The city best known for Sazeracs and hurricanes is the birthplace of another cocktail — one that, until recently, was relatively forgotten. While hurricanes are a fixture of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street and Sazeracs have become part of the American cocktail lexicon, the Vieux Carré, a cousin to the Sazerac, perhaps best encapsulates the culture of New Orleans.
這座以賽薩拉克（Sazerac）與飓風雞尾酒（Hurricane）而聞名的城市，竟是另一款雞尾酒的誕生地——直到最近，它還相對被人遺忘。當飓風雞尾酒是新奧爾良峽口街（Bourbon Street）的常客，賽薩拉克也已成為美式雞尾酒語彙的一部分，而與賽薩拉克有血緣關係的 Vieux Carré（舊廣場）或許最能詮釋新奧爾良的文化。
The cocktail was created by bartender Walter Bergeron in the late 1930s as an homage to the blend of cultural influences in the city at the time. The recipe first appeared in Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em by Stanley Clisby Arthur in 1937. The cocktail features French cognac and Benedictine, Italian vermouth, American rye whiskey, Caribbean Angostura Bitters, and finally, Peychaud’s bitters — which were created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Haitian who settled in New Orleans in the late 1700s. The ingredients are stirred with ice until chilled, strained into a rocks glass, and then garnished with a cherry and or a lemon twist.
這款雞尾酒是由調酒師沃爾特·貝爾格龍（Walter Bergeron）在1930年代末所創，向城市當時多元文化影響的結合致敬。該配方於1937年首次刊登在 Stanley Clisby Arthur 著作的《Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em》中。此雞尾酒以法國干邑與本尼迪克汀、義大利苦艾酒、美式黑麥威士忌、加勒比風味的安格斯托拉苦精，以及最終的佩肖苦精——後者由安托萬·阿梅迪·佩肖（Antoine Amédée Peychaud）在十八世紀末移居新奧爾良時創造。配料以冰攪拌至寒涼，過濾注入岩石杯，並以櫻桃與檸檬皮作裝飾。
The Vieux Carré, which is French for “the Old Square,” as New Orleans’ French Quarter was once known, was originally served at the Swan Room in the Hotel Monteleone where artists like Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote have ordered a few drinks. Now, that bar has been reimagined as the Carousel Bar, where, yes, the bar seats are attached to a working carousel. Those seats make a full revolution once every 15 minutes, so you won’t get dizzy — unless you’ve had too many cocktails.
Vieux Carré 的法語意思是「舊廣場」，也就是新奧爾良法區過去的稱謂。它最初在蒙特勒昂酒店（Hotel Monteleone）的天鵝房供應，當時的藝術家如田納西·威廉斯與特魯曼·卡波特也曾點過幾杯。如今，這家酒吧被重新打造為 Carousel Bar，是的，酒吧座位連在一台正在運作的旋轉木馬上。這些座位每15分鐘完成一圈旋轉，因此不會讓人頭暈——除非你已經喝太多雞尾酒。
The Vieux Carré’s comeback
The Vieux Carré is a strong yet smooth cocktail with botanical notes and a hint of sweetness. It’s similar to an old fashioned, but with a deeper herbal complexity. Jason Kraft, the Beverage Director of Roberta’s, told Tasting Table, “It has that rich flavor and texture you crave with an old fashioned with a deeper, woodier complexity and a silkier, fuller mouthfeel.”
Vieux Carré 是一款強烈卻順口的雞尾酒，帶有草本香氣與一絲甜味。它與老式雞尾酒相似，但草本風味更為豐富層次。Roberta’s 的飲品總監 Jason Kraft 向 Tasting Table 表示：「它擁有你在老式雞尾酒中渴望的濃郁風味與質感，同時具備更深的木質感與絲滑、飽滿的口感。」
The Vieux Carré was invented nearly 100 years after the Sazerac and never quite matched its level of popularity. The Louisiana House of Representatives named the Sazerac New Orleans’ signature cocktail in 2008, while the Vieux Carré could only be found in vintage cocktail books and in traditional cocktail bars.
維克卡雷是在賽薩拉克近百年之後才被創造，卻一直未能與其受歡迎程度相匹敵。路易斯安那州眾議院於2008年將賽薩拉克定為新奧爾良的招牌雞尾酒，而維克卡雷則只能在古董雞尾酒書籍與傳統酒吧中找到。”
But what is old is new again, and vintage cocktails made for sipping in dark rooms are once again in the spotlight. Cocktail influencer Kevin Kos calls the Vieux Carré one of his favorite cocktails. “It’s a balanced and easy-to-drink spirit-forward cocktail,” he says on his blog. And a post in r/Cocktails from a month ago features the Vieux Carré, with one enthusiast calling it “the perfect representation of New Orleans in a glass.”
然而，舊的東西再次成新，適合在昏暗空間裡慢慢品嚐的復古雞尾酒再次成為焦點。雞尾酒圈的意見領袖 Kevin Kos 將 Vieux Carré 稱為他最喜愛的雞尾酒之一，他在部落格中表示：「這是一款口感均衡、易於入口的酒體主導型雞尾酒。」一個月前在 r/Cocktails 的貼文也介紹了 Vieux Carré，一位熱心者稱其為「杯中完美展現新奧爾良的代表」。
If you want to try a Vieux Carré the next time you’re in NOLA, head to its birthplace, the Carousel Bar, which is one of the best bars in New Orleans. Other bars cocktail enthusiasts recommend are Patrick’s Bar Vin, 21st Amendment Bar, and Bar Tonique.
如果下次你在新奧爾良想嘗試 Vieux Carré，不妨前往它的發源地 Carousel Bar，這也是新奧爾良最棒的酒吧之一。其他被雞尾酒愛好者推薦的酒吧還有 Patrick’s Bar Vin、21st Amendment Bar 與 Bar Tonique。
