Build a Boulevardier with rye whisky for more bite, then serve it under a glass cloche filled with applewood smoke.

Why you are pouring this tonight

The Smoked Rye Boulevardier is the Boulevardier with a glass cloche of applewood smoke wafted over it for thirty seconds before serving. Rye, Campari, sweet vermouth, smoke. The drink for somebody who has decided regular Boulevardiers are insufficiently theatrical and that the bar should look like a 1920s speakeasy.

The smoking gun is the only piece of kit you need. Polyscience or Breville sell them, around 200 dollars. Build the Boulevardier normally over a single big rock (Bulleit Rye, Campari, Carpano Antica). Drape a glass cloche over the top. Smoke for thirty seconds with applewood or hickory chips. Lift the cloche at the table just before drinking. Express the orange peel after the smoke, not before. Pair with smoked brisket, charred steak, anything that has spent time on coals.

What changes from the Boulevardier

Bourbon becomes rye. Drink is smoked under a cloche before serving.

What to pour it alongside

Smoked meats, aged cheese, anywhere whisky earns its keep.

The recipe