Vieux Carre co*cktail Recipe | How to Make Instructions (2024)

FAQs

How to make a co*cktail step by step? ›

The basic formula for creating a co*cktail is 2:1:1, says Burian. Add 2 parts alcohol, 1 part sweet, and 1 part sour to a shaker and shake the ingredients over ice. Strain into a glass with ice, then add your garnish. (If you want something a little lighter, check out these low-alcohol co*cktail recipes.)

So what IS the co*cktail equation? Drum roll please…. These numbers represent the co*cktail ratio—or “parts” in bartending terms—of your ingredients. Two parts base spirit to one part sweet to one part sour.

The Best Vermouth for Vieux Carré

In this recipe, we're recommending (if you can find it) Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth. This vermouth is a slightly bitter and more full-bodied mixer, with notes of fig, cacao, and caramel in addition to the vanilla for which it's famous.

Stirred co*cktails, shaken co*cktails, muddled co*cktails… the variety of co*cktail techniques can be quite confusing. The first step in building your co*cktail knowledge is knowing when to apply the correct technique. Certain drinks are meant for shaking, while others are meant for stirring, and others muddling.

Most commonly, a co*cktail is a combination of one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, shrubs, and bitters.

The key to delicious co*cktails is balance. In early 19th century definitions, co*cktails are said to comprise four elements: spirits, sugar, water and bitters. Classic co*cktails like the Sazerac, Old Fashioned and Manhattan draw from this essential structure.

The Vieux Carré is at once boozy, sweet, bitter and smooth—in other words, it's New Orleans in a glass. The drink features several strong ingredients. In most cases, rye or cognac could carry a co*cktail on their own, but the Vieux Carré calls for both in a split-base technique that allows each component to shine.

We can view the New Orleans classic Vieux Carré as a manhattan, but it has taken three departures from the classic: its split of rye and cognac; its addition of an herbal modifier in Bénédictine; and its eschewing the traditional co*cktail glass for a rocks glass full of ice.

What is the difference between Vieux Carré and old fashioned? ›

The Vieux Carré and Manhattan both favor sweet vermouth in place of the sugar cube/simple syrup used in the Sazerac and Old Fashioned. But it's the addition of brandy, which is measured here in equal parts to the whiskey, and—more importantly—Bénédictine that separates this piece of Louisiana history from all others.

1. Commonwealth. With a grand total of 71 ingredients (yes, you read that correctly), the Commonwealth is, without a doubt, the most ingredient-heavy drink on this list. In truth, we're not entirely sure how so many ingredients fit into a standard coupe glass.

But while quinine is interesting as a reference bitter, there are certainly other sources of bitterness in co*cktails. One of the most prevalent is spirits aged in new wood barrels, such as Bourbon or Cognac. The bitter compounds in new wood (tannins and phenols mainly) leach into the spirit, which also slowly oxidizes.

The fundamental elements of a co*cktail—the spirit, the balancing agents like sugar or citrus juice, the modifiers, and water—are the same no matter the 'doctoring' you apply. Mixed together in proper proportions, these elements make up a balanced, flavorful drink.

The key to delicious co*cktails is balance. In early 19th century definitions, co*cktails are said to comprise four elements: spirits, sugar, water and bitters. Classic co*cktails like the Sazerac, Old Fashioned and Manhattan draw from this essential structure.