Sunset Cocktail: Vieux Carre on Fat Tuesday, the Last Day of Marti Gras
3/4 oz Whistlepig Rye
3/4 oz Copper & Kings American Brandy
3/4 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
1 bsp Bénédictine
1 dash Scrappy’s Aromatic Bitters
1 dash Scrappy’s Orleans bitters
Pour everything into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice and give it a good stir. Garnish with Lemon twist.
Traditionally this is made with Cognac but as cognac is just a specific type of fancy French Brandy, I wanted to try out how this new bottle of Copper & Kings American Brandy would work here. It worked well. As far as the very simple procedure, I’ve seen versions that are made in a mixing glass and strained into either a Cocktail glass or an Old Fashioned glass with ice as well as the simple method I have above. While this drink does do well with a little extra dilution, I liked the idea of keeping it all with one set of ice instead of mixed with some and then poured over new ice.
Today on the 2017 Sunset Cocktails Calendar is Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras and the day before the start of Lent. I was trying to think of a good New Orleans drink to make I settled on This Vieux Carre named after the French Quarter. I half considered making a Hurricane but Hurricanes are harbingers of vomitous hangovers. So, while I’m stuck up here in cold, damp New England (despite this freakish February warm stretch), nowhere near Mardi Gras, and even though I’m no longer a good Catholic loading up before giving up some dear vice, I do plan on drinking this and eating a metric fuckton of Cajun Dirty Rice while listening to some good old New Orleans music with either some New Orlean Cottonmouth Kings….
or… Goatwhore!
