Rabo de Galo Recipe

Get ready for fall with this simple Rabo de Galo recipe! It's a warming mix of cachaça, red vermouth, Cynar and lime for those chilly autumn evenings.

Prep time: 1

Mixing time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 219

Ingredients

1⅔ oz Cachaça
¾ oz red Vermouth - sweet Vermouth
⅓ oz Cynar
Ice cubes
Lime or orange twist - for garnish, optional

Equipment

Old Fashioned Glass
Measuring Jigger
Stirring Glass
Cocktail Strainer
Stirrer or Bar Spoon

Instructions

Prep Glass: Fill an Old Fashioned glass with ice cubes. Give it a stir to chill it and set it aside.
Add Cynar: Pour ⅓ oz Cynar into the mixing glass.
Add Vermouth: Measure and add ¾ oz red Vermouth.
Add Cachaça: Finally, add 1⅔ oz Cachaça to the mix.
Add Ice and Stir: Fill the mixing glass with ice. Using a bar spoon or a long stirrer, stir well (for about 15-20 seconds). Give it a taste and stir a bit more if you feel like more dilution is necessary.
Strain: Take the Old Fashioned glass and use the cocktail strainer to remove any excess water inside. Add more ice if necessary and strain the drink into the ice-filled glass.
Garnish: Garnish with a lime or orange twist (express the lime zest on top of the drink and then place it on the rim of the glass or drop it directly inside) and serve immediately.

Notes

Substitutes:

Cachaça: If you don't have cachaça, you can use white agricole rum as a substitute. It won't have the same unique flavor profile as cachaça, but it will still make a tasty cocktail.
Red Vermouth: Any kind of sweet or red vermouth can be used to make this cocktail. Feel free to experiment with different vermouths of your liking!
Cynar: You can try using another amaro (bitter liqueur) as a replacement for the Cynar. Our suggestions would be to try first with Punt e Mes, Averna or Fernet Branca.

Making a Pitcher of Rabo de Galo:

Scale: To make a pitcher that serves 8, multiply all the ingredients by 8. That would be 13 oz of cachaça, 6 oz of red vermouth and 2½ oz of Cynar.
Mix: In a large pitcher, combine the cachaça, red vermouth and Cynar. Add ice and stir well. Give it a taste and stir again if you feel like more dilution is necessary.
Serve: Strain to remove the ice, serve immediately into ice-filled Old Fashioned glasses and garnish with a lime or orange twist. If you have some leftovers, be sure to keep it in the fridge (make sure no ice cubes are left inside) in an airtight container as vermouth is prone to oxidation when kept at room temperature.

Making it Non-Alcoholic:

Cachaça Substitute: Use a non-alcoholic cachaça or white rum substitute; these are available and reasonably mimic rum's flavor.
Red Vermouth Substitute: Opt for a non-alcoholic red vermouth substitute; these are usually widely available in liquor stores.
Cynar Substitute: Opt for a non-alcoholic bitter aperitif, or simply omit the Cynar and substitute it with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters; the final drink will indeed chemically contain a drop of alcohol, but won’t make you intoxicated at all. Depending on your reason for not drinking alcohol and your degree of tolerance on the topic, this can also be a suitable option.
Proceed As Usual: Use these non-alcoholic substitutes instead of the regular ingredients, follow the original steps, and enjoy a non-alcoholic version.

However, keep in mind that, as the Rabo de Galo cocktail is solely made out of alcoholic ingredients, it can be hard to recreate its flavor using only non-alcoholic substitutes; the overall flavor and mouthfeel will probably change greatly from the original drink. In order to make the perfect mocktail version of this drink, you may have to revise the quantity of each ingredient depending on the specific substitute you decide to use.

Making it Vegan:

Good news! The Rabo de Galo is already vegan-friendly. Make sure to use vegan sugar (if you're making your simple syrup), and check that your cachaça and vermouth brands don't use animal products in their processing methods.