Negroni & AperitivoFall

Old Pal

Credited to William "Sparrow" Robertson, Paris, by 1922

The Old Pal is rye, Campari and dry vermouth in equal parts, stirred and served up. Dry vermouth makes it sharper and leaner than a Boulevardier, with rye spice and Campari's bitterness front and center. A crisp drink for cool October evenings.

  • GlassCoupe
  • MethodStirred
  • Ingredients3
Old Pal

Ingredients

Making a batch?
Servings
Orange peelGarnish
Total volume—

Directions

  1. Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
  2. Strain into a chilled coupe.

ToolsJiggerMixing glassBar spoonJulep strainerCoupe glass

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History

Harry MacElhone's 1922 ABC of Mixing Cocktails credits the Old Pal to William "Sparrow" Robertson, a sports editor for the New York Herald's Paris edition and a regular at Harry's New York Bar. It is a close cousin of the Boulevardier, which MacElhone published five years later, but dry vermouth gives it a leaner, more bracing profile. Rye has become the standard base in modern bars.

Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
Quick sizes
How are you making it? ⓘ Batching includes dilution water. Pre-batched cocktails need added water to replace the melt from stirring or shaking. We use Jeffrey Morgenthaler's standard: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken.

What you'll need to buy

Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.

Bottle math, generally

750ml bottle25.4 oz
2 oz pours per bottle12 cocktails
1.5 oz pours per bottle16 cocktails
1 oz =29.6 ml
This recipe per 750ml of spirit—

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