LIONS TAIL
The Lion's Tail: Bourbon Gets Spicy
The Lion's Tail first appeared in print in William J. Tarling's "Café Royal Cocktail Book" in 1937, where it was credited to someone named L.A. Clarke. Who Clarke was remains a mystery, though many believe an American bartender living in London during Prohibition created it. The name comes from the phrase "twisting the lion's tail" - American slang for provoking the British, whose royal coat of arms features a lion.
The drink uses bourbon and lime together, which is unusual since bourbon typically pairs with lemon. Even stranger is pairing bourbon with allspice dram, a Jamaican liqueur usually reserved for rum drinks. But these counterintuitive choices work surprisingly well.
The recipe calls for two ounces bourbon, half an ounce allspice dram, half an ounce fresh lime juice, half an ounce simple syrup, and two dashes Angostura bitters. Some versions call for up to four dashes of bitters.
Allspice dram is crucial here. It's a rum-based liqueur flavored with allspice berries, giving notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. The ingredient disappeared from U.S. markets in the 1980s until St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram became available in 2008. Ted Haigh's updated "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails" came out in 2009, bringing the Lion's Tail back into circulation. Once bartenders had access to both the ingredient and the recipe, the drink started appearing everywhere.
Any mid-shelf bourbon works - Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Maker's Mark. Fresh lime juice is mandatory since lime is a major component. The allspice dram adds warming spice that complements bourbon's vanilla and caramel notes, while lime brightens everything up.
Making it is straightforward. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake hard for twenty seconds until cold, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with an orange or lemon twist.
What makes this drink special is how well those seemingly odd pairings work together. The bourbon's warmth, allspice's spice, lime's brightness, and bitters' complexity create something far more interesting than you'd expect. It's bold and aromatic without being overwhelming.
The Lion's Tail works perfectly for fall when those warming spices feel right, though it's good year-round. It's one of those drinks that impresses people who haven't heard of it, which is most people since it's still relatively obscure despite the craft cocktail revival.
The drink proves that sometimes the best cocktails come from breaking the rules about which ingredients should go together.
RECIPE:
2 oz bourbon
½ oz lime juice
½ oz allspice dram
1 tsp simple syrup
Dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
Method:
Shake all ingredients with ice.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Optional: express a lime twist for aroma.