The Vieux Carré

＂The Vieux Carrâe views the story of the Vieux Carrâe cocktail against the evolving backdrop of the city’s ever-rich cocktail culture. The Vieux Carrâe was an original cocktail created by mixologist Walter Bergeron at the Monteleone Hotel in the 1930s-sometimes known as ＂the Cocktail that Spins,＂ in honor of the slowly turning Carousel Bar at the Monteleone. It’s an iconic cocktail, considered historically important by cocktail masters by Dale DeGroff, that’s rarely ordered or prepared in modern times-though that is changing as a new generation of cocktail enthusiasts rediscover the old ways. This cocktail draws on the local proto-cocktail called the Sazerac, as well as several booze-forward classics like the Manhattan, the Old-Fashioned, and, from Italy, the Negroni. The Vieux Carrâe tells the story of Walter Bergeron’s early life, his encounters with prominent Louisiana figures ranging from Henry Ramos (inventor of the Ramos gin fizz) to Governor Huey K. Long, and the ways he incorporated the story of New Orleans into his iconic drink. The book also examines the ingredients in this cocktail and how each of them made its way to the Crescent City＂--

New Orleans native John DeMers has spent more than half a century as a news reporter, TV and radio host, and editor. He is the author of fifty-eight books of fiction and nonfiction.