The French Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, is no stranger to having an air of mischief and Bacchanalian revelry – and that usually goes hand-in-hand with drinking. So in 1938, at the Hotel Monteleone, head bartender Walter Bergeron set to mixing a delightfully silky cocktail, aptly named the “Vieux Carré” (“Old Square” in French), paying homage to the French name of The Quarter itself. Smooth, delicious, and greatly lethal, this spirit-forward cocktail embodies the powerful history of classy boozing we associate with that cultural bastion of food and drink, New Orleans.

Oh, and by the way, the Hotel Monteleone is still open and serving wonderful cocktails. If you're ever in the neighborhood, pop in, sit at their carousel bar (literally a working carousel) and have yourself a Vieux Carre at its birthplace.

The Story Behind Benedictine

Of the Vieux Carré's ingredients – rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, bitters, and Benedictine – the last is probably the only one you’ve never heard of. It’s a liqueur named after the monastic order of Saint Benedict, and its history (like most stories) is a hazy combination of fact and embellishment.

In 1510, a Benedictine monk named Dom Bernardo Vincelli drummed up an elixir made up of 27 herbs and spices, which he recorded on a few pages in what would become a dense alchemical tome. There it would sleep for a long time in the Abbey of Fecamp in Normandy. Fast forward to the French Revolution, whose turmoil destroyed the abbey (a huge bummer), causing some of the precious books to be evacuated. Vincelli’s manuscript, among many others, came into the hands of a family by the name of Le Grand in 1789. There it would sleep, again, for nearly 100 more years.

In 1863, a member of the family named Alexandre Le Grand would come across Vincelli’s manuscript while tidying up the family library, and he set himself to recreating the elixir. When he got it right, he recorded his particular formula – which remains a closely held secret today, the full ingredients are known only to 3 people in the world.

Le Grand wanted to give Vincelli a nod, so he named the liqueur Benedictine and received permission from the Benedictine Order in Rome to use the destroyed abbey’s coat of arms. The "D.O.M." emblazoned across the label is another tribute, as many Benedictine manuscripts were prefaced with Deo Optimo Maximo or “God, infinitely good, infinitely great.” Which is exactly what you’ll say when you taste a Vieux Carre.

A romantic story, right? I like to believe it, but it’s pretty widely discredited – Alexandre Le Grand is said to have made the elixir himself and sought to tie it to Normandy’s history through believable legend. Either way, I applaud his 1860s marketing skills.

The process by which it’s produced is lengthy and complicated, taking over 12 months to form the final product. 27 herbs and spices are formed into four “espirits,” which are then blended together and sit in oak barrels for eight months. Then honey and saffron are added, the mixture is heated, and then it's set to age in oak barrels for four more months. After all that, you have Benedictine. Its subtle balance of sweet and herbal notes gives the Vieux Carre an element of intrigue in flavor, storytelling, and process.

The Other Components

This is a robust blend of flavors, all complicated and with their own histories. Here are some key points about what you’re drinking and how they work together.

Rye Whiskey: One of the many types of whiskey, rye is distilled from 51% rye grain (versus the 51% corn used in distilling bourbon). That gives rye a lighter, spicier flavor – and since this cocktail is on the sweeter side, you might want to choose a high-proof rye to amp up those notes as a contrast.
Cognac: A well-developed history brings this brandy-based spirit from its namesake town of Cognac, France. It’s variable in flavor, but generally has notes of vanilla, caramel, and fruit. Being distilled from grapes and aged in oak casks, it tends to be sweeter than whiskey – which means you get a balance between spice and sweetness in a Vieux Carré, whose base is split between cognac and rye.
Sweet Vermouth: Simply put, vermouth is wine fortified with blends of herbs, spices, flowers, etc. This cocktail calls for the sweeter iteration of vermouth, in which sugar is added after fortification. For the Vieux Carré, this rounds out the power (both in flavor and alcohol) of the dueling main spirits.
Angostura and Peychaud’s Bitters: Both of these classic aromatic bitters have history behind them and were created around the 1830s. Angostura bitters began as a remedy crafted by a German surgeon general in Venezuela, used mainly to ease upset stomachs of soldiers. Peychaud’s bitters are now distributed by the Sazerac company but were originally created by a Creole apothecary named Antoine Peychaud. Both bitter variations share similar process and base, but the definitive difference is that while Angostura is strong, heavy, and intense, Peychaud’s is light, sweeter, and has a floral quality. Alone, both bitters can become an overly dominant flavor in the cocktail, but here they balance each other perfectly – they play upon the sweetness of the cocktail, adding an earthy harmony that furthers the underlying herbaceousness.

The Recipe

Alright, so we've looked at the ingredients separately – now it's time to put them together. Once everything is in the mixing glass, don't skimp on the stirring, because the best way to make this cocktail poorly is to do a haphazard job of blending. You want just enough dilution to balance the heat and sweetness of the ingredients.

Complicated and delightful, you'll need to make and taste a few of these to fully absorb the essence of the drink. Go make one and transport yourself to your own personal carousel bar.

Ingredients

1 oz. rye whiskey (pick something high proof, like Rittenhouse)
1 oz. Cognac
1 oz. sweet vermouth (I like Punt e Mes)
1 bar spoon D.O.M. Benedictine
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Preparation

Jigger all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir until cold.
Strain and pour into a well-chilled glass, either neat or over a large ice cube.
Garnish with an expressed lemon peel.

Mix It Up: The Vieux Carré