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behind the bar
N
ew Orleans is a city where every bar claims to be a cultural attaché and every
barkeep the man who has seen it all. Each nook and cranny is stuffed to the zydeco-
drenched rafters with tall tales about the legends of both the stage and page. In this
city, the average Joe can easily find himself atop a barstool taking shots with them. From
the velvet throats that graced the vinyl of Americana, to the authors who have touched
generations with their tales, New Orleans’ watering holes are home to all.
Born from the old Swan Room, where Liberace was the first ticket on the bill, the Carousel
Piano Bar and Lounge has sat all but motionless inside the Hotel Monteleone for 56 years.
The carousel itself stands as an elegantly carved witness to American history — a physical
symbol of New Orleans’ sense of revelry. Beneath the slow revolving sparkle of eight jesters
on the outer rim and eight cherubs underneath there are both sin and merriment here, tall
tales and truth.
Authors and musicians flocked to the Carousel because they could mingle with regular
society and reconnect with the atmosphere that is at the true heart of the French Quarter.
Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote once hid in the high-backed booths to eavesdrop
on stories of the lechery and exploits of New Orleans society. Musicians from Etta James to
Gregg Allman have sat on the slow revolving painted wood barstools or touched the keys
of the adjoining piano.
While the space is actually two rooms, with the carousel in one and the piano in another,
it’s the revolving bar itself that beckons visitors in off Royal Street and draws them to the
Hotel Monteleone from around the globe. It is a spiritual experience, both in glosses and
ghosts. An afternoon spent sipping a Brandy Alexander on the same stool where Tennessee
Williams did the same years ago, as the foot traffic of Royal Street is displayed like a
stage play through the bay windows — that is the romance and the alluring appeal of The
Carousel Piano Bar and Lounge.
All Hail the Cocktail! Rouses is proud to sponsor the 12
th
Annual Tales of the Cocktail,
July 16-20
th
.
The Vieux Carré
The Vieux Carré is the signature cocktail of
the Carousel Bar. It was originally created by
then head bartenderWalter Bergeron in 1938.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
½
ounce Benedictine liqueur
½
ounce Sazerac rye whiskey
½
ounce cognac
½
ounce sweet vermouth
Peychaud’s bitters
Angostura bitters
Lemon twist, for garnish
HOW TO PREP
Stir Benedictine liqueur, rye whiskey, cognac, sweet
vermouth, 1 dash each Peychaud’s and Angostura
bitters, and ice in a chilled old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Immortalized in the writings of Ernest Hemingway and other timeless authors, the revolving 24-seat Carousel Bar is
a part of New Orleans history. Installed in 1949, the carousel makes one revolution every 15 minutes.
photo by
Cheryl Gerber
“Who doesn’t love a bar that turns round-and-round? I love watching the people on the sidelines
as they eye up spots that are about to become open. My two favorite drinks are the white lady,
which I get with vodka, instead of gin, and the Hemingway daiquiri. The fact that this bar was
one of Hemingway’s favorites makes the whole experience even cooler.”
—Karen Rouse
