Imbibist

You didn’t make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras either. Oh well, we can pretend. And what better way to pretend than by mixing an original New Orleans cocktail. Walter Bergeron, once the head barkeep at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, created the Vieux Carré cocktail sometime in the early 20th Century.
 

Vieux Carré Cocktail. Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans.

Le Vieux Carré translates from French to “the Old Square,” and Bergeron supposedly created the drink in honor of the neighborhood us English speakers refer to as the French Quarter. The Vieux Carre pictured above was mixed for me by the great Marvin Allen at the Carousel Bar, located inside the hotel where the drink itself was born. As Marvin warned me, it’s more of a night drink, but feel free to mix one up for lunch today if you are so inclined.
 

Vieux Carré Cocktail

From Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.
 

1 oz. Rye Whiskey
1 oz. Cognac
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1/2 teaspoon Benedictine
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
 

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.