Vieux Carré — New Orleans cocktail built on two bitters, Peychaud's and Angostura

Vieux Carré

New Orleans cocktail built on two bitters, Peychaud's and Angostura

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 2 dashesPeychaud's Bitters
    Essential for authenticity
  • 2 dashesAngostura Aromatic Bitters
    Bergeron's 1938 build takes both bitters; Angostura carries the clove against Peychaud's anise
  • 1 ozSweet Vermouth
    Italian sweet vermouth
    Substitute: Carpano Antica
  • 1 tspBénédictine
    Herbal liqueur
    Substitute: Yellow Chartreuse
  • 1 ozRye Whiskey
    Use quality rye
    Substitute: Bourbon acceptable
  • 1 ozCognac
    VSOP or higher
    Substitute: Armagnac acceptable

Instructions

  1. Add 1 oz rye whiskey, 1 oz cognac, and 1 oz sweet vermouth to mixing glass
  2. Add 1 tsp Bénédictine, 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters and 2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
  3. Fill with ice and stir until well chilled
  4. Strain over fresh ice in old fashioned glass
  5. Express lemon peel oils over drink and garnish

Technique Notes

Stir it well past what feels necessary. Two spirits, two bitters, a liqueur and a vermouth is a heavy build and it needs the dilution to knit.

Why the Vieux Carré Works

Two spirits, two bitters, one liqueur, one vermouth — every component does double duty. Cognac sweetens the rye, Bénédictine's herbal honey echoes the vermouth's botanicals, and the two bitters cover the aromatic spectrum (Angostura's clove, Peychaud's anise) so neither dominates.

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Featured Bitters

Recipes with Angostura Aromatic Bitters or Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters

Featured Recipe Collections

Essential Bitters Cocktails

Ten drinks, and the bitter ingredient does a different job from one to the next. In the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan it is a seasoning, a couple of dashes to sharpen the spirit. In the Negroni and the Boulevardier it carries the drink. In the Sazerac it sets the flavour the rest of the drink is built around, with rye and absinthe behind it. In the Trinidad Sour it is the base spirit itself. Four jobs, one kind of ingredient.

foundational

French Aperitif Tradition

Five drinks on French bottles: Suze in the spritz and in Wayne Collins' White Negroni, cognac and Peychaud's in the Vieux Carré, the Champagne Cocktail's bitters-soaked sugar cube, and the Boulevardier, made in 1920s Paris.

French aperitif culture

New Orleans Creole Masters

Four New Orleans drinks: the Sazerac and the Vieux Carré, both on Peychaud's, Joseph Santini's Brandy Crusta, and La Louisiane, which takes Peychaud's and absinthe together.

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