Le Bateleur

 

Story

Le Bateleur is the answer to the question, “What the heck am I going to do with this Strega?”  Liquore Strega (Italian for “witch’s liqueur”) is an Italian herbal amaro made from some 70 botanical ingredients, including the saffron that gives it a distinctive bright yellow color.  It tastes very much like a slightly lighter version of Yellow Chartreuse, and if used in moderation it adds a charming complexity to a cocktail.  Cocktail maven Alex Day created Le Bateleur during his time working at Death & Co. in New York.  Le Bateleur is the French name of The Magician tarot card, which I suppose is appropriate for a drink made with witch’s liqueur.  It’s a wonderful gin-forward drink that artfully balances many strong flavors – herbal, bitter, and sweet.  My notes say, “This is what you use Strega for.”  Cheers!

 

Recipe

2 oz Beefeater gin
0.75 oz Punt E Mes
0.5 oz Strega
0.25 oz Cynar
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir with ice, then strain into chilled coupe.  Express orange twist and garnish. 

Boulevardier

 

Story

In the 1920’s, a group of wealthy Americans living in Paris would frequent the boulevards between the social hotspots at night.  They called themselves “Boulevardiers”, which became the title of a literary magazine that several of them published in Paris from 1927 to 1932.  Harry McElhone, owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, created this drink for one of the Boulevardiers.  The recipe first appeared in Harry’s 1927 book, Barflies and Cocktails.  The Boulevardier is very similar to a Negroni, but with bourbon or rye in place of the gin.  Harry’s original recipe was 1:1:1, equal parts bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth.  Later versions bumped up the bourbon ratio to 3:2:2, and today a lot of sources have increased the bourbon again to a 2:1:1 ratio, which is what I prefer.  At that higher ratio, the bourbon can balance out the other two strong flavors in the glass.  The gin-based Negroni is fantastic and crisp, but I think the Boulevardier stands right alongside it. Cheers from the roaring 20’s!

Recipe

1.5 oz bourbon
0.75 Campari
0.75 oz carpano antica sweet vermouth
Orange twist
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled rocks glass over ice. Express and garnish.