The Holidays are over, but many of us still have months of chilly brown-liquor weather to get through before our thoughts turn to the light, dry drinks of spring. In the winter, a classic Manhattan is our go-to before-dinner tipple, but a reader recently reintroduced me to the Vieux Carré, a lovely, complex drink developed in New Orleans in the 1930s. Like a Manhattan, it fuses whisky, sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters, but it also adds the richness of cognac and the herbal complexity of Bénédictine liqueur. On paper, it all seems like too much, but if you measure carefully, these strong flavors fall into a beautifully balanced cocktail. Perfect for the cold nights still ahead.
Recipe
1 oz Rye
1 oz Cognac
1 oz Sweet vermouth
1 teaspoon Bénédictine
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Put all ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir well. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a Marascino or brandied cherry or two. (Some coat the glass with the Bénédictine, but I’ve had good luck taking the simpler approach of just adding it to the mix.)
À la vôtre!
