Cocktail · Spirit-forward
Vieux Carré
Rye, cognac, vermouth, Bénédictine, two bitters — the French Quarter, stirred.
How to order it: Named for New Orleans' old square. Rocks glass, lemon peel, take your time.
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The recipe
- ¾ oz rye
- ¾ oz cognac
- ¾ oz sweet vermouth
- Barspoon Bénédictine; both bitters
- Stir; rocks; lemon peel
The story
The Vieux Carré, French for "old square," is named for the New Orleans French Quarter and was created in the late 1930s by Walter Bergeron, head bartender at the Hotel Monteleone. It reads like the city's census: rye for the Americans, cognac for the French, vermouth for the Italians, Bénédictine for the monks, and both Peychaud's and Angostura bitters because New Orleans never chooses just one of anything. The Monteleone's Carousel Bar, which genuinely rotates, still pours it as the house signature. It endures as the Manhattan's richer Creole cousin: denser, rounder, and unhurried, like the neighborhood it toasts.
Adjacent pours