Name: Perfect Pal
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 30 ml Orange-red aperitivo; 15 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 15 ml Dry vermouth; 2 dash Orange bitters

Perfect Pal
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Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar Plain Retro Coupette 15cl

Ingredients:
1 oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
1 oz	Bittersweet orange-red aperitivo
¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth chilled
¹⁄₂ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth chilled
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of quarter orange slice wheel.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Garnish with quarter orange wheel on rim.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino), Dry vermouth - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A riff on the classic Old Pal, made lighter and more approachable by red aperitivo liqueur replacing red bitter liqueur. Don't skip the spray of orange oil from the garnish, as this helps pull the cocktail into perfect balance.

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History:

Created circa 2010 by Evan Harrison at The Independent Bar & Restaurant in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Nutrition:

One serving of Perfect Pal contains 178 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
20.51% alc./vol. (41.02° proof)
18.6 grams of pure alcohol

More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails
More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Tuber Magnatum

15th January at 23:58

I struggled a bit with the first few sips trying to decide too sweet, not enough bitterness, etc. Rereading Difford's description and recipe thinking about how I might modify, I realized I had forgotten to express oils from an orange garnish. Doing so for the rest of the drink was a revelation. This drink requires this and definitely elevates it. Having said that, I'm not sure I will add it to my "Favourite Collection" until I contrast this with the more bitter Old Pal version.

Marek Vranka

3rd January at 23:28

made it with bourbon, thus even sweeter than it should be, but I liked it regardless...

Loïc Pierre

15th December 2025 at 19:52

Found jt great, but too sweet. Next time I'll try with campari instead of aperol. And maybe less sweet (rosso) vermouth and more dry vermouth.

Chris Dimal

15th December 2025 at 06:22

Great drink. It felt like a Manhattan's regality and seriousness combined with the sprightly nature of a Negroni. I will say I used Select Aperitivo instead of Aperol, which made it even more suited as a digestif/nightcap.