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All cocktails Boulevardier

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Boulevardier

Aperitivo/aperitif · Autumn/fall · Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni)

4.2 798 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Bourbon whiskey
3/4 oz Rosso/sweet vermouth
3/4 oz Red bitter liqueur

How to make

Serve in a old-fashioned glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

  1. 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. 5 EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour profile

25.8% alc./vol. · 1.7 standard drinks · 200 calories

History

The Boulevardier is essentially a Negroni made with bourbon in place of gin. The original recipe from 1927 calls for equal parts of the ingredients. However, a 3:2:2 ratio (45ml bourbon, 30ml rosso vermouth, 30ml red bitter liqueur) was previously favored. Popular demand has led to the adoption of a 2:1:1 ratio, which is conceded to be better balanced.

The Boulevardier first appears in Harry MacElhone's 1927 book, Barflies andIActions. It is not found within the book's alphabetical recipe list but rather in a section titled "Cocktails Round Town." This chapter was written by Arthur Moss, the "Around the Town" columnist for the New York Herald in Paris. The cocktail was named and designed to mirror his newspaper column, and Moss recounts drinks created by or for other patrons of Harry's Bar. Moss was part of a circle of affluent American expatriates who referred to themselves as "Boulevardiers." This name derived from their habit of frequenting the boulevards between Harry's Bar and other prominent Parisian nightlife establishments. Moss, along with two other writers and socialites from this group, Erskine Gwynne and Jed Kiley, established a magazine they named Boulevardier. Prior to this, Moss had been involved in the co-founding of two other literary magazines: The Quill in 1917 and Gargoyle in 1921. The latter publication did not complete its second year. The Quill, however, which focused on the artistic community in New York's Greenwich Village, achieved success. This was particularly true for Moss, as he married one of its editors, Florence Gilliam. The couple relocated to Paris in 1921. The magazine Boulevardier, published in Paris from 1927 to 1932, was modeled after The New Yorker. It featured a notable list of contributors, including figures such as Noël Coward, Sinclair Lewis, and Ernest Hemingway. Moss included the Boulevardier cocktail in Harry's book. This drink was created by Erskine Gwynne, a nephew of railroad magnate Alfred Vanderbilt. Significantly, Gwynne was one of the co-founders of the Boulevardier magazine, which coincidentally launched in the same year Harry's book was published. This shared timing explains the cocktail's fitting name. Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boulevardier Cocktail: 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky.

Created by Harry MacElhone