Winter cocktails are the reason why doing a dry January just isn't for me. January is a tough month, we're all coming down from holiday highs or maybe even lows, the days are still much too short, the nights are so cold and dark, my vit D deficiency is peaking, and yeah my credit card bill has probably seen better days. The January blues are a thing, did you know that the third Monday in January was officially given the gloomy title of Blue Monday?

Anyway, all that to say that I'm all about celebrating small victories and enjoying (moderately) simple pleasures. Making it through each day in January is a small victory and the Boulevardier is one of life's many simple pleasures.

This winter cocktail is pretty much as simple as it gets; three ingredients + ice. You don't even have to shake it! The Boulevardier is known as the Negoni's cousin because they're essentially the same thing, except one has gin where the other has bourbon (or rye). The Boulevadier is the kind of drink that is refreshing while also having many deep, warming tones. It's both sweet and bitter, but very balanced. I first fell in love with the Boulevardier after reading a description of it in bon appetit

"It tastes the way illustrations in a 100-year-old book look. It tastes like old leather feels or how whispered confessions of love sound. Drinking one feels like floating around in a lava lamp filled with sweet cherries, bittersweet orange peels, and dried stone fruit. But really, you should drink a Boulevardier, because it lands directly between the familiar and the exciting. Negroni season has passed. The Boulevardier is equipped with everything your winter needs."

Boulevardier

2 oz bourbon

1 oz Campari

1 oz sweet vermouth

Combine in a large mixing glass with ice. Stir the hell out if that thing for about a minute, and pour it into a tumbler with large ice cubes. The Boulevardier can also be served up, depending on preference, but you should always garnish it with a slice of lemon peel. Sometimes I get a little frisky and add a splash of luxardo maraschino liqueur.