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Boulevardier
Other spiritsBeginnerDigestifs

Boulevardier

A twist on Negroni

Prep time:

Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and finished with orange peel. It is the Negroni with whiskey instead of gin, and the change goes beyond the name: it comes out rounder, sweeter and longer on the palate, more an after-dinner drink than an aperitivo.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz of bourbon
  • 1 oz of campari
  • 1 oz of sweet red vermouth

Preparation

  1. In a mixing glass with ice, combine the bourbon, Campari, and vermouth.
  2. Stir for 30 seconds until it is completely cold.
  3. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube.
  4. Squeeze the orange peel over the drink and add it as a garnish.

Bartender’s notes

Is it just a Negroni with bourbon?

Almost: it is the Negroni with bourbon instead of gin, but not in equal parts. Bourbon is sweeter and rounder than gin, and at the same measure the Campari and vermouth swallow it. That is why it takes more whiskey: one and a half measures of bourbon to one of each of the other two. Curiously, the original recipe was equal parts. It appeared in 1927 in Barflies and Cocktails, the book by Harry MacElhone of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, credited to Erskine Gwynne, an American writer who edited a magazine there called, fittingly, Boulevardier. The extra whiskey came with its revival this century, and it is the ratio this recipe follows.

Go deeperWhich vermouth to use in each cocktailRed, dry or bianco, how much each classic takes, what to do without it, and why an open bottle ruins more cocktails than anything else.

5.0 from 2 votes

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