Negroni Week Day 2: Boulevardier

1 1/2 oz Burnside Oregon Oaked Bourbon
1 oz Miró Vermut de Reus
1 oz Campari

Stir everything with ice and strain over rocks into an Old Fashioned glass. Express an Orange peel over the drink and garnish with a full Orange slice (trust me, it’s really nice to do both).

You can’t have Negroni Week without having a Boulevardier. This classic swaps the Gin for Bourbon and brings a whole different flavor profile. I do actually like this over a regular Negroni but perhaps it’s because of the greater familiarity and appreciation I have with Bourbon over Gin.

I see the Boulevardier served in either Cocktail or Old fashioned glasses online and I think I’ve even had them served to me in either glass on the few times I’ve ordered them. I went with the Old Fashioned Glass here to keep with the consistency of yesterdays post and that every Negroni I’ve ever had has been served on the rocks. There is also the fact that I just like my bitter drinks to stay as cold as possible.

I do like how most of the ratios I see on line give the amount of Bourbon a little edge as opposed to the most common 1:1:1 ratio of most Negroni recipes. It seems to give the Bourbon a chance to poke through the sweet and bitterness of the Vermouth and Campari that Gin would seem to do with its citrus and botanicals.

As mentioned yesterday, I did need to get a nice Sweet Vermouth for the rest of the week. When I stopped by the store today I was looking to get something other than Dolin, and definitely something I’ve never tried before. The lovely girl behind the register at Bottles suggested this Spanish Vermouth from Miró which really compliments this Bourbon and Campari well. The bitter is balanced perfectly well and almost adds a nuttiness, but not in every sip. It definitely brings a good dimension to this drink. It’s an excellent Vermouth for a nice Negroni and I’m looking forward to finally being able to make a Classic negroni with this later this week. The small size of the bottle should ensure that it won’t spoil by the time it goes empty, which might be by the end of this week’s drinks.