The Boulevardier

The New York Times takes a look at one of my favorite Negroni variants.

by Toby Cecchini

The Boulevardier

2 oz rye or bourbon
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth (I love a half and half mixture of Cinzano Rosso and Carpano Antica Formula).

Stir ingredients together in a mixing glass filled with ice, strain into either a stemmed cocktail glass or a rocks glass with ice, to preference. Garnish with a twist of lemon zest.

I’m puzzled that the Boulevardier cocktail hasn’t found wider fame in the current fast-moving mixology environment, where old and storied is as revered as bitter and brown. Ask most mustached bar wags what their favorite cocktail is and a strong percentage would cite either the Negroni or the Manhattan. No surprise there; these are bedrock classics that, even done haphazardly, are tastier than most everything else going. Ask those same self-anointed experts to make you a Boulevardier and a strong percentage might be left scratching their heads. I can’t fathom why; the Boulevardier is a marvel of a cocktail with an enviably colorful peerage, and it’s effectively the bastard child of those two other cocktails I mentioned. In these colder months, it’s a magnificent drink to have as a fallback when you want something richer and more complex than just a whiskey but can never seem to think of what else to order.

[Continue reading at: New York Times]