Tipple

Vieux Carré

classicstrongnew-orleans
Rocks GlassStir
Built with: Rye Whiskey · Cognac · Sweet Vermouth · Bénédictine · Peychaud's Bitters · Angostura Bitters · Lemon

Origin

Walter Bergeron · Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans · 1937

Bergeron, head bartender at the Monteleone, designed the drink to represent the multicultural makeup of the French Quarter ('Vieux Carré'). First published in Stanley Clisby Arthur's Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em (1937).

A New Orleans masterpiece born at the Hotel Monteleone — rye and cognac under a French herbal canopy.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Rye Whiskey
  • 1 oz Cognac
  • 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
  • 1 barspoon (¼ oz) Bénédictine
  • 2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Lemon peel

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
  2. Stir for 20–30 seconds until well chilled.
  3. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
  4. Express a lemon peel over the glass and drop it in.

Tips

  • Use a rich, oxidative sweet vermouth like Carpano Antica — it ties rye and cognac together.
  • The Bénédictine is a whisper, not a chord; a barspoon is plenty.

Related guides