Cocktails
Halloween Blood Moon Rye Boulevardier
This Blood Moon Rye Boulevardier gets its red-orange color from Campari. Rye brings spice, sweet vermouth rounds out the bitter aperitif, and an orange-peel crescent supplies the Halloween finish. It is a spirit-forward cocktail for people who enjoy bittersweet drinks.
Recipe reviewed 11 Oct 2026. How we test recipes.
Have ingredients already? Find cocktails you can make with My Bar.
WHAT YOU NEED
Ingredients
METHOD
How to make it
- Fill a coupe glass with ice and cold water to chill it while you prepare the cocktail.
- Wash and dry an orange. Use a vegetable peeler to remove one wide strip of peel per serving, avoiding thick white pith. On a cutting board, trim it into a small crescent with a knife; keep the knife away from your hands.
- Measure the rye whiskey using the ingredient list above and pour it into a mixing glass or sturdy jug.
- Measure the Campari and sweet vermouth, add both to the mixing glass, then fill it about two-thirds full with ice.
- Stir with a long spoon for 25 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the mixing glass feels cold. Keep the spoon moving around the ice without splashing.
- Empty the ice water from the coupe. Hold a cocktail strainer over the mixing glass and pour the chilled cocktail into the coupe, leaving the mixing ice behind.
- Pinch the orange crescent over the drink, orange side facing the surface, to release a little peel oil. Place it gently on the surface or against the inside of the glass; it may float or settle.
- Serve immediately without ice in the coupe. Lift out the peel before sipping. For several servings, divide the strained cocktail evenly among the chilled glasses.
TASTED THIS RECIPE?
Rate this drink
Something wrong or not matching?
Choose the bottles and chill the glass
Use sweet vermouth, not dry vermouth. Keep an opened bottle refrigerated and follow its storage guidance; stale vermouth can flatten the drink. A 40% rye gives the strength used in the estimate. Higher-proof rye or a different regional Campari bottling changes the ABV.
The 1 1/2:1:1 ratio gives rye a little more room than an equal-parts Boulevardier. Campari is noticeably bitter, so taste the cocktail before deciding whether that balance suits you. For a gentler next glass, stir longer or serve over fresh ice in a rocks glass; that changes dilution. Do not add juice just to hide the bitterness.
A coupe holds the crescent garnish without needing a pick. Use a small thin piece of peel, not a thick wedge; it may settle rather than float. For a group, chill the glasses first and stir the scaled batch in a larger mixing jug, then divide evenly.
Compare the Headless Horseman Cognac Old Fashioned for another stirred Halloween drink. Pair the adult cocktail with the children’s Mango Coconut Mummy Smoothie, and keep the serving trays separate. Explore the Halloween drinks collection.
Choose rye whiskey at 40% ABV, Campari at 25% and sweet vermouth at 16% for the stated strength estimate. Bottle strengths vary. Calories exclude the orange-peel garnish and discarded mixing ice. Estimated ABV includes the site's standard 20% stirred-ice dilution.
Reader comments
Loading comments…