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Old Pal

Aperitivo/aperitif · Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) · Contemporary classic

4.0 155 ratings

Ingredients

1 oz Rye whiskey 50% abv
1 oz Red bitter liqueur
1/2 oz Dry vermouth
1/2 oz Bianco/blanco vermouth

How to make

Serve in a old-fashioned glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of orange slice wheel.

Method

  1. 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. 5 Garnish with orange slice.

Flavour profile

50.0% alc./vol. · 1.6 standard drinks · 178 calories

History

Classically an equal parts three-ingredient cocktail with rye, bitter liqueur and dry vermouth, producing an overly dry, bittersweet spirituous cocktail. The Old Pal is preferred with an even split of dry and bianco vermouths, introducing a fourth ingredient and a touch more sweetness to tame this Negroni-style sipper.

The Old Pal, a rye whiskey variation on the Boulevardier, is first documented in Harry MacElhone's 1927 book, Barflies and Cocktails. It is not listed alphabetically but appears in a section titled "Cocktails Round Town." This chapter was written by Arthur Moss, the "Around the Town" columnist for the New York Herald in Paris. Moss recounts cocktails created by or for patrons of Harry's Bar, and the drink was named and modeled after his newspaper column. Further details on Moss and his contribution can be found in the Boulevardier cocktail entry. While it is easy to mistakenly identify MacElhone as the author, it appears the Old Pal was named for William "Sparrow" Robinson, then sports editor of The New York Herald in Paris, by his associate Arthur Moss, who authored the chapter rather than the entire book.

Also known as Rye Negroni