By Paul Nelson –

Legend has it that the Negroni came to be nearly a century ago when the Italian Count Camillo Negroni asked a bartender in Florence to make his favorite cocktail, the Americano, stronger. The bartender substituted gin for the traditional soda water, resulting in the Negroni. Whether or not you believe this particular story isn’t terribly important, but it’s another example of the fascinating and by and large thoroughly unsubstantiated world of cocktail lore. It’s also an example of a classic cocktail that makes gin somewhat palatable!

I found an alternative version of it that uses bourbon instead of gin and decided to try them side by side. The results were considerably more favorable than the ill-fated mezcal Negroni that I tried about a year ago! Not every alternative/substitution is a good one, so props to that alleged Italian bartender!

Negroni

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz gin (I use Bombay Sapphire)
• 1 oz sweet vermouth (I use Noilly Prat currently)

Shake the ingredients together well and pour over ice. You can garnish with a twist of orange peel for a little additional class.

Boulevardier

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz bourbon (Woodinville Bourbon – a delicious gift from our friend!)
• 1 oz sweet vermouth (again, Noilly Prat)

Shake the ingredients together well and pour over ice. You can garnish with a twist of orange peel for a little additional class.

The flavors are very well balanced in each, with an initial sweet taste finishing with slightly bitter and citrus tones. I prefer the bourbon version to the gin, but I even found the gin version to be palatable, pretty impressive given my general avoidance of gin! Enjoy!