enough to chow down on a Po Boy sandwich before sitting back with some sipping whiskey and listening to some authentic tunes from local musical stars such as Ellis Marsalis and Charmaine Neville (626 Frenchman Street, 504 943 3934, snugjazz.com).

The Old Absinthe House
The house cocktail here dates back to 1874, so they should know what they’re doing by now. Luminaries from Mark Twain to Frank Sinatra have sipped the Absinthe Frappe here, and you can conjure up almost any period in the city’s recent history under the antique chandeliers. The brass and marble fittings at the bar were used to drip water over sugar cubes and into gasses of absinthe. You can once again indulge in the real thing, though if you’re wary of one of the more potent offerings around, you can substitute it for Herbsaint, just as they did when the main ingredient was still illegal (240 Bourbon Street, 504 523 3181, oldabsinthehouse.com).