All About: The Vieux Carre

Tales of the Cocktail gets underway later this week, where cocktail ambassadors, bartenders and enthusiasts alike will gather for five days in the American birthplace of the cocktail, New Orleans.

Imbibe Magazine reminded me of one of the city's most quintessential drinks by posting a link via Twitter to the Vieux Carre recipe. The drink recipe utilizes rye whiskey and is made in a style that is unique to US cocktail history.

As such, a variation on the Vieux Carre will be among the two recipes featured during the upcoming sold-out Tales of the Cocktail seminar, The European Bartending Perspective. The seminar, to be moderated by Jonathan Pogash and feature European panelists Simon Difford, Nicolas de Soto and Dushan Zaric, is designed as an open forum for discussing impressions of the American cocktail scene and how it may - or may not! - be so different from bartending across the pond.

The Vieux Carre recipe designed for the seminar does vary slightly from the traditional 1930s recipe by removing the cognac and instead swapping in the cognac-based orange liqueuer Mandarine Napoléon. This will give the Vieux Carre a slightly sweeter taste, but still stay true to the American classic. Here's the variation:

Vieux Carre:

• 0.5 oz Mandarine Napoléon
• 1 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey
• 1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
• 1 dash Benedictine
• 1 dash Peychauds Bitters
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Mixing Technique: Stir and garnish with a luxardo cherry.

To see more of where seminar sponsor Mandarine Napoléon will be during the week of Tales of the Cocktail, follow the brand on Facebook or Twitter.

Cheers!