Boulevardier :: You're Only 3 Ingredients and 60 Seconds Away From this Classic Cocktail

:: Boulevardier :: Bourbon + Campari + Sweet Vermouth

The basics  - I love an evening cocktail, but I'm often short on time, short on ingredients, or need to keep it quick and quiet so I don't wake my sleeping toddler. Queue - stirred cocktails. Silky, strong, and delicious. [This article from Serious Eats is a great primer on how to stir cocktails and how to do it well.]

Boulevardiers are one of my favorites. Bourbon! Campari! Sweet Vermouth! You'll find a dozen flowery posts rejoicing the comeback they've made in recent years  - see: LA Weekly and Serious Eats. Part Manhattan, part Negroni. I love both, but Manhattans can be heavy and cloying and Negronis are bitter as hell and can feel out of place in winter. Even if you don't love either, you might be amazed by what the amalgamation of the two yields.



If you've tried a Negroni and found them too harsh and bitter for your palate, give a Boulevardier a try. Though the ratios are the same, the sweetness bourbon lends mellows that Campari right out. Like campari but prefer rye and something a little less sweet? Try an Old Pal but Out of Campari, but have another amaro around? Give it a try! Aperol made a splash in a big way last year and I doubt 2016 will be any different. Have a bottle of Cocchi Americano around? Swap that in for vermouth and have a taste! One of my favorite things about classic cocktails is how well they lend themselves to simple substitutions.

The Recipe

Boulevardier:
1.5oz Bourbon Whiskey [I like local Sugar House Distillery Bourbon for this.]
.75oz Sweet Vermouth
.75oz Campari

Pour over ice into a mixing glass, stir, strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lemon twist or pour over ice in a rocks glass.

*Store your mixing glass in the freezer for optimal chilling with minimal dilution [and you'll just feel super on the ball for pulling it out nice and frosty at a moment's notice.] Stirring time varies depending on who you ask from 20-60seconds. If you want more heat from the alcohol, stir less. I have just a few OCD tendencies, one of which is stirring and shaking in multiples of 8... so 64 stirs is pretty perfect over here.

I meant for this to be a quick post reiterating my 'gram about the deliciousness of this cocktail cutting through the trials of hearing T. Swift for the million-billionth time... but words! words! words! Links! Links! Links! Give this a try and let me know what you think. High West even makes a bottled barrel-aged version if you want an even lower ratio of effort-to-reward ♥