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Whoever coined the bit of bar-business wisdom that maintains you can\u2019t open a new dive bar never met Nicholas Jarrett. The veteran bartender, who has called New Orleans<\/a> his home for 12 years, has long divided his skills between high-end cocktail dens (Cure<\/a>, Peychaud\u2019s<\/a>) and dives (The Saint<\/a>). <\/p>\n In summer 2023, he and The Saint owner Benji Lee opened Holy Diver<\/a>, a dark-as-night corner bar that marries elements of both genres, perhaps better than any watering hole to come before it. \u201cIt\u2019s a proper bar,\u201d Jarrett rasps in a voice as gravelly as the bottom of a fish tank. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a stage, we\u2019ve got a jukebox, there\u2019s a pool table. We have proper drinks. It\u2019s a classic neighborhood dive bar, but with something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a cage, newly installed in one wall of the pool room, to be used for planned burlesque shows and go-go dancers. That the jukebox be free was important to him. He wanted to avoid a predictable Spotify playlist. Plus, he says, \u201cBartenders are not always the best curators of music in a space.\u201d <\/p>\n All bartenders\u2014a mix of those with and without cocktail experience\u2014can easily deploy Jarrett\u2019s batched classics, which are designed to require minimal effort from the bar staff and are far above dive-bar grade. The house Martini<\/a>, for instance, is a blend of two gins and two vermouths. \u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say that there isn\u2019t anything else quite like it,\u201d he says of his new home. \u201cIt\u2019s an homage. There was no place to get a good Martini or PM Spirit or mezcal while shooting pool.\u201d<\/p>\n