The Boulevardier shows how the American understanding of how a cocktail is constructed was further developed and given an Italian interpretation. It can also be used to demonstrate how changes in the ingredients require an adaptation of the recipe. It has been considered a Prohibition-era classic for no more than ten years. Before that, it was practically unknown and was only mentioned in a note from 1927. Yet it is on a par with the Negroni.
30 ml Woodford Reserve bourbon 30 ml House Campari (4 parts Tuvè Bitter, 1 part Campari) 30 ml Moot vermouth
Preparation: stirred.
alternative:
40 ml Woodford Reserve bourbon 20 ml Campari 20 ml Antica Formula vermouth Garnish: orange zest and lemon zest
Preparation: Stirred, sprinkle with orange zest and lemon zest.
Alternatively and currently preferred by us:
30 ml Eagle Rare 10 Bourbon 30 ml la Canellese Bitter 30 ml Antica Torino vermouth di Torino rosso
Preparation: Preparation: 3 ice cubes, stirred for 30 seconds (90 times). Sprinkle with orange zest and lemon zest.
The Boulevardier is a wonderful drink from Prohibition times. A great drink that belongs on any serious cocktail menu. It was first mentioned in 1927, in the appendix of Harry McElhone’s book Barflies and Cocktails, written by Arthur Moss and entitled ” Cocktails Round Town”: [5]
Boulevardier Cocktail. Arthur Moss, 1927.
Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boule- vardier Cocktail; 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky.
Boulevardier advertisement. From Harry McElhone’s book “Barflies and Cocktails”, 1927. [5]
So the Boulevardier Cocktail was created by Erskine Gwynne, an American writer living in Paris. He belonged to the upper class, was the nephew of the railway tycoon Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and was the editor of an English-language literary magazine called “The Boulevardier”, published monthly between March 1927 and January 1932 (according to some sources in 1933). The editor of this magazine, interestingly enough, was the very Arthur Moss who informs us about the cocktail. [1][2][3][4][7][8] But Erskine Gwynne also wrote columns for the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune and for other French, English and American magazines. [7][8]
Erskine Gwynne. The Chicago Tribune, 26. Mai 1926, European Edition, page 4. [23]
Erskine Gwynne was born in Paris on 21 November 1898 and died in New York City on 5 May 1948. His parents were Edward Erskine Gwynne and Helen Gwynne. [6] His sister Alica “Kiki” Gwynne had many loves, including Prince George, Duke of Kent and fourth son of England’s King George V, and the latter was rumoured to be the father of one of her sons. She moved in the highest social circles of Paris and New York. [7] But her parents had financial problems. In 1902, her father had to declare bankruptcy. He died in 1904 and his children were subsequently brought up in Paris, although they lived in New York for a short time. [7] However, the children seem to have been well looked after by the rest of the family. Erskinne Gwynne, for example, was considered a wealthy editor of his magazine. In 1926, he married Madeleine Armstrong in Paris, a great-niece of Jefferson Davis, who was the only president of the Confederate States of America between 1861 and 1865. However, they divorced again as early as 1932. [8][9]
In our opinion, the Boulevardier Cocktail is in many ways a remarkable and important drink in the history of cocktails. Some say it is a variation of the Negroni. However, this is too simplified. We do not want to go into detail about the Negroni here, but for a better understanding of our doubts, let us state this much:
The Negroni is said to have been invented in Florence in 1920, but a printed recipe for it is only to be found in 1951 in a book called “Bottoms Up.” [10] Or – according to another alternative – it was already mentioned in 1939 in an Argentinian book. [11]
What does this tell us? The Boulevardier Cocktail is – at least on the basis of its publication date – the older one. One could now assume that therefore the Negroni is actually a variant of the Boulevardier Cocktail. But this view is not correct either. So how should one put the two in relation to each other?
Pacific Wine & Spirit Review, Band 47, Nr. 1, 30. November 1904, page 44. [15]
One might argue that 1920, the year of the Negroni’s creation, could be proven by documents, that Erskine Gwynne might have known this cocktail and created a variation from bourbon. This cannot be completely ruled out, but we think it is rather unlikely. But before we explain in more detail why we come to this conclusion, we should first note that Campari was already available in the United States in 1904. We have found an advertisement in the “Pacific Wine & Spirit Review” of 30 November 1904, according to which a second shipment of Campari had arrived at the general importer Cerruti Mercantile & Co. on the Pacific coast. There it is recommended to enjoy the Campari bitters with seltzer or vermouth (obviously as an aperitif), but the Campari cordial as a digestif.
Campari advertisement. Jacob Abraham Grohusko, Jack’s Manual, 3rd edition, before 1916. [16]
We also found a large advertisement for Campari in Jacob Abraham Grohuskos’ “Jack’s Manual”, published between 1910 and 1916. But Campari does not seem to have found its way into the recipes of American books in the United States for a long time, as the look at the recipes with Campari until 1927 in the appendix shows. We first found it as an ingredient in James A. Wiley’s “The Art of Mixing” from 1932. The use of Campari as a mixing ingredient is an European invention. As can be seen from our appendix, the first recipes using Campari appeared there. Among these recipes are four in which Campari is combined with vermouth, four which additionally use gin (and thus – get this – basically correspond to a Negroni) and one recipe with Campari, vermouth and cognac. We can deduce from this that the use of Campari was more or less in the air in the twenties and not necessarily something unusual anymore.
Arnaldo Strucchi: Il vermouth di Torino, 1909, page 104.
The use of Campari as an ingredient probably goes back to an older (mis)understanding. This is shown by an interesting Italian book. Arnaldo Strucchi writes in his treatise “Il vermouth di Torino” in the second edition of 1909 on page 104: “negli Stati Uniti si ha l’usanza di bere il Vermouth mescolato con liquori amari e gin (cohiskey) formando una bibita chiamata ” coktail “. “, that it is the custom in the United States to drink vermouth mixed with bitter liqueurs and gin (or whiskey), and that this drink is called a cocktail. It goes on to say: “Molte e differenti fra loro possono essere queste preparazioni, a seconda del liquore Bitter che viene impiegato, essendovi di questo liquore inumerevoli qualità e con sapori diversi, con peraltro in tutte una base di amaro“. So he thinks that many of these cocktails are very different from each other, depending on the bitter liqueurs used, as the latter are available in innumerable qualities and in different flavours, but are always made on the basis of an amaro.
So what is an amaro? An amaro is an alcoholic drink that is given a bitter taste by various herbal drugs and is drunk as an aperitif to aid digestion or, if it is higher in alcohol, also as a digestif.[12]
So in Italy, people did not consistently understand what the cocktail bitters used in the United States for a cocktail really were: something highly concentrated. They were equated with bitter liqueurs.
Campari is one of the amari and is also used today in Italy as an ingredient in an aperitif. If you take Arnaldo Strucchi’s definition of a cocktail as a basis, a Negroni is no longer anything special, because its recipe is virtually the epitome of this definition. Put simply, it is simply a Martinez cocktail (or a Martini cocktail), as it was believed to be prepared in Italy: with gin, vermouth and bitters. And a Boulevardier cocktail would be nothing other than an Italian Manhattan cocktail made with bourbon.
The Boulevardier Cocktail not only shows us how the understanding of what a cocktail is has changed. The Boulevardier – like the Negroni, by the way – is also an important cocktail for another reason. One reads again and again, especially in connection with the Negroni, that Campari is an integral ingredient that one cannot do without under any circumstances and that it is not interchangeable without taking away the drink’s character. [13] Is that true? Yes and no, one has to differentiate very precisely here.
It is true that Campari as an integral ingredient is actually not interchangeable without changing the character of the drink. Unfortunately, however, Campari changed its recipe in 2007. They dispensed with lice-derived carmine as a colouring agent and replaced it to prevent allergic reactions. Otherwise, the recipe is said to have remained unchanged. However, the contents of the bottles with the old recipe show clearly different aromas to those of the bottles with the new recipe. Numerous bartenders have also confirmed to us that the older bottlings are clearly different. Some speculate that this could be due to bottle ageing or, in the case of bottles that have been open for some time, to oxidation. Basically, it can be said that this change in recipe has been criticised. [17][18][19][20][21]
This one tastes less bitter and shows more orange aromas and a pleasant complexity that gradually unfolds in the mouth. The “new” Campari, on the other hand, is simply sweeter, more bitter, less complex and one-dimensional in direct comparison. It seems more brute somehow. We can rule out bottle ageing and oxidation, because the “new” Campari has already been bottle-aged for several years, and another bottle has also been oxidising for quite some time, but is still comparable to a freshly opened bottle. Tasting the two versions was a key experience for us. We never really liked classics such as the Negroni and Boulevardier when they were prepared according to the classic mixing ratio of equal parts. The Negroni in particular was problematic. We had therefore never understood why these drinks could become so famous. Even in the past, people had a distinct and finely balanced sense of taste. Should this have changed so much over time? But after our comparison, it was clear to us that the reason why classic recipes no longer work is clearly to be found in a changed Campari recipe. We basically found that the old recipes no longer work with a “new” Campari. The Campari is too dominant, too bitter, and suppresses the other flavours. The drinks fall apart. Others have also come to this conclusion, and we have found it confirmed elsewhere. [4]
Jörg Meyer and Tim Mälzer also confirm that there have been several changes to Camparis. About an old bottling Tim Mälzer says: “Well, that was really aromatic, exciting, dense, complex somehow and not just sweet and bitter and had quite great levels.” [22-1:10]
– “Also das war wirklich aromatisch, spannend, dicht, komplex irgendwie und nicht einfach nur süß und bitter und hatte ganz tolle Ebenen.” [22-1:10]
However, we want to make one thing clear here: This is not about portraying Campari as a bad product. It is a good product that we like to use. A product with which wonderful drinks can be conjured up. It’s just a pity that Campari obviously made a change in the recipe without communicating this clearly. Marketing still says the recipe is unchanged since 1860. [14] We don’t believe that. It’s okay to adapt recipes because you expect greater success, or for other reasons, that’s not the point. But one should be transparent about it. If we had one wish at Campari, we would wish for the old recipe to be made available again in parallel. It would be a gain for bar culture.
For a long time we were looking for an alternative, and we found it first in the Tuvé Bitter. It has the complexity and orange aromas of the old Campari with the same bitter flavours in the finish. It is of course not one hundred percent identical to the old Campari, but they are both very similar. At the beginning it shows clearly more orange aromas. This also shows that the replacement of the colouring cannot be the reason for the change in aroma. Tuvé Bitter contains carmine. Carmine is tasteless, and this is probably also the case with the recently used colouring agents of Campari.
A mixture of four parts Tuvè Bitter and one part Campari will be even more similar to an old Campari, let’s call it “House Campari” for the sake of simplicity.
We did a few tastings and found that suddenly, with both the “old” Campari and the Tuvé Bitter, the old recipes work again. Since the supply of “old” Campari is limited, we prefer our House Campari, which gives an even more convincing result compared to pure Tuvè Bitter.
However, we like the Berto Bitter even better as a Campari substitute.
What do we learn from this? That there are always changes in spirits, and that the bartender must know his craft in order to be able to prepare balanced drinks from the ingredients at hand. The point here is to show why old recipes no longer work with modern Campari. This does not mean, however, that it is not possible to prepare successful drinks with modern Campari, you just have to adapt the recipe. As is exemplified here with the Boulevardier, it is quite possible to find excellent combinations, such as the variant we have given with Woodford Reserve. This is no longer the Boulevardier as it was originally intended, but is in a way a transformed drink. However, we can highly recommend it.
Another question preoccupied us with the Boulevardier cocktail. How do you serve it correctly? With ice or without ice. We prefer it without ice, but it is often served with ice. This is certainly a question of personal preference. If you want to be as close as possible to the original, you should serve the drink without ice, but ultimately it is your own taste that decides. We heard an interesting justification for serving it with ice. We were told that if you serve the drink without ice, after a certain time it tends too much towards Campari and then seems unbalanced. – These words seem to reflect exactly what we have said before, namely that the old recipes no longer work one hundred percent with the modern Campari and that the drink starts to tip as soon as it gets warmer.
Let us now turn to the question of whether the Boulevardier Cocktail was ever a well-known drink. A look at the historical books helps us to assess this. We find it for the first time in 1927, then no more. So it was anything but a well-known drink. It was solitary. It was unknown. Although there are subsequently drinks with the same name from time to time, they are something different. There are also comparable drinks with other names in the broadest sense, but they are also rare and only remotely reminiscent of the classic Boulevardier cocktail. Examples include the Avellaneda from 1937 and Schenley’s Special Cocktail from 1938, followed by the Hogar Nueve from 1966. But these three cocktails have completely different mixing ratios and probably originated without reference to the Boulevardier.
The Boulevardier cocktail certainly owes its current fame to Ted Haigh and other bartenders who, in the course of the cocktail renaissance, rummaged through the old books and brought many a gem back to life, or even to life for the first time, within the last ten years.
Harry McElhone: Barflies and Cocktails. Over 300 Cocktail Receipts by Harry and Wynn with slight contributions From Arthur Moss. Paris, Lecram Press, 1927
Mauro Mahjoub: Forgotten Cocktails Re-Mastered – Prospecting for “Gems” in the Early Cocktail Books. Lecture together with Dale DeGroff and Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro at the Bar Convent Berlin, 11 October 2016.
Jacob Abraham Grohusko: Jack’s Manual On the Vintage & Production, Care & Handling of Wines. Liquors, Etc. A Handbook of Information for Home, Club or Hotel. Recipes for Fancy Mixed Drinks and When and How to Serve. 3. Auflage, New York, without year (but before 1916, after 1910)
1927 Harry McElhone: Barflies and Cocktails. Seite 80. Boulevardier Cocktail.
Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boule- vardier Cocktail; 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky.
1929 Anonymus: Cocktails de Paris. Boulevardier.
1/3 Dubonnet 1/3 Raphaël 1/6 Campari 1/6 Courvoisier « the Brandy of Napoléon » ROBERT DU “VIEL”. Grand Prix au Championnat des Barmen disputé à Paris le 2 février 1929.
1930 Charles Nicholas Reinhardt: „Cheerio!“. Seite 45. Boulevardier Cocktail.
CHARLES ELLIS, Ziegfeld star. “I have found the Boulevard Cocktail a very pleasing drink. To one part gin, and half a part each of Italian and French Vermouth, add one half portion orange or grapefruit juice. Ice in a shaker and strain into cocktail glasses. You may try it at the Cafe Rotonde, in Paris.”
1934 Tom and Jerry: How to Mix Drinks. Seite 1. Boulevardier.
2/5 Dry Gin 1/5 Orange Juice 1/5 Vermouth 1/5 Vermouth, Italian
1937 Julio Castro: Autococktail. Seite 17. Avellaneda.
R. 1/2 Whisky Bower’s 1/2 Vermouth Henzi tipo Torino 1 Chorrito Bitter Campari Esencia de cáscara de limón Sírvase en copa No 6.
1934 William T. Boothby: „Cocktail Bill“ Boothby’s World Drinks. Seite 32. Boulevardier.
1966 Mario Kardahi: Tratado pratico de coctelería, pastelería y afines. Seite 85. Hogar Nueve.
. 50 grs. de whisky old Smu- Refrescado. ggler. Se sirve en copa flau- 20 grs. de vermouth Torino ta. 10 grs. de Bitter Campari. . El zumo de la corteza de la . naranja. Se presenta con . dos cerezas.
1966 Harry Schraemli: Le roi du bar. Seite 48. Boulevardier Cocktail.
2014 David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day: Death & Co. Seite 140. Boulevardier. 1 1/2 ounces Elijah 12-year bourbon; 3/4 ounce house sweet vermouth; 3/4 ounce Campari; garnish: 1 lemon twist. House Sweet Vermouth (Seite 284): 1 part Dolin Rouge; 1 part Punt e Mes.
2016 André Darlington & Tenaya Darlington: The New Cocktail Hour. Seite 88. Boulevardier. 60 ml bourbon (Buffalo Trace or Four Roses); 30 ml Campari; 30 ml sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica); garnish: orange twist.
2016 Philip Greene: The Manhattan. Seite 180. Boulevardier. 1 ounce Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey; 1 ounce Martini sweet vermouth; 1 ounce Campari; garnish: orange peel.
2016 Sasha Petraske: Regarding Cocktails. Seite 69. Left Hand. 45 ml bourbon; 22 ml sweet vermouth; 22 ml Campari; 3 dashes Bittermen’s chocolate bitters; garnish: brandied cherry.
2017 Jim Meehan: Meehan’s Bartender Manual. Seite 329. Boulevardier. 2 oz. Wild Turkey 101 proof rye whiskey; 1 oz. Cocchi vermouth di Torino; 1 oz. Campari: garnish: 1 orange twist.
2018 Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan: Cocktail Codex. Seite 91. Boulevardier. 1 1/2 ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon; 3/4 ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth; 3/4 ounce Campari; garnish: brandied cherry.
Historical Campari recipes up to 1927
1921 Adolphe Torelli: Guide du barman. Seite 105. Torelli’s Appetizer.
Dans un grand verre flûte, quelques petits morceaux de glace, un verre a liqueur de bitter Campari, un verre à madère de vermouth Martilni et Rossi, un zeste citron, emplir avec siphon, et servez.
1921 Adolphe Torelli: Guide du barman. Seite 112. Univers Cocktail.
Dans shaker avec un tiers de glace pilée, une cuillère à café de bitter Campari, une cuillère à café de cognac, un demiverre à madère de vermouth Martini et Rossi, frapper et passer dans un verre à cocktail avec zeste de citron.
1924 Carlo Beltramo: Carlo’s cocktails et boissons américaines. Seite 89. Contre la soif (lendemain de fête).
Boisson très hygiénique. Dans un grand gobelet (tumbler): 1/4 dl. de crème de menthe verte, Fernet Branca ou Campari et soda bien froid. Il est recommandé de mettre tou- jours le soda avant les liqueurs, à cause de la mousse.
1927 Adolphe Torelli: American Drinks Dictionary. Seite 18. Americano.
Dans un verre à bordeaux, un zeste de citron, un verre à liqueur de Bitter Cam- pari, un verre à liqueur de Vermouth Italien, rem- plir avec de l’eau de Seltz.
1927 Adolphe Torelli: American Drinks Dictionary. Seite 162. Torelli’s Appetizer.
Dans un grand verre à pied, un de glace, un morceau de glace, un verre à liqueur de Bitter Campari, un verre à madère de Verrnouth de Turin, un zeste de citron, remplir avec de l’eau de Seltz.
1927 Jean Lupoiu: 370 recettes de cocktails. Seite 57. John’s Cocktail, No 3.
1/3 Vermouth Cinzano, 1/3 Gin, 1/3 Whisky. Servir avec une cerise. (lnvenié par l’Auleur).
1927 Jean Lupoiu: 370 recetes de cocktails. Seite 177. Julio Cocktail.
3 jets Bitter Campari, 1/6 Rossi, 1/6 Vermouth Cinzano, 2/3 Gin. (Inventé par l’Auteur, en l’honneur de M. Haag, Directeur du journal l’Opinion).
1927 Marcel Requien & Lucien Farnoux Reynaud: L’heure du cocktail. Seite 56. Loving.
1/2 Gin, 1/2 Vermouth blanc Gancia, deux traits Amer Campari. Frapper à la timbale. Communiqué par Primo (Primo’s bar, Paris).
1927 Marcel Requien & Lucien Farnoux Reynaud: L’heure du cocktail. Seite 56. Mussolini.
1/2 Gin, 3/10 Vermouth italieun, 2/10 Bitter Campari. Frapper à la timbale et exprimer un jus de citron. Communiqué par Charlie Castelloni. (Hermitage, Paris)
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 30. Cinzano Cocktail.
2 gouttes d’Angoustura, 2 gouttes de Campari Bitter, 1 verre de Cinzano Vermouth, Mélangez bien et servez dans un verre à Cocktail avec jus de pelure d’Orange.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 40. Jersey Cocktail.
Mettez deux ou trois morceaux de glace dans un grand tumbler, 2 ou 3 gouttes de Campa- ri Bitter. Remplissez avec du Cidre. Mélangez doucement.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 40. Jockey Club Cocktail.
Une goutte Orange Bitter, 1 goutte de Cam- pari Bitter, 2 gouttes crème de Noyau, une cuil- lerée à thé de jus de citron, 2/3 de Gin, Mélan- gez bien versez dans un verre à Cocktail, ajou- tez une giglée de pelure de citron.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 44. Montana Cocktail.
2 gouttes d’Anisette, 3 gouttes de Campari Bit- ters, 1/2 Vermouth Français, 1/2 Sloe Gin. Mé- langez bien dans un verre à Cocktail, ajoutez le jus d’un peu de pelure de citron.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 59. Yale Cocktail.
3 gouttes de Campari Bitter, une goutte d’An- goustura Bitters, un verre de Gin. Mélungez bien, versez dans un verre à vin de taille moyen- ne, une flaquée de siphon, pressez un peu de pelure de citron sur le tout.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 59. Za Za Cocktail.
2 gouttes de Campari Bitter, 1/3 de Nichol- son Gin, 2 /3 de Cinzano Vermouth Italien. Mé- langez bien, versez dans un verre à Cocktail, servez avec un cherry.
30 ml Woodford Reserve bourbon
30 ml House Campari (4 parts Tuvè Bitter, 1 part Campari)
30 ml Moot vermouth
Preparation: stirred.
alternative:
40 ml Woodford Reserve bourbon
20 ml Campari
20 ml Antica Formula vermouth
Garnish: orange zest and lemon zest
Preparation: Stirred, sprinkle with orange zest and lemon zest.
Alternatively and currently preferred by us:
30 ml Eagle Rare 10 Bourbon
30 ml la Canellese Bitter
30 ml Antica Torino vermouth di Torino rosso
Preparation: Preparation: 3 ice cubes, stirred for 30 seconds (90 times). Sprinkle with orange zest and lemon zest.
The Boulevardier is a wonderful drink from Prohibition times. A great drink that belongs on any serious cocktail menu. It was first mentioned in 1927, in the appendix of Harry McElhone’s book Barflies and Cocktails, written by Arthur Moss and entitled ” Cocktails Round Town”: [5]
Boulevardier Cocktail. Arthur Moss, 1927.
Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of
the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boule-
vardier Cocktail; 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3
Bourbon whisky.
So the Boulevardier Cocktail was created by Erskine Gwynne, an American writer living in Paris. He belonged to the upper class, was the nephew of the railway tycoon Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and was the editor of an English-language literary magazine called “The Boulevardier”, published monthly between March 1927 and January 1932 (according to some sources in 1933). The editor of this magazine, interestingly enough, was the very Arthur Moss who informs us about the cocktail. [1] [2] [3] [4] [7] [8] But Erskine Gwynne also wrote columns for the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune and for other French, English and American magazines. [7] [8]
Erskine Gwynne was born in Paris on 21 November 1898 and died in New York City on 5 May 1948. His parents were Edward Erskine Gwynne and Helen Gwynne. [6] His sister Alica “Kiki” Gwynne had many loves, including Prince George, Duke of Kent and fourth son of England’s King George V, and the latter was rumoured to be the father of one of her sons. She moved in the highest social circles of Paris and New York. [7] But her parents had financial problems. In 1902, her father had to declare bankruptcy. He died in 1904 and his children were subsequently brought up in Paris, although they lived in New York for a short time. [7] However, the children seem to have been well looked after by the rest of the family. Erskinne Gwynne, for example, was considered a wealthy editor of his magazine. In 1926, he married Madeleine Armstrong in Paris, a great-niece of Jefferson Davis, who was the only president of the Confederate States of America between 1861 and 1865. However, they divorced again as early as 1932. [8] [9]
In our opinion, the Boulevardier Cocktail is in many ways a remarkable and important drink in the history of cocktails. Some say it is a variation of the Negroni. However, this is too simplified. We do not want to go into detail about the Negroni here, but for a better understanding of our doubts, let us state this much:
The Negroni is said to have been invented in Florence in 1920, but a printed recipe for it is only to be found in 1951 in a book called “Bottoms Up.” [10] Or – according to another alternative – it was already mentioned in 1939 in an Argentinian book. [11]
What does this tell us? The Boulevardier Cocktail is – at least on the basis of its publication date – the older one. One could now assume that therefore the Negroni is actually a variant of the Boulevardier Cocktail. But this view is not correct either. So how should one put the two in relation to each other?
One might argue that 1920, the year of the Negroni’s creation, could be proven by documents, that Erskine Gwynne might have known this cocktail and created a variation from bourbon. This cannot be completely ruled out, but we think it is rather unlikely. But before we explain in more detail why we come to this conclusion, we should first note that Campari was already available in the United States in 1904. We have found an advertisement in the “Pacific Wine & Spirit Review” of 30 November 1904, according to which a second shipment of Campari had arrived at the general importer Cerruti Mercantile & Co. on the Pacific coast. There it is recommended to enjoy the Campari bitters with seltzer or vermouth (obviously as an aperitif), but the Campari cordial as a digestif.
We also found a large advertisement for Campari in Jacob Abraham Grohuskos’ “Jack’s Manual”, published between 1910 and 1916. But Campari does not seem to have found its way into the recipes of American books in the United States for a long time, as the look at the recipes with Campari until 1927 in the appendix shows. We first found it as an ingredient in James A. Wiley’s “The Art of Mixing” from 1932. The use of Campari as a mixing ingredient is an European invention. As can be seen from our appendix, the first recipes using Campari appeared there. Among these recipes are four in which Campari is combined with vermouth, four which additionally use gin (and thus – get this – basically correspond to a Negroni) and one recipe with Campari, vermouth and cognac. We can deduce from this that the use of Campari was more or less in the air in the twenties and not necessarily something unusual anymore.
The use of Campari as an ingredient probably goes back to an older (mis)understanding. This is shown by an interesting Italian book. Arnaldo Strucchi writes in his treatise “Il vermouth di Torino” in the second edition of 1909 on page 104: “negli Stati Uniti si ha l’usanza di bere il Vermouth mescolato con liquori amari e gin (cohiskey) formando una bibita chiamata ” coktail “. “, that it is the custom in the United States to drink vermouth mixed with bitter liqueurs and gin (or whiskey), and that this drink is called a cocktail. It goes on to say: “Molte e differenti fra loro possono essere queste preparazioni, a seconda del liquore Bitter che viene impiegato, essendovi di questo liquore inumerevoli qualità e con sapori diversi, con peraltro in tutte una base di amaro“. So he thinks that many of these cocktails are very different from each other, depending on the bitter liqueurs used, as the latter are available in innumerable qualities and in different flavours, but are always made on the basis of an amaro.
So what is an amaro? An amaro is an alcoholic drink that is given a bitter taste by various herbal drugs and is drunk as an aperitif to aid digestion or, if it is higher in alcohol, also as a digestif.[12]
So in Italy, people did not consistently understand what the cocktail bitters used in the United States for a cocktail really were: something highly concentrated. They were equated with bitter liqueurs.
Campari is one of the amari and is also used today in Italy as an ingredient in an aperitif. If you take Arnaldo Strucchi’s definition of a cocktail as a basis, a Negroni is no longer anything special, because its recipe is virtually the epitome of this definition. Put simply, it is simply a Martinez cocktail (or a Martini cocktail), as it was believed to be prepared in Italy: with gin, vermouth and bitters. And a Boulevardier cocktail would be nothing other than an Italian Manhattan cocktail made with bourbon.
The Boulevardier Cocktail not only shows us how the understanding of what a cocktail is has changed. The Boulevardier – like the Negroni, by the way – is also an important cocktail for another reason. One reads again and again, especially in connection with the Negroni, that Campari is an integral ingredient that one cannot do without under any circumstances and that it is not interchangeable without taking away the drink’s character. [13] Is that true? Yes and no, one has to differentiate very precisely here.
It is true that Campari as an integral ingredient is actually not interchangeable without changing the character of the drink. Unfortunately, however, Campari changed its recipe in 2007. They dispensed with lice-derived carmine as a colouring agent and replaced it to prevent allergic reactions. Otherwise, the recipe is said to have remained unchanged. However, the contents of the bottles with the old recipe show clearly different aromas to those of the bottles with the new recipe. Numerous bartenders have also confirmed to us that the older bottlings are clearly different. Some speculate that this could be due to bottle ageing or, in the case of bottles that have been open for some time, to oxidation. Basically, it can be said that this change in recipe has been criticised. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
This one tastes less bitter and shows more orange aromas and a pleasant complexity that gradually unfolds in the mouth. The “new” Campari, on the other hand, is simply sweeter, more bitter, less complex and one-dimensional in direct comparison. It seems more brute somehow. We can rule out bottle ageing and oxidation, because the “new” Campari has already been bottle-aged for several years, and another bottle has also been oxidising for quite some time, but is still comparable to a freshly opened bottle. Tasting the two versions was a key experience for us. We never really liked classics such as the Negroni and Boulevardier when they were prepared according to the classic mixing ratio of equal parts. The Negroni in particular was problematic. We had therefore never understood why these drinks could become so famous. Even in the past, people had a distinct and finely balanced sense of taste. Should this have changed so much over time? But after our comparison, it was clear to us that the reason why classic recipes no longer work is clearly to be found in a changed Campari recipe. We basically found that the old recipes no longer work with a “new” Campari. The Campari is too dominant, too bitter, and suppresses the other flavours. The drinks fall apart. Others have also come to this conclusion, and we have found it confirmed elsewhere. [4]
Jörg Meyer and Tim Mälzer also confirm that there have been several changes to Camparis. About an old bottling Tim Mälzer says: “Well, that was really aromatic, exciting, dense, complex somehow and not just sweet and bitter and had quite great levels.” [22-1:10]
– “Also das war wirklich aromatisch, spannend, dicht, komplex irgendwie und nicht einfach nur süß und bitter und hatte ganz tolle Ebenen.” [22-1:10]
However, we want to make one thing clear here: This is not about portraying Campari as a bad product. It is a good product that we like to use. A product with which wonderful drinks can be conjured up. It’s just a pity that Campari obviously made a change in the recipe without communicating this clearly. Marketing still says the recipe is unchanged since 1860. [14] We don’t believe that. It’s okay to adapt recipes because you expect greater success, or for other reasons, that’s not the point. But one should be transparent about it. If we had one wish at Campari, we would wish for the old recipe to be made available again in parallel. It would be a gain for bar culture.
For a long time we were looking for an alternative, and we found it first in the Tuvé Bitter. It has the complexity and orange aromas of the old Campari with the same bitter flavours in the finish. It is of course not one hundred percent identical to the old Campari, but they are both very similar. At the beginning it shows clearly more orange aromas. This also shows that the replacement of the colouring cannot be the reason for the change in aroma. Tuvé Bitter contains carmine. Carmine is tasteless, and this is probably also the case with the recently used colouring agents of Campari.
A mixture of four parts Tuvè Bitter and one part Campari will be even more similar to an old Campari, let’s call it “House Campari” for the sake of simplicity.
We did a few tastings and found that suddenly, with both the “old” Campari and the Tuvé Bitter, the old recipes work again. Since the supply of “old” Campari is limited, we prefer our House Campari, which gives an even more convincing result compared to pure Tuvè Bitter.
However, we like the Berto Bitter even better as a Campari substitute.
What do we learn from this? That there are always changes in spirits, and that the bartender must know his craft in order to be able to prepare balanced drinks from the ingredients at hand. The point here is to show why old recipes no longer work with modern Campari. This does not mean, however, that it is not possible to prepare successful drinks with modern Campari, you just have to adapt the recipe. As is exemplified here with the Boulevardier, it is quite possible to find excellent combinations, such as the variant we have given with Woodford Reserve. This is no longer the Boulevardier as it was originally intended, but is in a way a transformed drink. However, we can highly recommend it.
Another question preoccupied us with the Boulevardier cocktail. How do you serve it correctly? With ice or without ice. We prefer it without ice, but it is often served with ice. This is certainly a question of personal preference. If you want to be as close as possible to the original, you should serve the drink without ice, but ultimately it is your own taste that decides. We heard an interesting justification for serving it with ice. We were told that if you serve the drink without ice, after a certain time it tends too much towards Campari and then seems unbalanced. – These words seem to reflect exactly what we have said before, namely that the old recipes no longer work one hundred percent with the modern Campari and that the drink starts to tip as soon as it gets warmer.
Let us now turn to the question of whether the Boulevardier Cocktail was ever a well-known drink. A look at the historical books helps us to assess this. We find it for the first time in 1927, then no more. So it was anything but a well-known drink. It was solitary. It was unknown. Although there are subsequently drinks with the same name from time to time, they are something different. There are also comparable drinks with other names in the broadest sense, but they are also rare and only remotely reminiscent of the classic Boulevardier cocktail. Examples include the Avellaneda from 1937 and Schenley’s Special Cocktail from 1938, followed by the Hogar Nueve from 1966. But these three cocktails have completely different mixing ratios and probably originated without reference to the Boulevardier.
The Boulevardier cocktail certainly owes its current fame to Ted Haigh and other bartenders who, in the course of the cocktail renaissance, rummaged through the old books and brought many a gem back to life, or even to life for the first time, within the last ten years.
Sources
Historical recipes
1927 Harry McElhone: Barflies and Cocktails. Seite 80. Boulevardier Cocktail.
Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of
the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boule-
vardier Cocktail; 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3
Bourbon whisky.
1929 Anonymus: Cocktails de Paris. Boulevardier.
1/3 Dubonnet
1/3 Raphaël
1/6 Campari
1/6 Courvoisier « the Brandy of Napoléon »
ROBERT DU “VIEL”.
Grand Prix au Championnat des Barmen disputé à
Paris le 2 février 1929.
1930 Charles Nicholas Reinhardt: „Cheerio!“. Seite 45. Boulevardier Cocktail.
CHARLES ELLIS, Ziegfeld star.
“I have found the Boulevard Cocktail a very pleasing
drink. To one part gin, and half a part each of Italian
and French Vermouth, add one half portion orange or
grapefruit juice. Ice in a shaker and strain into cocktail
glasses. You may try it at the Cafe Rotonde, in Paris.”
1934 Tom and Jerry: How to Mix Drinks. Seite 1. Boulevardier.
2/5 Dry Gin
1/5 Orange Juice
1/5 Vermouth
1/5 Vermouth, Italian
1937 Julio Castro: Autococktail. Seite 17. Avellaneda.
R. 1/2 Whisky Bower’s
1/2 Vermouth Henzi tipo Torino
1 Chorrito Bitter Campari
Esencia de cáscara de limón
Sírvase en copa No 6.
1934 William T. Boothby: „Cocktail Bill“ Boothby’s World Drinks. Seite 32. Boulevardier.
Dubonnet . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger Raphael . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
Campari . . . . . . . . 1/6 jigger Cognac . . . . . . . 1/6 jigger
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.
1935 Gustav Selmer Fougner: Along the Wine Trail. Seite 197. Boulevardier.
Two-thirds Rye and the remainder in equal parts of Grand
Marnier and French Vermouth.
1938 Jean Lupoiu: Cocktails. Seite 130. Schenley’s Special Cocktail.
Dans le verre à mélange:
1 jet de Bitter Campari, 1/3 Vermouth
Martini doux, 2/3 Schenley’s Golden Wed-
ding Rye Whiskey.
Mélanger et servir.
1947 A. Vermeys: Cocktails. Seite 81. Shenbey’s Special Cocktail.
1 trait de Bitter Campari; 1/3 Cinzano;
2/3 Whisky.
1965 Harry Schraemli: Manuel du bar. Seite 365. Boulevardier (cocktail).
1/6 Campari, 1/6 cognac, 1/3 Dubonnet, 1/3 Raphaël. Agiter.
1966 Mario Kardahi: Tratado pratico de coctelería, pastelería y afines. Seite 85. Hogar Nueve.
. 50 grs. de whisky old Smu-
Refrescado. ggler.
Se sirve en copa flau- 20 grs. de vermouth Torino
ta. 10 grs. de Bitter Campari.
. El zumo de la corteza de la
. naranja. Se presenta con
. dos cerezas.
1966 Harry Schraemli: Le roi du bar. Seite 48. Boulevardier Cocktail.
Shaker. 1/6 Campari, 1/6 cognac, 1/3 Du-
bonnet, 1/3 St. Raphaël.
1977 Stan Jones: Jones’ Complete Barguide. Seite 405. Special Manhattan.
Cocktail Glass Stir
1-3/4 oz Bourbon or rye
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz Campari
Cherry
2009 Ted Haigh: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Seite 75. The Boulevardier. 4,5 cl bourbon; 3 cl Campari; 3 cl sweet vermouth (try Carpano Antica); garnish: cherry.
2011 Helmut Adam, Jens Hasenbein, Bastian Heuser: Cocktailian 1. Seite 479. Boulevardier Cocktail. 2 cl Bourbon Whiskey; 2 cl Campari; 2 cl roter Wermut; Garnierung: Orangenzeste.
2014 David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day: Death & Co. Seite 140. Boulevardier. 1 1/2 ounces Elijah 12-year bourbon; 3/4 ounce house sweet vermouth; 3/4 ounce Campari; garnish: 1 lemon twist. House Sweet Vermouth (Seite 284): 1 part Dolin Rouge; 1 part Punt e Mes.
2016 Anonymus: Cocktails. Seite 72. Boulevardier. 2 cl Bourbon Whiskey; 2 cl Campari; 2 cl roter Wermut; Garnierung: Orangenzeste.
2016 André Darlington & Tenaya Darlington: The New Cocktail Hour. Seite 88. Boulevardier. 60 ml bourbon (Buffalo Trace or Four Roses); 30 ml Campari; 30 ml sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica); garnish: orange twist.
2016 Brad Thomas Parsons: Amaro. Seite 100. Boulevardier. 1 1/2 ounces bourbon; 3/4 ounce Campari; 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth. Garnish: orange zest.
2016 Philip Greene: The Manhattan. Seite 180. Boulevardier. 1 ounce Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey; 1 ounce Martini sweet vermouth; 1 ounce Campari; garnish: orange peel.
2016 Sasha Petraske: Regarding Cocktails. Seite 69. Left Hand. 45 ml bourbon; 22 ml sweet vermouth; 22 ml Campari; 3 dashes Bittermen’s chocolate bitters; garnish: brandied cherry.
2017 Jim Meehan: Meehan’s Bartender Manual. Seite 329. Boulevardier. 2 oz. Wild Turkey 101 proof rye whiskey; 1 oz. Cocchi vermouth di Torino; 1 oz. Campari: garnish: 1 orange twist.
2018 Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan: Cocktail Codex. Seite 91. Boulevardier. 1 1/2 ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon; 3/4 ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth; 3/4 ounce Campari; garnish: brandied cherry.
Historical Campari recipes up to 1927
1921 Adolphe Torelli: Guide du barman. Seite 105. Torelli’s Appetizer.
Dans un grand verre flûte,
quelques petits morceaux de glace, un verre a
liqueur de bitter Campari, un verre à madère
de vermouth Martilni et Rossi, un zeste citron,
emplir avec siphon, et servez.
1921 Adolphe Torelli: Guide du barman. Seite 112. Univers Cocktail.
Dans shaker avec un tiers
de glace pilée, une cuillère à café de bitter Campari,
une cuillère à café de cognac, un demiverre
à madère de vermouth Martini et Rossi,
frapper et passer dans un verre à cocktail avec
zeste de citron.
1924 Carlo Beltramo: Carlo’s cocktails et boissons américaines. Seite 89. Contre la soif (lendemain de fête).
Boisson très hygiénique. Dans un grand
gobelet (tumbler): 1/4 dl. de crème de menthe
verte, Fernet Branca ou Campari et soda
bien froid. Il est recommandé de mettre tou-
jours le soda avant les liqueurs, à cause de la
mousse.
1927 Adolphe Torelli: American Drinks Dictionary. Seite 18. Americano.
Dans un verre à bordeaux, un
zeste de citron, un verre à liqueur de Bitter Cam-
pari, un verre à liqueur de Vermouth Italien, rem-
plir avec de l’eau de Seltz.
1927 Adolphe Torelli: American Drinks Dictionary. Seite 162. Torelli’s Appetizer.
Dans un grand
verre à pied, un de glace, un morceau de glace, un verre à
liqueur de Bitter Campari, un verre à madère de
Verrnouth de Turin, un zeste de citron, remplir
avec de l’eau de Seltz.
1927 Jean Lupoiu: 370 recettes de cocktails. Seite 57. John’s Cocktail, No 3.
1/3 Vermouth Cinzano, 1/3 Gin, 1/3
Whisky.
Servir avec une cerise.
(lnvenié par l’Auleur).
1927 Jean Lupoiu: 370 recetes de cocktails. Seite 177. Julio Cocktail.
3 jets Bitter Campari, 1/6 Rossi,
1/6 Vermouth Cinzano, 2/3 Gin.
(Inventé par l’Auteur, en l’honneur de
M. Haag, Directeur du journal l’Opinion).
1927 Marcel Requien & Lucien Farnoux Reynaud: L’heure du cocktail. Seite 56. Loving.
1/2 Gin, 1/2 Vermouth blanc Gancia,
deux traits Amer Campari. Frapper à la timbale.
Communiqué par Primo (Primo’s bar, Paris).
1927 Marcel Requien & Lucien Farnoux Reynaud: L’heure du cocktail. Seite 56. Mussolini.
1/2 Gin, 3/10 Vermouth italieun,
2/10 Bitter Campari. Frapper à la timbale et exprimer
un jus de citron.
Communiqué par Charlie Castelloni. (Hermitage, Paris)
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 30. Cinzano Cocktail.
2 gouttes d’Angoustura, 2 gouttes de Campari
Bitter, 1 verre de Cinzano Vermouth, Mélangez
bien et servez dans un verre à Cocktail avec
jus de pelure d’Orange.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 40. Jersey Cocktail.
Mettez deux ou trois morceaux de glace dans
un grand tumbler, 2 ou 3 gouttes de Campa-
ri Bitter. Remplissez avec du Cidre. Mélangez
doucement.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 40. Jockey Club Cocktail.
Une goutte Orange Bitter, 1 goutte de Cam-
pari Bitter, 2 gouttes crème de Noyau, une cuil-
lerée à thé de jus de citron, 2/3 de Gin, Mélan-
gez bien versez dans un verre à Cocktail, ajou-
tez une giglée de pelure de citron.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 44. Montana Cocktail.
2 gouttes d’Anisette, 3 gouttes de Campari Bit-
ters, 1/2 Vermouth Français, 1/2 Sloe Gin. Mé-
langez bien dans un verre à Cocktail, ajoutez
le jus d’un peu de pelure de citron.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 59. Yale Cocktail.
3 gouttes de Campari Bitter, une goutte d’An-
goustura Bitters, un verre de Gin. Mélungez
bien, versez dans un verre à vin de taille moyen-
ne, une flaquée de siphon, pressez un peu de
pelure de citron sur le tout.
1927 Piero Grandi: Cocktails. Seite 59. Za Za Cocktail.
2 gouttes de Campari Bitter, 1/3 de Nichol-
son Gin, 2 /3 de Cinzano Vermouth Italien. Mé-
langez bien, versez dans un verre à Cocktail,
servez avec un cherry.
explicit capitulum
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