Cocktail à la Louisiane Recipe

By
Paul Clarke
Paul Clarke
Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
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Updated Aug. 09, 2018

Let's get this weekend started right. Here's a cocktail to kick things off. Need more than one? Here you go. Cheers!

The Cocktail à la Louisiane is much more delicious than a near-obsolete drink has any right to be. Once the house cocktail for the Restaurant de la Louisiane—"one of the famous French restaurants of New Orleans," wrote city historian Stanley Clisby Arthur in 1937--this rich, voluptuous mix of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and the herbal Bénédictine liqueur is accented with the subtle flavor of anise, provided by New Orleans' homegrown Peychaud's bitters and a few dashes of absinthe or pastis. First documented 70 years ago in Arthur's Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, the Cocktail à la Louisiane has been largely ignored since then. It's worth the effort to search out the ingredients (or a talented bartender in a well-stocked establishment) and bring this drink into the 21st century.

Recipe Details

Cocktail à la Louisiane Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 1 serving

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce rye whiskey

  • 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

  • 3/4 ounce Bénédictine

  • 3 to 4 dashes Peychaud's bitters

  • 3 to 4 dashes absinthe or a substitute (Herbsaint, Pernod, Ricard, or other pastis)

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill glass with cracked ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
181 Calories
0g Fat
15g Carbs
0g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 181
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 4mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 2mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 29mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)