Vieux Carré Cocktail Recipe

Advanced and spirit-forward, the Vieux Carré is a New Orleans basic constructed from rye whiskey, Cognac, candy vermouth, Bénédictine, and fragrant bitters. Created within the Thirties, its title interprets to “outdated sq.,” a nod to town’s historic French Quarter, the place the drink was born.

The cocktail is credited to bartender Walter Bergeron, who first combined it on the Swan Room — now the Carousel Bar — contained in the legendary Resort Monteleone. Whereas the exact date of its creation stays debated, the recipe first appeared in print in Well-known New Orleans Drinks and Easy methods to Combine ’Em (1937) by Stanley Clisby Arthur. Within the ebook, Arthur wrote about Bergeron’s inspiration for the multi-layered drink: “He originated it, he says, to do honor to the famed Vieux Carré, that a part of New Orleans the place the vintage retailers and the iron lace balconies give sightseers a glimpse into the romance of one other day.”

With French Cognac and Bénédictine, Italian-style candy vermouth, American rye whiskey, and regionally made Peychaud’s bitters, the Vieux Carré displays the layered cultural historical past of New Orleans, capturing town’s world influences in a glass.

Why the Vieux Carré works

Although the Vieux Carré is commonly thought-about an herbaceous cousin to the Manhattan, the cocktail’s recipe goes additional due to its equal-parts construction. 

Spicy rye offers spine, whereas Cognac and candy vermouth contribute darkish fruit richness and roundness. Bénédictine and bitters add refined honeyed sweetness, natural depth, and spice, leading to a balanced, multi-dimensional cocktail with a wealthy texture.

In Well-known New Orleans Drinks and Easy methods to Combine ’Em, the recipe calls for less than a half teaspoon of Bénédictine liqueur “as a base and likewise for sweetening the cocktail,” writes Arthur. This model will increase the pour to 1 / 4 ounce, amplifying the liqueur’s honeyed sweetness and heat baking-spice notes. A lemon twist provides vivid citrus aromatics, whereas an non-obligatory brandied cherry nods to the cocktail’s Manhattan roots.