The Vieux Carré cocktail gets its name from the iconic neighborhood in which it was invented. Meaning “old square” in French, it refers to the New Orleans French Quarter, where it was said to be created by Walter Bergeron at the Carousel Bar inside historic Hotel Monteleone in the 1930s.
The drink is similar to but often overshadowed by its predecessor, the far more popular Sazerac. Both feature whiskey, herbal liqueur and New Orleans-created Peychaud’s bitters. However, a few tweaks helped the aromatic Vieux Carré earn a dedicated following of its own.
It could be said that the differences between the Vieux Carré and the Sazerac mirror those between two other American classics: the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned. The Vieux Carré and Manhattan both favor sweet vermouth in place of the sugar cube/simple syrup used in the Sazerac and Old Fashioned. But it’s the addition of brandy, which is measured here in equal parts to the whiskey, and—more importantly—Bénédictine that separates this piece of Louisiana history from all others.
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“The Benedictine is really what does it,” says Scott Hicks, bartender at James Beard award-winning and “50 Best Bars”-honoree Cure in Uptown New Orleans. “It’s got some spice that gives the drink a really interesting flavor.”
Image Courtesy of Scott Hicks
The not-too-sweet mix gets additional layers of aromatic depth from the inclusion of equal parts Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters. Those myriad flavors and textures,
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
