My first trip to New Orleans came on the Fourth of July weekend in 2025. For years and years, friends and strangers alike would ask if I had ever visited. Imagine their shocked reaction when I answered, “Never,” a response filled with shame from someone who travels for a living. That needed to be fixed.
The day we landed in The Big Easy, we started our trip as everyone does, at Café Du Monde for its mouth-watering beignets. It lived up to the hype, and you can’t convince me otherwise. After some shopping, we ended the first night at Jewel of the South, which recently ranked No. 6 on North America’s 50 Best Bars for 2026. I had a long to-do list for this trip, including a visit to Preservation Hall, where this longtime trombonist was treated to an hour-long performance of A Tuba to Cuba. Our itinerary eventually led us down Bourbon Street, where we enjoyed a handful of Hurricane cocktails and a slew of dark beers at Old Absinthe House. We also visited The Carousel Bar & Lounge inside Hotel Monteleone, where Pimm’s Cups overflowed at our table, and the house jazz band started an impromptu parade between its members and buzzed patrons.
But no trip to a major American city, for me, is complete without having visited a cigar lounge. I had done my research prior to my arrival, and there was literally only one lounge I needed to visit: Cuban Creations Cigar Bar. The six of us showed up late in the afternoon on our penultimate night.
Cuban Creations Cigar Bar, in the heart of the French Quarter, is at 533 Toulouse Street; a street that dates back to 1721, well before the American Revolution. The street is named after Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse since 1681 and grand admiral of France.
Cuban Creations, the French Quarter’s only cigar lounge, also has some sophisticated history, which begins with a grandfathering clause. When New Orleans instituted an indoor smoking ban, the lounge was exempt. The exemption, according to Cuban Creations, was not attached to the business itself, but rather to the address: 533 Toulouse Street. Enter Andrew Wilson, a luxury hospitality honcho, who assumed the lease and opened Cuban Creations.
From the outset, you quickly realize you’re in for an experience. As you get closer to the lounge, you’ll notice bright yellow umbrellas providing shade so you can leisurely enjoy the day at the sidewalk tables, surrounded by benches and chairs adorned with throw pillows.
Upon entering the lounge, you’re immediately met with a quaint bar that offers top-shelf liquor, and comfortable barstools if you insist on working there for a few hours with a glass of Scotch. Macallan 18, anyone?
Just a few steps past the bar is a room with a small sitting area. But the next room is where the magic really begins: a grand, gothic-ish, moody space filled with black leather Chesterfield sofas and armchairs, TVs showing the day’s best sports action (baseball for me that night), and leather chairs surrounding nearby tables. The walls are adorned with portraits honoring cigar legends, including Michael Jordan and Winston Churchill.
The night I visited we claimed a corner table and enjoyed excellent service from a waitress who recommended red wine that night. It marked the first time I’d ever smoked a cigar — an Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva — with a glass of wine.
The humidor’s also a sight to behold. It’s custom built, carrying some of the finest cigars in the world, like Padrón’s 1926 Serie No. 90 Maduro Tubo.
Before you leave the lounge, take part in the lounge’s tradition of filling the box with the ring from the cigar you smoked that night. The box, emblazoned with the words “Been Here Smoked Dat,” was nearly full when I tossed my ring in there.
I can’t wait to visit again.
