A COCKTAIL FOR THE MAN ABOUT TOWN

Boulevardier cocktail, presented in a vintage etched-glass coupe.

The fine fellow you see pictured above is a Boulevardier.

I first learned of his existence some months back, in an evening out with Houston Steve and our respective brides.  I had two... and that would have been enough all by themselves.  (Alas, we followed those up with a few Provençal Martinis after we arrived at our house.  Splendid days.)

If you combine gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth in a cocktail glass, you get a Negroni.  Swap out the gin for bourbon, and you have a Boulevardier: literally, a “man about town.”  What better tipple for Mister Debonair?

Boulevardier

1½ ounces bourbon
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth

Combine with ice in a shaker; stir well and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cherry.

When I made my Boulevardier, I used Knob Creek single barrel reserve bourbon, a ferociously potent base.  For the vermouth, I selected Carpano Antica Formula, made with a recipe that dates back to the eighteenth century.  And Campari is, of course, in a category by itself: With a squirt of soda water and a squeeze of lime, it’s SWMBO’s favorite apéritif.

It is, indeed, a perfect cocktail for the Man about Town.  And that’s no Boulshit.