Old Pal

Since its invention in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, the Negroni has been consumed by millions of people worldwide. Like many popular drinks, it has undergone far too many changes to count, from straightforward spirit substitutions to more complex deviations. The Boulevardier is one of the most popular variations, and it was developed in the 1920s by renowned bartender and author Harry MacElhone of Harry's New York Bar in Paris. The coveted Old Pal, a Boulevardier variant, was also invented around the same time, and in the hands of Harry MacElhone.

Harry, an Irishman by birth, who was working as a bartender in New York, fled to Europe when war broke out. He began working at the New York Bar in Paris in 1922. After a year, he took over and changed the bar's name to Harry's New York Bar. Throughout the years, MacElhone entertained several famous personalities like Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel.

Additionally, MacElhone penned two well-known cocktail books. The first, Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, was released in 1919 and underwent yearly revision for a while. In the 2011 edition of the book, the Old Pal was included, the ingredients being Canadian whisky, Campari, and dry vermouth in equal measures. The book mentions that the drink was named after William "Sparrow" Robinson, the then sports editor for The New York Herald in Paris, who was known for referring to people as "old pals," even when they were strangers.

Written by Arthur Moss, a publisher who was a friend of MacElhone, the Old Pal was mentioned in the epilogue of MacElhone’s second book, Barflies and Cocktails. Although Arthur Moss specifies Canadian Club in Barflies and Cocktails, the majority of post-Prohibition recipes substitute equal parts American rye, Campari, and dry vermouth in place of the Canadian whisky. Old Pal is a little bit drier and lighter than the Boulevardier, which incorporates bourbon and sweet vermouth, and has a nice peppery spice from the rye. It is a magical beverage that has a lemon scent and flavours of bitter orange and quinine. The dry vermouth lengthens the beverage and balances the more overpowering flavours of whiskey and Campari.