The Old Pal Is the Perfect Fall Cocktail for Negroni Lovers

I’m equal parts elated and stymied over how Western Canadians have embraced the Negroni. I’m elated because in the pantheon of classics, it’s tough to get much higher than the Negroni: simple, elegant, refined. It’s everything you could ask for in a cocktail. But I admit to being (pleasantly) stymied by its popularity: the Negroni is a serious wallop of liquor with no mixers for respite and a slap of bitter—courtesy of the Campari—across the face to boot. I suppose the answer lies in the public’s increasing desire for a flavour profile that swings toward the bracing.

But summer is over, friends—and while a Negroni can sing all year long, it’s best to treat it like a linen suit or dress and save it for the warm weather. So what is the substitute drink for when it gets chilly? The obvious answer is the Boulevardier, a pure Negroni riff that sees bourbon take the place of gin and keeps pretty much everything else the same. It’s a fine drink. But if you want to skew a bit this side of obvious, can I suggest the Old Pal?

Like the Boulevardier, the Old Pal is a variation on the Negroni, but it’s one that has its own distinguished legacy. The cocktail dates back to the 1920s and appears in the books of Harry MacElhone, the legendary barkeep of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, where it’s attributed to sportswriter William “Sparrow” Robertson.

Here we see the Negroni’s gin drop out in favour of Canadian whisky, the sweet vermouth drop out in favour of dry vermouth and the Campari… well, no one touches the Campari. It makes for a fantastically interesting drink, and if polishing off a Negroni means your palate has a master’s degree in booze, well then an Old Pal is a PhD.

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A couple of notes. Don’t succumb to using bourbon over Canadian whisky. Also don’t succumb to subbing in American craft rye either. This drink was originally made with Canadian whisky in mind, and let’s keep it that way. And while the classic recipe is the simple one-third, one-third, one-third, I might suggest you tinker a bit with adding a touch more whisky to beat back the personality of the vermouth.

Old Pal Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz dry vermouth (Noilly Prat gives a Parisian nod)
• 1 oz Forty Creek Canadian whisky
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Method

Fill a large mixing glass halfway with ice. Add the Campari, dry vermouth and whisky, then stir well until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe and garnish with a lemon twist.

Tip: Prefer a more whisky-forward Old Pal? Increase the Canadian whisky slightly to balance the bitterness of the Campari and the character of the dry vermouth.

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Originally published October 2020. Updated October 2026.