Fireside Conviviality Episode 2 Notes

Hey everybody! I don't know if you clicked here to see if we ever found out the real name, meaning and spelling of Barry's craft cocktail last night, but thank you none the less. (For those of you who don't have a clue as to what I am referring, Barry made a cocktail last night called a Vieux Carre').

If you're like me and enjoy a glass of wine most occasions (thank you Dry Farms Wines!) you have no idea about these fancy nancy drinks. Also I don't speak French. So I did some research on Barry's cocktail and here's what I found. . . .

The Vieux Carre' is a cocktail originally brought to life by a bartender named Walter Bergeron in New Orleans' Carousel Bar in the 1930s. Barry likes it because he says it's "French Quarter-y". A little sweet and a little smooth, like his wife. (You can roll your eyes here if needed.) The term Vieux Carre' means "Old Square" of "French Quarter" depending on who you ask and apparently was made by dear old Walt with what he had on hand at the time (Prohibition had been front and center in America so bartenders needed to use what they had or could get from outside sources) so he reportedly used brandy and liqueur from France, Italian Vermouth and whiskey from up the Mississippi River. Nowadays Barry gets everything from our local package store in Greeneville.

In all honesty Barry loves about everything from Louisiana - the food, the people, the drinks and the ducks - so this drink is an easy sell. I'll warn you it's STRONG so go easy on this cocktail!

Barry's Vieux Carre'

makes 1 cocktail

3/4 ounces rye whiskey (Barry uses Wild Turkey)

3/4 ounces Cognac

3/4 ounces Sweet Vermouth

2 teaspoons Benedictine liqueur

4-5 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish with lemon or orange peel

Add everything except garnish to a mixer over ice, stir (no shaking!) and strain into a low ball. Add garnish and sip away. Slowly I might add!

There you go! I hope you enjoy it responsibly on this cold winter weekend.

Aliceson