Boulevardier Cocktail Recipe
A Negroni's warmer cousin, swapping gin for bourbon so the Campari and vermouth land richer and rounder.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 23%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Bourbon45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Campari30 ml (1 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Add the bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and properly diluted.
- Strain into an old fashioned glass over a large ice cube.
- Express the orange zest over the surface and drop it in.
Garnish
Orange zest, or a lemon twist.
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. The corn gives sweetness, the barrel vanilla; swap in rye and the drink turns noticeably spicier.
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
The Story
First recorded in a 1927 Paris bar book, where it is credited to an American expatriate in the city who edited a magazine of the same name.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Boulevardier mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Boulevardier?
- Roughly 23% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Boulevardier be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Boulevardier hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.