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Old Square

Name: Old Square
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 30 ml Armagnac brandy; 15 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 10 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 10 ml Oloroso sherry; 2 dash Creole bitters; 2 dash Aromatic bitters

Difford’s Guide

Discerning Drinkers (6)

Measurements in:

Serves:

Keep screen awake

Ingredients
1 fl oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
1 fl oz	Armagnac brandy
1/2 fl oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth (chilled)
1/3 fl oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
1/3 fl oz	Lustau Oloroso Don Nuño Sherry (chilled)
2 dash	Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

How to make

Glass

Photographed in an UB 1910 Old Fashioned 10.5oz

Prepare

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

Method

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

Express lemon and orange zest twists over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Old Square contains 201 calories

Alcohol content:

2 standard drinks
29.42% alc./vol. (58.84° proof)
28.4 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino), Oloroso sherry — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

History

Adapted from a recipe created in 2025 by Danny Childs at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Review

A riff on a Vieux Carré (the name of which translates to "old square"), with armagnac in place of cognac, and sherry adding an extra dimension.

Gallery

Comments & Discussion

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C N 17w

I am enjoying this so much. The orange and lemon oils bring this up several notches. This is going into my personal Bar Book.

Chris Brislawn 18w

The cognac in a Vieux Carre' lightens and softens the rye, but the armagnac in the Old Square also adds a layer of its own flavor and richness, especially if your bottle has been sitting around as long as mine has (Dartigalongue Hors d'Age, opened some time back in the late 20th century). Replacing some of the rosso in a Vieux Carre' by oloroso sherry adds another layer of complexity and richness as well without making it sweeter; the sweetness is about right as specified here. An excellent Vieux Carre' variant.

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