Name: Près du Quai
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Aged Jamaican rum; 22.5 ml Bourbon whiskey; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 10 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 2 dash Creole bitters; 1 dash Aromatic bitters

Près du Quai
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Glass:

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ fl oz	Jamaican-style aged blended rum with funk
³⁄₄ fl oz	Bourbon whiskey
³⁄₄ fl oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
2 dash	Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass.

Garnish:

EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

We discovered the use of rum in place of cognac in a Vieux Carré thanks to a comment by Collin Westgate on our Vieux Carré page saying that he'd discovered how good this cocktail is with aged dark Jamaican rum after running out of cognac. This was followed by a comment by Roberto Brazzo saying he also prefers rum and refers to them as a 'Près du Quai', "since we moved away from the Vieux Carré 'old square' to a more nautical 'by the docks' or 'near the wharf'." We thank Collin and Roberto for suggesting such a tasty and appropriately named cocktail.

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Nutrition:

One serving of Près du Quai contains 169 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
27.19% alc./vol. (54.38° proof)
21.4 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 14 comments for Près du Quai.
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Doug James

27th April at 21:59

This cocktail sounded incredible so, not being a rum drinker, I went and bought a bottle of Meyer’s Dark Rum to make this one to spec. Perhaps it was that dark rum ‘funk’ I hear mentioned so often, but there was something a bit off putting for my palate with this cocktail. I’m not sure but it seemed a bit thin and watery on the palate and then finished with an odd aftertaste that I found unpleasant. Perhaps I over stirred it thereby diluting it too much? I stirred this one as I do all stirred ‘spirit forward’ cocktails. I may give it another try with a much shorter stir time.

Frederic D.

5th March at 01:14

Blasphemous I know, but I think I like this better than the Vieux Carré. It's both softer and warmer. I used Vya vermouth, which also really amped up the Christmas spice character. Lovely

Gareth Hives

4th March at 18:51

Revisited this as realised I’d omitted the lemon zest last.time. Wow, love this even more now. The VC is a little harsh for me and I think it’s the rye, La Vina aside I think I’m not a fan of rye whiskey. This though is amazing. Really enjoying every sip.

Rob San

2nd February at 00:20

Three ### (very few past ##) in my 2300+ bookmarked cocktail recipes. I'm not even a huge bourbon lover but love tasty/complex sippers that I'm not compelled to quaff too rapidly.

Gareth Hives

27th December 2025 at 18:10

Well this is a little find, was searching on Benedictine as I had a hankering and this beaut popped up. Perfect sipper, very smooth and layered with flavour.

Mike

31st July 2025 at 01:20

Agree with Caspian that this is much softer than a VC, likely thanks to bourbon subbing for rye. I found it more enjoyable when I stopped thinking of it as a VC riff. A complex, rich, boozy, enjoyable drink.

Monymusk Special Reserve, Willet PR, Cocchi di Torino.

Caspian Berggren

13th March 2025 at 16:17

Really nice take on the Vieux Carre. It's softer than the original but with warmer spices. I'll certainly make this again.

Calvin Grant

28th February 2025 at 02:21

Very very VERY good! Myers's and Jack, Cocchi Storico. Angostura and Peychaud's. Plus the lemon wisps. I
couldn't set this down! ☆☆☆☆☆♡

G. M. Genovese

13th June 2024 at 14:34

First sip was off-putting, but it settled in soon enough. Did not have Benedictine (and this prompting me to restock), so I used a 1:1 split of Licor 43 and PF Dry Curacao, a combo which is way fruitier. That's possibly the 'off-flavor' here... But the Myers's and Four Roses went surprisingly well together... I'll be back.

Rob San

2nd February at 00:14

NEVER get caught without Benedictine!! Essential in many/most NO cocktails.

Chris Brislawn

31st January 2024 at 04:15

I upped the rum and whiskey to 1 oz each and it was still plenty sweet. This definitely belongs on your New Orleans Cocktails page, probably as a "Classic" (stylistically) even though it appears to be relatively new.

Skip Sheehan

20th October 2025 at 02:10

Concur with the 1 and 1. It was delicious!

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