The story of the Horse’s Neck

The Horse’s Neck first appeared in George J. Kappeler’s “Modern American Drinks” in 1895. Initially as a recipe without alcohol. Later there was the first version with whiskey or brandy. This drink was called “Horse’s Neck with a Kick”.

In 1900, a recipe appeared in “Harry Johnson’s Bartender Manual”. It showed that the long drink could be prepared with different types of whiskey. With bourbon, rye, scotch or even Irish whiskey. But no brandy? Research revealed that the phylloxera plague in Europe was to blame for the disappearance of brandy from Horse’s Neck recipes, among other things. This in turn led to an upswing in bourbon and rye whiskey in the States.

The phylloxera plague refers to the infection of grapevines with phylloxera from 1867 to 1915, during which a very large part of the vine stocks in Europe were destroyed. 

Today’s recipe only uses bourbon as an ingredient. This highball owes its name to its garnish of a long lemon twist. This peeks out of the top of the glass and is reminiscent of a curved “horse’s neck”.

THE BOURBON FOR THE HORSE’S NECK

The Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon – This whiskey is produced in the oldest active distillery in the USA. In addition to corn, it is made from winter wheat, whereas most bourbon distilleries use barley and rye. This makes the Maker’s Mark very smooth, mild and sweet. I like this in combination with the ginger ale. 

When not in Horse’s Neck, I use Maker’s Mark Bourbon in a variety of other whiskey cocktails. For example, in the Whiskey Sour, the Boulevardier or the Paper Plane cocktail.

COCKTAIL BITTERS

Bitters definitely belong in the Horse’s Neck. They give the long drink more depth. A little more bite. The original recipe recommends 2 dashes of good old Angostura bitters.  I like to add 2 dashes of orange bitters on top. This further increases the intensity of the drink. 

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