Bar Necessities
The catalog
Contemporary Classics IBA Official IBA

Cardinale

Drier, dustier Negroni

Glass Cocktail glass
Method Stirred
Garnish Lemon Twist

A crisp gin-and-dry-vermouth foundation gains a rosy Campari blush. Think Martini meets Negroni, leaning elegant rather than bold.

Ingredients

Method

Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Created by Giovanni Raimondo at Rome's Excelsior Hotel bar in 1950 during Pope Pius XII's Jubilee year, named for New York Cardinal Spellman. Original recipe: three parts gin, two parts Riesling, one part Campari. Dry vermouth later replaced the Riesling. Earlier variants appeared in Piero Grandi's 1926 *Cocktails* (as "Campari Cardinal" with sweet vermouth) and Amedeo Gandiglio's 1947 *Cocktails Portfolio* (with dry vermouth). IBA Contemporary Classics list (2024). Per Difford's Guide #572.

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