Old Gal

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (157 ratings)

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 oz Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
1 oz Strucchi Red Bitter (Campari-style liqueur)
1 oz Strucchi Bianco Vermouth
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
  5. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

This Negroni-style cocktail is a riff on the Old Pal with bianco vermouth, which has a more mellowing effect on the whiskey than the dry vermouth traditionally used in the Old Pal.

View readers' comments

Variant:

With 45ml (1.5oz) bottled-in-bond straight rye whiskey

History:

Adapted from a recipe created by Phil Ward at Long Island Bar, Brooklyn, New York City, USA.

Nutrition:

One serving of Old Gal contains 182 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 23.91% alc./vol. (23.91° proof)
  • 21.5 grams of pure alcohol

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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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
30th April at 13:45
Noticeable how the equal parts version brought out more of the non-rye components of Rittenhouse, much more ‘corny’ and oaked, 45ml rye displayed more the typical rye spice - and disappeared very quickly indeed! 5 stars.
Frederic D.’s Avatar Frederic D.
10th April at 01:23
Very good drink. I am not typically a fan of dry vermouth, so this is a variation I can really get behind. The bianco smoothes out the Campari and rye (I used Rittenhouse), and contributes botanicals that show up on the swallow. A very pleasant experience.
Guilherme Dias’ Avatar Guilherme Dias
2nd January at 17:34
Made this with Sauternes instead of Bianco Vermouth and served it up. Delightful!
mregisterfl’s Avatar mregisterfl
26th October 2024 at 04:26
Excellent sipper, perfectly in balance. The Bianco adds nice sweetness while leaving the Campari to peek through. Rittenhouse, Campari, Carpano Bianco.
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
12th October 2024 at 12:58
My old gal loved the variant with the additional rye. Who am I to argue? Great cocktail.
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
30th April at 13:41
Agreed! I made equal parts whilst thinking I should perhaps up the spirit, then noticed the ‘variant’ halfway through my first sip! Decision made itself.
Stephen Broughall’s Avatar Stephen Broughall
7th April 2024 at 00:08
Used bourbon for rye. Also lends itself well as a longish drink with a splash of club soda.
Johan Alexandersson’s Avatar Johan Alexandersson
15th October 2023 at 17:31
I thought the Campari dominated a bit, so halved it and took equal amounts of Montenegro. It was awesome!!
30 ml rye
30 ml mancino bianco
15 ml Campari
15 ml Amaro Montenegro
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
19th September 2022 at 00:27
Very simple cocktail. Key is using very good quality. With few flavours, one mediocre ingredient can kill the balance in this cocktail. Found it enjoyable and a perfect aperitif.
Jeremy Harrold’s Avatar Jeremy Harrold
24th March 2022 at 07:28
The Campari and Vermouth play off each other to create a varied botanical complexity. I thought the Rye got lost and added the extra 15ml as suggested as a variant.
Luca Viviani’s Avatar Luca Viviani
18th November 2020 at 17:39
I must confess I used a cheap and ordinary 40% vol. rye whiskey. Sweeter and way more palatable than I expected. A wonderful cocktail! Probably the best use I've made so far of bianco vermouth.