A horse's neck is an American cocktail recognised by the IBA, identifiably sporting a long, curling strip of lemon rind.

Mixture

It is made with

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

(or sometimes

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

) and

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

, with a long spiral of

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

peel draped over the edge of an

old fashioned glass The old fashioned glass, otherwise known as the rocks glass and lowball glass (or simply lowball), is a short tumbler used for serving spirits, such as whisky, neat or with ice cubes ("on the rocks"). It is also normally used to serve certain ...

or a

highball glass A highball glass is a glass tumbler that can contain . It is used to serve highball cocktails and other mixed drinks. An example size is diameter by in height. A highball glass is taller than an Old Fashioned glass (lowball), and shorter and w ...

. A similar

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

drink, the rye and ginger, is made with

Canadian whisky Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles.

and

History

Dating back to the 1890s, it was a non-alcoholic mixture of ginger ale, ice and lemon peel. By the 1910s,

, or

would be added for a "horse's neck with a kick" or a "stiff horse's neck". The non-alcoholic version was still served in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the late 1950s and early 60s, but eventually it was phased out.

Cultural impact

In the 1934 film ''

The Captain Hates the Sea ''The Captain Hates the Sea'' is a 1934 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and released by Columbia Pictures. The film, which involves a ''Grand Hotel''-style series of intertwining stories involving the passengers on a cruise ship, is notab ...

'',

Alison Skipworth Alison Skipworth (born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom; 25 July 18635 July 1952) was an English stage and screen actress. Early years Skipworth was born in London. She was the daughter of Dr. Richard Ebenezer Groom and Elizabeth Rodgers, an ...

's character craves a horse's neck, when Fred Keating's character tries to stop her, she says, "...I'm a lone wolf and it's my night to howl" then tells the waiter "...be sure to add a big horse, Charley". The disgruntled bartender then takes a lemon and begins to peel it, muttering "...around, and around, and around, for that cock-eyed Horse's Neck." In the 1935

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

'', Madge (

Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick. Career Broderick began on Broadway as a chorus girl in the ''Follies of 1907'', the first ...

) tries to order a drink in Italian but gives up and says "horse's neck". In the 1935 film ''

No Limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

'', starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

as George Shuttleworth, George accidentally orders a horse's neck at the bar in the steam packet ferry en route to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. He originally tries to order a

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

but becomes confused and begins to repeat the orders of other passengers in a bid to be noticed by the barman who is studiously ignoring George at the busy bar. In the 1937 crime-adventure novel ''Challenge'' featuring gentleman adventurer Bull-Dog Drummond, Drummond's friend Algy Longworth suffering from a hangover requests a breakfast cocktail of his butler: "Beneath this outer husk, conditions are poor--very poor... I could do with a horse's neck." The non-alcoholic version of the drink is referenced in at least two

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

movies from 1950: ''

In a Lonely Place ''In a Lonely Place'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation o ...

'' with Humphrey Bogart, in which

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

—playing the hat-check girl—states that adding a twist of lemon to

is called a "horse's neck"; and '' Outside the Wall'', in which

Dorothy Hart Dorothy Hart (April 4, 1922 – July 11, 2004) was an American actress, mostly in supporting roles. She portrayed Howard Duff's fiancée in the film ''The Naked City'' (1948). Early life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Hart was the daughter of insura ...

tells

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...

the two ingredients that compose the cocktail. The horse's neck became popular in the

wardroom The wardroom is the mess cabin or compartment on a warship or other military ship for commissioned naval officers above the rank of midshipman. Although the term typically applies to officers in a navy, it is also applicable to marine officers ...

s of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the 1960s, displacing Pink Gin as the officers' signature drink. An early reference to this is made in the 1957 film ''Yangtse Incident'', in which a naval officer is shown drinking a horse's Neck in 1949. At naval

cocktail parties A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manager ...

(CTPs), it used to be served by the mess stewards ready-mixed in glass jugs, alongside similar jugs of mixed

gin and tonic A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. The ratio of gin to tonic varies according to taste, strength of the gin, other drink mixers being added, etc., with most recipes calling f ...

, with the request "H-N or G&T, sir?" At the end of the 1988 film ''

Return of the Living Dead Part II ''Return of the Living Dead Part II'' is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, and starring Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Phil Bruns. It is the first of ...

'' the character Doc Mandel asks the pre-teen character Jesse Wilson if he has ever had a horse's neck, to which he replies "No."

Bibliography

{{IBACocktails Cocktails with bitters Cocktails with brandy Cocktails with ginger ale Sweet cocktails

Mixture

History

Cultural impact

See also

Bibliography