Cardinale
3.5 129 ratings
Ingredients
How to make
Serve in a old-fashioned glass
Method
- 1 Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
- 2 Prepare garnish of orange slice wheel or wedge.
- 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
- 4 STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
Flavour profile
22.1% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks · 172 calories
History
The Cardinale, originally made with Riesling Rhine wine, is a Negroni using dry vermouth for a lighter cocktail. However, this cocktail shines when made with Riesling.
Although some attribute the creation of this cocktail to Harry's Bar in Venice, evidence and accounts gathered by Luca Di Francia, Head Bartender at the Orum Bar at Westin Excelsior in Rome, indicate that this Negroni-like Italian cocktail was invented in the 1950s by one of his predecessors, Giovanni Raimondo, at the bar of The Excelsior Hotel during Pope Pius XII's holy Jubilee year of 1950. This cocktail, appropriately cardinal red, is named in honor of New York Cardinal Spellman and is still served at the bar today, although their XO cognac-based and cask-aged Carinale Reserve is considered superior. The original recipe consisted of three parts dry gin, two parts Riesling wine, and one part Campari Bitter Liqueur. In 2024, the International Bartenders Association recognized the Cardinale as one of its official cocktails with an updated recipe: 40ml dry gin, 20ml dry vermouth, and 10ml Campari Bitter Liqueur, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled glass (without ice).
Created by Giovanni Raimondo