Name: Plaza Vieja
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Cognac (brandy); 30 ml Mezcal; 30 ml Amaro Lucano; 10 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 1 dash Aromatic bitters; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Plaza Vieja
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Photographed in an Urban Bar Fluet Old Fashioned 1920 34cl

Ingredients:
1 oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1 oz	Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal
1 oz	Lucano amaro
¹⁄₃ oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of star anise.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
Garnish with star anise floated on surface.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A spirit-forward and bittersweet digestive with pleasing herbal overtures.

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History:

Plaza Vieja is Spanish for 'old square' and this cocktail is a riff on the classic Vieux Carré, old square in French.

Adapted from a recipe created in 2013 by Joe Cammarata and Sam Treadway at Backbar, Somerville, MA, USA. Originally made with Braulio Amaro.

Nutrition:

One serving of Plaza Vieja contains 242 calories

Alcohol content:

2.1 standard drinks
29.14% alc./vol. (29.14° proof)
29.2 grams of pure alcohol

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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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Caspian Berggren

26th May at 15:04

I used 2:1 OP Spanish brandy and Cognac in order for it to stand up to the rest of the ingredients, yet I think I should've gone all in on the OP Spanish brandy. You can tell it's there but it's very soft and quiet behind the loud Mezcal and Lucano. It softens over time but I still think it's a bit too Mezcal forward (at least with the Del Maguey Vida).

Mark Fraioli

15th January at 05:22

The amaro matters. I didn’t have any Lucano, so I subbed in Averna. That didn’t work, too syrupy. Then I went out and got myself a bottle of Baulio (Simon mentions that the original Treadway recipe actually called for Braulio, not Lucano). This made a huge difference— not too sweet, plenty of piney “alpine” notes. Definitely a keeper!