Boulevardier

Essentially a Negroni with whiskey swapped for gin, this classic is a beautiful cocktail in its own right.

Why It Works

  • This cocktail is flexible and the proportions can be adjusted according to personal preference.

Consider the Negroni: made with gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. The Negroni is a cocktail at once sharp and smooth, lean and lush, brusquely bitter and slightly sweet. A cocktail, in other words, with the kind of bright, clean character perfectly suited for a summer day, but robust enough to hold its own at any time of the year.

Looking down into a rocks glass with a boulevardier cocktail and a large ice cube. A toothpick-skewered cherry rests across the top of the glass.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This isn't a Negroni. It is, however, the Negroni's long-lost autumnal cousin. First noted in print in 1927 in a slender volume called Barflies and Cocktails, and forgotten almost ever since, the Boulevardier takes the same Negroni formula–a good dose of gin brushed up with equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth–and gives it a twist by substituting whiskey for the gin.

A simple substitution? Hardly. The bittersweet interplay between Campari and vermouth remains, but the whiskey changes the storyline. Where the Negroni is crisp and lean, the Boulevardier is rich and intriguing. There's a small difference in the preparation, but the result is absolutely stunning.

As with the Negroni, the Boulevardier is flexible; contemporary palates may appreciate bumping up the whiskey to 1 1/2 ounces and dropping the other ingredients to 3/4 ounce. Try it both ways and see what you prefer.

September 2008

Recipe Details

Boulevardier

Prep 5 mins
Active 3 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 1 serving

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce bourbon or rye whiskey

  • 1 ounce campari

  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth

  • Garnish: orange twist or cherry

Directions

  1. Pour ingredients into a mixing glass and fill with cracked ice. Stir well for 20 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry or a twist of orange peel.

Special Equipment

Mixing glass, cocktail strainer

Notes

As with the Negroni, the Boulevardier is flexible; contemporary palates may appreciate bumping up the whiskey to 1 1/2 ounces and dropping the other ingredients to 3/4 ounce. Try it both ways and see what you prefer.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
137 Calories
0g Fat
15g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 137
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 5mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 64mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)