Horse’s Neck

A cooler cocktail named for its unusually long, curly garnish.

The Horse’s Neck falls within the “cooler” category, a style of long drink that accomplishes exactly what it advertises. The drink—which gets its name from its long, loopy lemon twist garnish that curls along inside of the glass—is one of several classic drinks that devolved into a mocktail around Prohibition. Before its demise, it had been an early 20th-century staple cocktail of the Atlantic City bar scene and sometime in the years following repeal, the formula found its way back to cocktail status with a sweet and spicy mix of bourbon, bitters and ginger.

Photo originally published in Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons, copyright © 2011. Photo by Ed Anderson © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 2 ounces bourbon
  • 2 ounces bourbon
  • 3 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 3 dashes Angostura bitters
  • ginger ale or soda
  • ginger ale or soda

Garnish: long, loopy lemon peel

Directions
  1. Using a channel knife, peel a lemon in one long spiral. Twist around your finger or a barspoon to create a coil.
  2. Drop the lemon coil into a highball or Collins glass leaving the end hanging over the lip and fill with ice.
  3. Add bourbon and bitters. Top up with ginger ale or soda.