speakeater.
Bootlegger · 1937 · New Orleans

Vieux Carré.

The carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone slowly rotates while you drink. Walter Bergeron created the Vieux Carré ("old square," the French.

Spirit
Rye whiskey
Glass
Old Fashioned
ABV
~30%
Prep
3 min
Era
Bootlegger
Quick answer

The Vieux Carré is a bootlegger cocktail from New Orleans, 1937. Built on rye whiskey, served in a old fashioned, around 30% ABV. The carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone slowly rotates while you drink.

Ingredients

What goes in a Vieux Carré?

Method

How do you make a Vieux Carré?

  1. Build all ingredients in a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
  2. Stir for 15 seconds.
  3. Express a lemon twist over the surface.
Pair it with dinner Beignets dusted in powdered sugar, or oysters Bienville. French Quarter, sweet finish.
Bartender's notes

What should you know before making a Vieux Carré?

History

Where did the Vieux Carré come from?

The carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone slowly rotates while you drink. Walter Bergeron created the Vieux Carré ("old square," the French Quarter) in 1937 to honor the New Orleans tradition of layering spirits. Rye, cognac, vermouth, Bénédictine, two bitters; five layers of brown. Stanley Clisby Arthur first published the recipe in his 1937 book Famous New Orleans Drinks.

According to Walter Bergeron, Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans.

Variations

What cocktails are similar to a Vieux Carré?

Vieux Carré Smash
Same ingredients with muddled mint and crushed ice. Modern New Orleans bars serve this in summer.
Tipperary
Equal parts rye, sweet vermouth, green Chartreuse. A different cocktail with the same multi-layered grammar.
FAQ

Common questions.

What is in a Vieux Carré cocktail?

Equal parts rye whiskey, cognac, and sweet vermouth, a teaspoon of Bénédictine, and two dashes each of Peychaud's and Angostura bitters. Built in a rocks glass over a large ice cube.

How do you pronounce Vieux Carré?

Voo-kah-RAY. French for "old square," the historic French Quarter of New Orleans.

Where can I drink the original Vieux Carré?

The Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. The bar has been rotating slowly since 1949. The cocktail is on the menu.

What is Bénédictine?

A French herbal liqueur dating to 1863, made by Bénédictine monks in Normandy. Sweet, complex, with hints of myrrh and saffron. The Vieux Carré is its most famous cocktail use.

Kyle Schulgen Founder, Speakeater
Builder of Speakeater, the cooking app for people tired of asking what's for dinner. Hand-transcribes pre-Prohibition cocktail manuscripts as a hobby, ships them in the app's cellar.
Last updated: 2026-05-02

Behind the kitchen, a back room.

5,904 cocktails live in Speakeater. Most of them sourced from public-domain bartender's manuals published before Prohibition. Photo your bar shelf, get a recipe back.

Save me a seat