The Boulevardier cocktail

[Rafa]

Made this tonight, and think Left Hand / 1794 fans might like it:

2 oz Rye

1/2 oz Cherry Liqueur, Sangue Morlacco

1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes

1/2 oz Campari

1 bsp Maraschino Liqueur, Luxardo

1 ds Peychaud's Bitters

1 ds Bittermens Xocolatl Mole

1 Cherry, Luxardo (as garnish)

1 twst Blood orange peel

Stir, strain, rock, garnish, twist.

No name yet, but it's just an improvised twist on my Eyetalian Cocktail. (I'm out of Cynar.)

[EvergreenDan]

@Drunk - I didn't try your Campari variant, but rather the original Eyetalian Cocktail which uses Cynar. I sub'd Cherry Heering for Luxardo and a regular orange twist for blood.

Very, very nice. It is a touch large and a touch sweet. I would consider using dry vermouth, even though you would give up some depth and its bitter contribution. There is a lot going on. I didn't taste it without the Peychaud's, but in all those flavors, I wonder if I would miss it.

The bitter + cherry combo was highly enjoyable, with no cough syrup issues.

I've allocated 30 minutes to put the bottles away.

[Will]

btw, a restaurant here in LA has an entire section of negroni variations on their cocktail menu.

http://hinokiandthebird.com/wine-list/

Classic Negroni

Gin, sweet vermouth & Campari, rocks, orange twist

White Negroni

Amère sauvage (bitter gentian), bianco vermouth, rocks, grapefruit twist

Harajuku

Hakushu Single Malt Whiskey, Gran Classico, Maurin Quina & Chocolate bitters

Kingston Negroni

Smith + Cross Jamaican Rum, Gran Classico, sweet vermouth, rocks, orange twist

I tried the Harajuku recently; I wasn't blown away, but it was definitely interesting and had potential.

[FrogPrincesse]

btw, a restaurant here in LA has an entire section of negroni variations on their cocktail menu.

http://hinokiandthebird.com/wine-list/

Classic Negroni

Gin, sweet vermouth & Campari, rocks, orange twist

White Negroni

Amère sauvage (bitter gentian), bianco vermouth, rocks, grapefruit twist

Harajuku

Hakushu Single Malt Whiskey, Gran Classico, Maurin Quina & Chocolate bitters

Kingston Negroni

Smith + Cross Jamaican Rum, Gran Classico, sweet vermouth, rocks, orange twist

I tried the Harajuku recently; I wasn't blown away, but it was definitely interesting and had potential.

Sam Ross is responsbile for their cocktail menu (he also designed the cocktail menu at Comme Ça, another David Myers' restaurant).

[Rafa]

@Drunk - I didn't try your Campari variant, but rather the original Eyetalian Cocktail which uses Cynar. I sub'd Cherry Heering for Luxardo and a regular orange twist for blood.

Very, very nice. It is a touch large and a touch sweet. I would consider using dry vermouth, even though you would give up some depth and its bitter contribution. There is a lot going on. I didn't taste it without the Peychaud's, but in all those flavors, I wonder if I would miss it.

The bitter + cherry combo was highly enjoyable, with no cough syrup issues.

I've allocated 30 minutes to put the bottles away.

Glad you liked it. Yup, big, busy drink. Lots of bottles. Lots of flavor combos I like (cherry + rye, rye + Punt, Punt + Cynar) stacked up on each other. Most of the time stacking combos doesn't work out nearly as well in drinks as it does in arcade games (no point multipliers), but I like it here. To me cherry/Cynar/Punt becomes one big flavor, and the others dance around the edges. I don't remember right now what Peychaud's adds so next time I make one of these I'll decide if I'd miss it. I crave Punt e Mes too much to lose it, though I'd consider splitting it half and half with dry vermouth if that didn't bring the total bottle-putting-away time up to, uh, 40 minutes.

btw, a restaurant here in LA has an entire section of negroni variations on their cocktail menu.

http://hinokiandthebird.com/wine-list/

Classic Negroni

Gin, sweet vermouth & Campari, rocks, orange twist

White Negroni

Amère sauvage (bitter gentian), bianco vermouth, rocks, grapefruit twist

Harajuku

Hakushu Single Malt Whiskey, Gran Classico, Maurin Quina & Chocolate bitters

Kingston Negroni

Smith + Cross Jamaican Rum, Gran Classico, sweet vermouth, rocks, orange twist

I tried the Harajuku recently; I wasn't blown away, but it was definitely interesting and had potential.

Sam Ross is responsbile for their cocktail menu (he also designed the cocktail menu at Comme Ça, another David Myers' restaurant).

That Harajuku sounds delicious. Anyone happen to know the ratios? Not that I have/can afford Hukushu, mind...

Edited April 1, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Will]

That Harajuku sounds delicious. Anyone happen to know the ratios? Not that I have/can afford Hukushu, mind...

I was seated at a table, so I didn't watch it being made, but guessing you could make it as you'd make a Negroni, so 1:1:1 might not be a bad starting point.

I'm guessing that's a nerdy enough question that one of the bartenders might answer if you give them a call.

Here's an article with a bit more about the drinks there.

http://www.lamag.com/lafood/digestblog/2013/01/17/hinoki-and-the-bird-cocktails-sam-ross-david-myers-century-city

I'm a bit skeptical about the suggestion that "Tokyo cocktail style" would be more of a fresh program - most of the cocktail bars I know about in Tokyo are much more focused on classics and solid execution than fresh / seasonal ingredients.

[Rafa]

That Harajuku sounds delicious. Anyone happen to know the ratios? Not that I have/can afford Hukushu, mind...

I was seated at a table, so I didn't watch it being made, but guessing you could make it as you'd make a Negroni, so 1:1:1 might not be a bad starting point.

I'm guessing that's a nerdy enough question that one of the bartenders might answer if you give them a call.

Here's an article with a bit more about the drinks there.

http://www.lamag.com/lafood/digestblog/2013/01/17/hinoki-and-the-bird-cocktails-sam-ross-david-myers-century-city

I'm a bit skeptical about the suggestion that "Tokyo cocktail style" would be more of a fresh program - most of the cocktail bars I know about in Tokyo are much more focused on classics and solid execution than fresh / seasonal ingredients.

I've never been to Tokyo and can't speak from first hand experience, but everything I've read/seen about Kazuo Ueda et al leads me to the same impression...

How'd you like the drink?

[Will]

How'd you like the drink?

Not mind-blowing to me - the whisky taste didn't really come through that strongly, and the bitter-sweet / spice flavors of the Gran Classico and vermouth were a bit strong. I'm not the biggest Negroni fan to start with, though, so maybe I'm not the best person to comment. I did enjoy this more than a standard Negroni, because the bitterness was a little more balanced.

[Rafa]

The Maurin can be overpowering, so I'd be inclined to cut it back as compared to the vermouth in a standard Negroni, and Gran Classico's not as bitter as Campari but its flavor is less 'clean'/two-dimensional with lots of herbal and floral notes so it can still overwhelm other ingredients. This strikes me as a tricky drink to balance.

[mkayahara]

I couldn't quite decide where to file this one, but this seems like a good spot. Last night's libation was a straightforward brown-bitter-stirred:

 

2 oz. Bourbon (Evan Williams Single Barrel - a sadly undistinguished bottle, IMO)

0.5 oz. Cynar

0.5 oz. Punt e Mes

Dash Xocolatl Mole bitters

 

Call it a variation on the Boulevardier, or a Manhattan variation, or a Left Hand variation, or drifting-pretty-far-from-a-Red Hook variation, or whatever you like, it was pretty darn satisfying.

[FrogPrincesse]

In the same family, you can add maraschino and make this, which is heavier on the Cynar and aperitif-style.

This one from beta cocktails is lovely as well.

[FrogPrincesse]

A Boulevardier / Left Hand variation with a touch of Fernet-Branca and Peychaud's bitters. Sweet and earthy, like... beets.

 

Southpaw (Joseph Boley) with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Punt e Mes, Campari, Fernet-Branca, Peychaud's bitters.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

A Man About Town (Victor Pelegrin via Fred Yarm) with Willet 2-year rye, Aperol, amaro Montenegro, Dolin dry vermouth, Regan/Fee/Angostura orange bitters. A bit sweet at first and then a lot of interesting flavors develop (saffron, orange, etc), with the rye dominating the finish. That one was gone in no time.

 

[MisterGreen]

When I first tried a Boulevardier I did not like how bitter it was, and I did not like the flavours of the Campari.

I ended up making a drink the other night where-in I swapped out the Campari and used Aperol in it's place.

 

1.5 oz Bulleit bourbon

1 oz Aperol

1 oz Cinzano sweet vermouth

Built over ice in an old fashioned glass

Finished with some nice orange zest; expressed and dropped in

 

It was a very nice drink, though certainly different from a traditional Boulevardier. With the spice and bitter of the vermouth and Aperol combined with the orange flavours of the Aperol and the zest it tastes a lot like an Old Fashioned meets a Manhattan. This is definitely my go-to drink now for when I want a cocktail of this style. I don't know if it has a proper name, though I don't think it could really correctly be called a Boulevardier.

 

I have also tried it with Carpano Antica Formula (this was awesome) and Del Professore sweet vermouth (very very sweet, but also really good), but always with Bulleit.

[BillBuitenhuys]

Made a 2:1:1 & orange zest with Maker's Cask Strength last night. The bourbon definitely had the lead roll here with a nice bittersweet backbone.

[FrogPrincesse]

I couldn't resist the banana liqueur, but this was too sweet.  I would change it a bit to make it more bourbon-forward, and reduce both the Campari and the banana.

 

Anvil’s Banana Boulevardier (Terry Williams) with High West American Prairie bourbon, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Campari, Giffard banana liqueur.

 

 

[EvergreenDan]

@FrogPrincesse - maybe add dry vermouth, or split the sweet 50/50 with dry? I do that a lot. That banana addition scares me.

[Craig E]

Equal parts Rittenhouse, Punt e Mes, and Campari, which Kindred tells me is the Cure (New Orleans) spec. 

Feared it would be too bitter, but the balance worked well. The spice and heat of the rye sufficed to keep the drink from getting too candy-ish, and there was a nice complexity to the bitterness. 

Bought a relatively ugly "juice orange" and it provided a great twist.

[sbumgarner]

A Boulevardier riff I tried last night:

 

1.5 oz Old Granddad 100

.75 oz Bruto Americano

.5 oz Lustau PX
Small pinch of salt

 

Express a lemon peel and drop it in the stirring vessel, stir, strain, coupe, no garnish.

 

I love this Bruto Americano, I was a little concerned the strong rosemary-ish flavors wouldn't jive but this seemed to work, the depth of sweetness from the PX helped.

[Craig E]

Here's a spicy Boulevardier variant, the Midnight Stroll. 

1.5 rye, .75 Campari, .5 Ramazzotti, .25 PF dry curacao, dash Peychaud's, orange twist

My wife suggested a pinch of salt wouldn't be out of order, and I think she's right.

[FrogPrincesse]

@Craig E That looks tasty. I think I am going to make myself a 1794 tonight to stay in this family of drinks.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Here it is - 1794 Variation with 1.5 oz Rittenhouse rye whiskey, 0.75 oz Campari, 0.75 oz Margerum amaro, 2 dashes xocolatl mole bitters. So freaking good.