Name: Lion's Tail
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Bourbon whiskey; 10 ml Pimento dram; 15 ml Lime juice; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 1 dash Aromatic bitters

Lion's Tail
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Bourbon whiskey
¹⁄₃ oz	St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lime zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into chilled glass.
Express lime zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A heavily allspice dram liqueur influenced, Daiquiri-like, bourbon-based cocktail.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Tarling's Red Lion

History:

Adapted from a recipe that first appeared in William James "Billy" Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book, published in London in 1937. However, the drinks creator is likely to have been an American bartender driven to London by Prohibition. "Twisting the lion's tail" was an American slang expression for provoking the British which emerged during the period of American Anglophobia between the World Wars.

LION'S TAIL
Invented by L. A. Clarke
2/3 Seagram's Bourbon Whisky.
1/6 Pimento Liqueur.
1/6 fresh Lime Juice.
Teaspoonful Gomme Syrup.
Dash Angostura Bitters.
Shake.
William James Tarling, 1937

Nutrition:

One serving of Lion's Tail contains 206 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
23.93% alc./vol. (23.93° proof)
21.6 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Chris Brislawn

2nd May at 03:23

Here's a vote for garnishing with a dusting of nutmeg in addition to a lime twist. I also added a good dash of homemade unsweetened pimento dram to reinforce the St. Elizabeth's. A nice use of allspice dram in a bourbon drink.

Mike Beatty

29th October 2024 at 04:08

Mustache Ride (from Amaro) reduce bourbon to 1.5 and add 0.5 of Cynar; flop lime for lemon.

Calvin Grant

4th June 2024 at 01:12

It's so...all spicey! With a lot of other good flavours. Made it with a bottled in bond strength bourbon. Not too sweet. Improves as it airs and warms. As per previous posts must try musgovado syrup and nutmeg garnish. It got a heart.

Peter McCarthy

1st June 2024 at 19:13

I liked this a lot. The bourbon + lime + spices works well. Especially great option for a winter evening.

Erik Lindgren

9th March 2024 at 20:38

I’ve tried this with a quite potent homemade dram (plantation 3 and o.f.t.d.). The first time I made it I used Buffalo Trace and simple syrup and I found that the spices dominated the cocktail completely. Now I have started using a more potent bourbon in Makers Mark and a muscovado syrup. It takes the cocktail to a very different place, but I find that it benefits from the dark molasses notes. Quite tasty.

Lars Jacobsen

2nd February 2024 at 17:22

Made this using homemade allspice dram. The allspice dram nicely complements the whiskey without taking over and the lime juice balances the drink nicely. Not too sweet, but still nicely balanced. A nice fresh cocktail with a hint of christmasy spice.

Jake Kildoo

4th January 2024 at 01:55

I've tried this several times because I love all the component ingredients -- but I've been having trouble finding a proper balance. Some recipes are a bit too tart, while others feature the allspice dram too much. I finally managed to work up a good spec by making two major changes: 1) I only used 1/4 oz lime, and 2) I strained over a large rock instead of serving up. A nutmeg garnish also goes a long way. This recipe helped a lot on my journey to a desired spec.

John Hinojos

10th May 2022 at 00:44

Brillant whiskey-based daiquiri. Wonderful lime and spice flavour. Was perfect before dinner. Nice with a strong cheese and vegetables.

Glen Urquhart

18th April 2022 at 08:29

Nice
As with a daiquiri - lime forward
but with Pimento Dram also making itself known - big pleasant addition reminiscent of Christmas

Miguel Perales

5th March 2022 at 21:48

Tried this today but I had to use a "home-made" Allspice dram recipe (using 151 rum) since I could not find the St Elizabeth . As was stated, this has a heavy Allspice dram influence, which makes this a perfect "winter"/ Holiday cocktail. A very dry drink and I added a rock to the glass to mellow it out just a touch.