The non-alcoholic Boulevardier

The Boulevardier is a Negroni made with bourbon (or rye) instead of gin: whiskey, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and served either on the rocks or straight up. It first appeared in print in 1927, in Harry MacElhone's book Barflies and Cocktails, from Harry's New York Bar in Paris. MacElhone credited it to Erskine Gwynne, an American writer in Paris whose magazine was called Boulevardier.

The original recipe was equal parts. Most bartenders now use more whiskey, around one and a half parts whiskey to one part each of Campari and vermouth, so the whiskey leads.

Richer, rounder and warmer than a Negroni. You still get the bitter orange of the Campari and the spice and cherry of the vermouth, but the bourbon swaps the Negroni's sharp juniper for vanilla, caramel and oak. It's less bracing and more like a bittersweet, grown-up Manhattan. It's often described as the Negroni for winter.

A Boulevardier is a triangle, like a Negroni, but the whiskey is the biggest side:

• The whiskey brings body, warmth, sweetness and oak. It's the base of the drink.
• The bitter (Campari) cuts through that richness with bitter orange and gentian.
• The sweet vermouth adds spice, cherry and a little more sweetness, and ties the two together.

A non-alcoholic Boulevardier has to rebuild all of that without the alcohol that normally holds it together. In practice:

• Pick a whiskey with weight. Look for oak, caramel and some heat or pepper. The light, sweet ones disappear in this drink.
• Use more of it. Go with one and a half ounces of whiskey to one each of bitter and vermouth, or more.
• Watch the sugar. Zero-proof whiskeys, bitters and vermouths all tend to run sweet. Use at least one drier bottle.
• Add body. Two dashes of saline or a tiny pinch of salt make a real difference to texture.
• Stir short and serve very cold. Over one big cube, so it doesn't turn watery.

Not in our catalogue. There's no bottled non-alcoholic Boulevardier or Boulevardier kit that we list, so you'll need to build one from three bottles. The good news is that the vermouth and bitter also make a Negroni and an Americano, so they won't go to waste.

If you have a bottle of St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, you can make a quick Boulevardier-style drink by mixing two parts Phony Negroni with one part whiskey alternative. It'll have a little juniper, which isn't traditional, but it's close.

The whiskey (the make-or-break slot)

This is the most important choice. Here's how the whiskey alternatives in our catalogue compare for a Boulevardier.

• Spiritless Kentucky 74 is real Kentucky bourbon with the alcohol taken out. It has caramel, vanilla and oak, and it tastes most like bourbon of the bottles here. It's what we use in our house Boulevardier.
• Ritual Whiskey Alternative has smoke, caramel and a peppery bite, and mixes one-for-one in recipes. The pepper stands in for alcohol's burn, which makes it one of the best at giving the drink some warmth. It's a little smoky for a classic Boulevardier, but very good.
• Lyre's American Malt has vanilla, caramel, oak and a nutty note, and is made with Old Fashioneds and Boulevardiers in mind. It's on the sweeter side, so pair it with a very bitter aperitivo.
• Monday Zero Alcohol Whiskey was made with a bourbon maker. It has caramel, molasses and roasted coffee, with a little orange and heat, and it has plenty of body. The orange note suits this drink well.
• Bare Zero Proof Bourbon Whiskey sticks close to a classic bourbon profile: oak, vanilla and caramel with a botanical edge.
• Trejos American Whiskey Alternative is rich and warming, with oak, caramel and warm spice. It's built for mixing.
• Gnista Barreled Oak doesn't try to imitate bourbon. It's warm and woody, with smoke, spice, chocolatey rye and oak. Use it for a darker, rye-style Boulevardier.
• Abstinence Cape Malt sits between bourbon and Scotch, with vanilla, toffee and a wisp of peat smoke. It makes a smoky variation.

Skip spiced whiskeys like Kentucky 74 Spiced here. The cinnamon clashes with the vermouth.

The bitter (the Campari slot)

You need a properly bitter red aperitivo to cut through the whiskey.

• Lyre's Italian Orange is the most direct Campari alternative for a Boulevardier: blood orange, rhubarb and gentian with a clean bitter finish. It's a little sweet, so pair it with a drier whiskey or vermouth.
• Ritual Aperitif Alternative is built to replace bright red bitters one-for-one. It has orange blossom, rhubarb, charred grapefruit and a spiced finish. It's made for the Boulevardier, and pairs naturally with Ritual's whiskey.
• Pathfinder Hemp & Root is the most bitter option we know: wormwood, orange, saffron and ginger. It's closer to an amaro, and it's the fix for a Boulevardier that tastes too sweet.
• Lapo's Aperitivo is a bittersweet red bitter of Italian orange and gentian with hibiscus and rhubarb root.

The sweet vermouth

Our catalogue has two non-alcoholic rosso vermouths. Either works as a non-alcoholic sweet vermouth substitute here.

• Roots Divino Rosso is properly bitter for a rosso, with cinnamon, clove and dark herbs. It's less sweet than most, which suits a Boulevardier, where the whiskey already adds sweetness.
• Lyre's Aperitif Rosso is rounder and sweeter, with cherry, clove, vanilla and bitter bark. Its cherry and vanilla sit nicely with bourbon, but pair it with Pathfinder or a drier whiskey.

Because all three slots can run sweet, balance them against each other:

• Kentucky 74 + Lyre's Italian Orange + Lyre's Aperitif Rosso. The classic, familiar version. Rich and smooth. This is our house recipe.
• Ritual Whiskey + Ritual Aperitif + Roots Divino Rosso. Peppery, smoky and less sweet. The best if you like your Boulevardier dry.
• Lyre's American Malt + Pathfinder + Lyre's Aperitif Rosso. Sweet malt balanced by very bitter amaro. Excellent served up.
• Monday Whiskey + Lyre's Italian Orange + Roots Divino Rosso. Coffee and orange notes with a dry, spiced vermouth.

Our house Boulevardier uses Kentucky 74, the bourbon with the alcohol taken out, and the Lyre's pair. It's rich, bittersweet and familiar.

For something drier, with more bite, the smoky version uses Ritual's whiskey and aperitif alternatives with Roots Divino Rosso:

And for a Boulevardier served up in a coupe, with an amaro-strength bitter:

If the drink tastes thin, add a quarter ounce more whiskey and two dashes of saline. If it tastes sweet, swap in Roots or Pathfinder.

• Negroni. The original, with gin in place of whiskey. Brighter, sharper and more bitter.
• Old Fashioned. If you like the whiskey but not the bitter, this is the one: whiskey, sugar and bitters.
• Americano. Bitter and vermouth with soda. The long, light version.
• Sbagliato. Bitter and vermouth topped with sparkling wine instead of a spirit.
• Old Pal. Swap the sweet vermouth for dry vermouth and the bourbon for rye. With Roots Divino Bianco and Gnista Barreled Oak, it's drier and sharper.

A Boulevardier is harder to find on menus than a zero-proof Negroni, but bars with a non-alcoholic whiskey on the back bar will usually make one if you ask. These are a good place to start: