Name: Cardinale
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Gin; 30 ml Red bitter liqueur; 30 ml Dry vermouth

Cardinale
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Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 oz	Strucchi Red Bitter (Campari-style liqueur)
1 oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of orange slice wheel or wedge.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

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:

Originally made with Riesling Rhine wine, the Cardinale has become a Negroni made with dry vermouth, producing a lighter cocktail than when made with the more usual sweet vermouth. However, this cocktail really shines when made with Riesling wine as per the original recipe.

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Variant:

Negroni

History:

Although some have attributed the origin of this cocktail to Harry's Bar in Venice, evidence and testimonies collated by Luca Di Francia, Head Bartender at the Orum Bar at Westin Excelsior in Rome, suggest this Negroni-like Italian cocktail was created, at what was then the bar of The Excelsior Hotel, in the 1950s by one of his predecessors, Giovanni Raimondo during Pope Pius XII's holy Jubilee year of 1950. Named in honour of New York Cardinal Spellman, this appropriately cardinal red cocktail is still served at the bar today, but the XO cognac-based and cask-aged Carinale Reserve they also offer is rather better.

The original recipe comprised three parts dry gin, two parts Riesling wine, and one part Campari Bitter Liqueur. In 2024, the International Bartenders Association adopted the Cardinale as one of its official cocktails with an updated recipe: 40ml dry gin, 20ml dry vermouth and 10ml Campari Bitter Liqueur, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled glass (without ice).

Nutrition:

One serving of Cardinale contains 172 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
22.1% alc./vol. (22.1° proof)
19.9 grams of pure alcohol

More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails
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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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Showing 6 comments for Cardinale.
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Mario Bruno

24th May 2024 at 11:58

This is not a Cardinale, neither the original one, -3/6 Gin, 1/6 Campari Bitter and 2/6 Riesling-, neither the newly rewied one and stated by IBA:
4 cL Gin
2 cL Vermouth dry
1 cL Campari Bitter
Mixing glass and served without ice.

Simon Difford

24th May 2024 at 12:47

Thanks, I've added the recipes you shared above.

Cardinal Zin

27th November 2022 at 17:57

In case anyone was wondering. In the original recipe the Riesling replaces the vermouth, and the proportions served in Rome in the 1950s was: 3 parts dry gin, 2 parts Mosel Riesling, 1 part Campari. Doing a bit of research on Mosel wine production in the 1950s, it is very likely the wine was dry. With the technology available at the time, most wines would end up dry by default, as the sugars would continue the fermentation process until there was no or very little sugar left.

Kjell Eriksson

18th January 2022 at 22:17

This is indeed an attractive alternative to the traditional Negroni, one of my very favourite nightcaps. I must try the German Riesling variant, but given the wide range of sweetness in Rriesling wines, from very dry to quite sweet, almost dessert-like, I wonder: what kind of Riesling was intended in the original recipe? Trocken oder süß?

Hunter Newsome

4th July 2022 at 20:18

I imagine both could work depending on your taste. But I made it with a dry Riesling and I liked it a lot more than with dry vermouth. The tart tree fruit and mineral notes of the wine really cut through the Campari and make the drink more refreshing to my taste than with dry vermouth.

John Hinojos

4th January 2022 at 01:19

This was a perfect aperitif. Yes, it a rift on the negroni, and it is very pleasant to drink. Slight bitter on the aftertaste.

Ufuk Yagci

30th January 2021 at 20:21

Very strong ?

John Smith

12th November 2020 at 23:44

Like a dry Negroni, although less fruit or spice (depending on which sweet vermouth is used in the Negroni).

Mario Bruno

27th May 2024 at 17:35

The kind or brand of vermouth can modify the final taste of the Negroni. If you've the chance to make it with a Spanish white vermouth called Pando, made with Palomino -the same used for Fino and Manzanilla-. It comes out pretty dry. A nice way to have a Negroni everyday to keep the Doc away, but with different taste.

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