Horse's Neck Cocktail Recipe
Brandy and ginger ale over ice, with one unbroken lemon peel hung over the rim — the horse's neck.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 9%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Brandy40 ml (1.4 oz)
- Ginger ale120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Hang a long lemon peel spiral over the rim of a highball glass.
- Fill the glass with ice cubes.
- Add the brandy and bitters, then top with ginger ale.
- Stir gently.
Garnish
One long unbroken lemon peel
What it tastes like
It smells of lemon and lime peel, it is carbonated and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Brandy
- The general name for fruit-distilled spirits; in cocktails it usually means grape brandy. It stands in for cognac, and cognac stands in for it.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
Started life in the 1890s as a temperance drink — just ginger ale and the peel. The brandy arrived later and the name stayed.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Horse's Neck mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Horse's Neck?
- Roughly 9% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Horse's Neck be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Horse's Neck hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.