CLASSIC COCKTAIL · 2000–present
Left Hand
Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth with mole bitters: the Boulevardier’s moodier sibling.
2007Modern classicResearched
Sam Ross built the Left Hand at Milk & Honey in 2007 by taking the Boulevardier and adding mole bitters, which push the drink toward cocoa and chilli and away from simple bitterness. It is one of the drinks that made Campari a standard ingredient in American whiskey cocktails rather than an Italian one, and it sits beside the Right Hand — Michael McIlroy’s rum version — as a pair of Negroni riffs from the same bar in the same year.
- Mole and chocolate bitters became back-bar staples partly because of this drink.
- Right Hand (aged rum)
- Boulevardier (no bitters)
- Left Hand with a cherry garnish
“The name has no documented explanation; the usual reading is that it is simply the counterpart to the Right Hand.”
THE RECIPEBitter, chocolatey and rich
Ingredients
- Bourbon45 ml
- Campari20 ml
- Sweet vermouth20 ml
- Mole bitters2 dashes
- Maraschino cherryto garnish
Method
Stir with ice until cold, strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a cherry.
Coupe · no ice · cherry