While it’s true that the Sazerac is ‘the’ cocktail of New Orleans, there’s another New Orleans-created classic cocktail that should be on your radar: the Vieux Carré (pronounced Voo kuh-ray). It was created by a bartender at the Hotel Monteleone, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city’s French Quarter, famous for its rotating bar, the Carousel Bar. Bar manager Marvin Allen is the keeper of this storied cocktail’s history, as he has been making them for more than two decades.
“I’ve been here 21 years, started out as a bartender and spent 19 years behind the carousel,” Allen says. “Losing your guest is the biggest challenge. Once you get used to it and know the guests are
