Spirit-Forward · Aperitivo · Autumn

Cardinale

A Negroni built dry: gin, dry vermouth, and only a whisper of Campari. Crisp, barely bitter, and made for before dinner.

Base: Gin
Glass: Coupe glass
Method: Stir
Strength: 22.1% ABV

Ingredients

40 mlGin1 swap
Any London dry ginhigh
Depends on the brand’s botanicals
20 mlDry Vermouth1 swap
Any dry vermouthhigh
Brand-dependent
10 mlBitter Campari1 swap
Any red bitter aperitivomedium
Bitterness/sweetness varies

How to make

Technique

Stir · 20–30s

Stirring chills and dilutes gently while keeping the drink silky and clear.

Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes.
Stir well.
Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Serve

Glass

Coupe glassAlso fine: Martini glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

Garnish with a lemon zest.Express the oil over the surface, then drop the peel in.

Taste & nutrition

22.1%ABV

172kcal

1.53Drinks

StrengthMedium

Sweet to dryBalanced

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Stir, never shake — it stays clear and silky.

History

Year1950s

PlaceRome, Italy

Created byAttributed to Hotel Excelsior

A drier, Negroni-adjacent Italian drink, the Cardinale combines gin, dry vermouth and Campari. Evidence points to Rome's Excelsior Hotel in the 1950s, created during the 1950 Jubilee and named for New York's Cardinal Spellman — its bitter-red hue a fitting nod. The original recipe leaned on Riesling wine before settling into a vermouth build. In 2024 it was named an official classic.

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