The New Orleans cocktail created at the Hotel Monteleone and named after the French Quarter is the Vieux Carré.
Walter Bergeron created the drink at the hotel’s Monteleone Cocktail Bar in 1938. “Vieux Carré” is French for “old square,” the traditional name for the historic French Quarter of New Orleans.
A classic recipe combines rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and bitters. The drink is stirred with ice and usually served over fresh ice, often with a lemon twist. Rye supplies spice, cognac adds fruit and warmth, while Benedictine contributes herbal sweetness.
The Vieux Carré is related to spirit-forward stirred cocktails but is not a variation of the Sazerac. The Sazerac is strongly associated with New Orleans too, yet its traditional structure centers on rye or cognac, Peychaud’s bitters and an absinthe rinse rather than vermouth and Benedictine.