Best Bourbon for a Boulevardier

Updated July 2026.

The IBA Boulevardier is 45 ml bourbon or rye, 30 ml Campari, and 30 ml sweet red vermouth, stirred. The 45 ml of 40% whiskey is one NIAAA standard drink. Campari is commonly 24% and sweet vermouth about 16–18% — read those bottles — so the glass is more than one drink. 90–100 proof still tastes like whiskey after Campari. This is not a 2022 top-13 tasting.

IBA allows rye. Wheat bourbon is softer. Related: Old Fashioned, rye vs bourbon.

What the mixing glass actually needs

Job Typical bottles Why
IBA 45 ml 90–100 Woodford 90.4, WT 101, Buffalo Trace 90, Rittenhouse rye Holds Campari; IBA allows rye
Wheat / softer Maker’s Mark 90 Wheat in the flavoring-grain slot
Budget Evan Williams Bonded, Beam Bonded 100 proof. Cheap bourbon

Four IBA Boulevardiers are four drinks from the whiskey plus the Campari/vermouth. NIAAA binge pattern is a health line, not a target. No 2026 MSRP. Pour math: whiskey drinks.

Sources

  • IBA Boulevardier: 45 ml bourbon or rye, 30 ml Campari, 30 ml sweet red vermouth; stir; orange zest.
  • Campari commonly 24%; vermouth ~16–18%. TTB 27 CFR 5.143.
  • NIAAA (December 2025). No invented ranking.

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