Between the Sheets
30 ml Cognac, 30 ml White rum, 20 ml Triple sec, 15 ml Lemon juice, 1 Lemon twist
Photo: Vieux Carre Cocktail by Adrian Scottow · CC BY-SA 2.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Cognac
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Rye whiskey
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Sweet vermouth
- 45 ml Jigger One small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon and a teaspoon. Bénédictine
- 6 dashes Bottle Six quick shakes of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Angostura bitters
- 6 dashes Bottle Six quick shakes of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Peychaud's bitters
- 6 twists Lemon twist (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Stir everything over ice and strain over one large cube.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 588 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the cognac, rye, vermouth, Bénédictine and both bitters.
- Stir for 30 seconds.
- Strain over one large cube in a rocks glass.
- Express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Vieux Carré
The name is what the French Quarter of New Orleans was called when it was French, and the drink was invented there in the 1930s by Walter Bergeron at the Monteleone Hotel. It is the city's history in a glass: French brandy, American rye, Italian vermouth and a French herbal liqueur, which is roughly the order in which those places governed the place.
Getting it right
Five ingredients is a lot to keep in balance, and the Bénédictine is the one that gets forgotten or overdone. A barspoon is the right amount - it is there to give the drink a honeyed, herbal middle, not to make it sweet. The two bitters are not interchangeable either, and together they are what makes this taste like New Orleans rather than like a Manhattan.
Tasting notes
Rich and layered - dried fruit and honey from the cognac and Bénédictine, spice and vanilla from the rye, and a herbal finish from the vermouth. It is the sort of drink that changes as it warms, and it is worth letting it.
More Cognac cocktails
Brandy Alexander
30 ml Cognac, 30 ml Crème de cacao, 30 ml Double cream, 1 pinch Nutmeg
Horse's Neck
40 ml Cognac, 120 ml Ginger ale, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 Lemon twist