Lion's Tail (The Dead Rabbit)

2 oz Bourbon, Old Forester
3⁄4 oz Crème de Cacao (Blanc)
1⁄4 oz Crème de Poire
1⁄4 oz Allspice Dram
1 oz Lemon juice
3⁄4 oz Orange juice
3 ds Bitters, Dr Adam Elmegirab's Orinoco Bitters
1 pn Nutmeg
Instructions

Shake all ingredients (except nutmeg garnish), strain into a punch glass with a large chunk of ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Jack McGarry, The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, New York, NY
Year
2013
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

"The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog Drinks Manual," Sean Muldoon, Jack McGarry & Ben Schaffer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
Not yet rated
YieldsDrink
Cocktail Book
Log in or sign up to start building your Cocktail Book.
Similar cocktails
  • Eazy Tiger — Bourbon, Curaçao, Maraschino Liqueur, Bitters, Lemon juice, Orgeat
  • Lonesome Dove — Bourbon, Allspice Dram, Lemon juice, Honey syrup, Blackberry
  • Derby — Bourbon, Sweet vermouth, Curaçao, Lime juice, Mint, Lime
  • Cotillion — Bourbon, Trinidad rum, Curaçao, Lemon juice, Orange juice, Orange peel
  • Plantation Fever — Nicaraguan Rum, Chocolate spirit, Lime juice, Simple syrup
  • Georgia-Kentucky Squirrel — Bourbon, Crème de Noyaux, Peach bitters, Lemon juice
  • Jockey Full of Bourbon — Bourbon, Amaretto, Bitters, Lemon juice
  • Piedmont Sour — Bourbon, Chinato, Lemon juice, Orange juice, Orgeat
  • Whoa, Nellie! — Rye, Dark rum, Orange liqueur, Grapefruit juice, Lemon juice, Simple syrup
  • Carnival — Rye, Grapefruit liqueur, Aperol, Herbal liqueur, Bitters, Lemon juice, Tea syrup
Comments

This is a pretty...... dramatic departure from the original. Thanks,  Zachary

yarm commented on 1/22/2021:

I've seen recipes with rather minor changes rename it. This is not recognizable as a Lion's Tail akin to calling a Zombie a Daiquiri.

If it weren't from Jack McGarry, I probably wouldn't have published it as it's a problematic name. But it's not like I can ask him to change the name for us... Thanks,  Zachary

In fairness, they did make significant changes with quite a few other classics in the book, but this is definitely one of the most far afield (which is the primary reason I posted it).  That and the Lion's Tail is one of my favorite winter sours--aside from the use of allspice dram, it's one of the few drinks I regularly make that pairs whiskey with lime (not really making a lot of Bourbon Rickeys in recent memory, or ever really).  Which, given that the second recipe included lime, makes me wonder if the use of lemon might have been a misprint in the book.

I personally prefer the original to either of these, they just seem needlessly overworked without any substantial improvement (and I'm not a big fan of orange juice in cocktails).  I suppose if you like the whiskey or allspice flavors more muted, either of these might be more to someone's liking as they are significantly lengthened compared to the original (and continue The Dead Rabbits tradition of obscenely large drinks).