Vieux Carré Recipe

Chill glass (optional)

Place an Old Fashioned (rocks) glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill it with ice water while you prepare the cocktail to chill the glass; discard ice water before serving.

Combine ingredients

In a mixing glass, add 1 oz rye whiskey, 1 oz cognac, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 0.25 oz Bénédictine, 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters, and 1 dash Angostura bitters.

Add ice and stir

Fill the mixing glass with ice (enough to chill without diluting excessively) and stir briskly for about 30 seconds (roughly 20–30 full strokes) until the mixture is well chilled and slightly diluted.

Prepare serving glass

If you chilled the glass with ice water, discard the water. Add 1–2 large ice cubes to the chilled Old Fashioned glass.

Strain

Strain the stirred cocktail from the mixing glass into the prepared serving glass over the large ice cubes using a Hawthorne or julep strainer.

Garnish

Express the oils from a lemon peel over the drink by holding it skin-side down above the cocktail and giving it a firm twist, then rub the peel around the rim and drop it into the glass. Optionally add a cocktail cherry on a pick.

Serve

Serve immediately. Sip and enjoy the balanced blend of rye spice, cognac fruitiness, sweet vermouth richness, and herbal Bénédictine with a hint of bitters.