Lion's Tail

Taste

On the nose it's warm and spiced straight away, clove and pimento from the allspice dram over a hit of lime oil from the twist. First sip leads with the bourbon, vanilla and oak, before the lime cuts in fast and the allspice dram's baking-spice sweetness rounds it out. The demerara syrup gives a deeper, almost caramel sweetness than plain sugar would, and the two dashes of Angostura tie the spice notes together rather than sitting on top. Shaken hard, it's got a light, frothy texture despite the proof behind it. Finishes long and warm, spice and oak lingering after the citrus fades. Bold and well-balanced, this one drinks stronger than a standard sour.

Origin

The Lion's Tail first appeared in print in 1937, in William J. Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book, published in London to mark King George VI's coronation. The recipe carries a simple byline: "Invented by L.A. Clarke." Beyond that name, nothing is known, not even whether Clarke worked behind a bar in London or was just passing through. Some drinks historians reckon the drink is older than its first print date and was actually born in America during Prohibition, since "twisting the lion's tail" was old slang for needling the British, an odd name for a drink invented on British soil. Whichever it is, the mystery hasn't hurt it. The drink fell out of circulation for decades until Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails brought it back into print in 2009, and it's been a favourite of anyone with allspice dram in the cabinet ever since.