Traditionally, a 'boulevardier' is a sophisticated man who enjoys refined cocktails and frequents fashionable establishments, just like those found along certain Parisian boulevards.
It is therefore clear from the name how this cocktail is known as the 'elegant' alternative to the Negroni, differing from its Italian cousin by only one ingredient: bourbon whiskey instead of gin.

The Boulevardier cocktail is officially mentioned in the 1927 book 'Barflies and Cocktails', written by legendary bartender Harry MacElhone. Of Scottish descent, who emigrated to the USA and then returned to old Europe because of Prohibition, MacElhone was the soul of the famous Harry's New York Bar in Paris, one of the best cocktail venues and a meeting place for many emigrants from the USA. Here, according to MacElhone, it was the writer and journalist Erskine Gwynne, a regular at the bar and founder of The Boulevardier magazine, who invented the eponymous cocktail.