The Horse's Neck is usually garnished with a long, spiraled lemon peel that's also accountable for the name of the cocktail. The end of the peel protrudes beyond the glass and resembles - admittedly, with a bit of imagination - the look of a horse head.
The drink is a typical representative of the Highballs, a specific type of cocktail commonly made with only two ingredients.
Here's what you need
When done right, the result is a sweet, spicy, and refreshing brandy cocktail.
Ideally, you serve the Horse's Neck in a long, tall glass with a Collins ice stick. Collins ice sticks are long ice sticks specifically designed for use in Collins and Highball glasses.
The lemon garnish is the most iconic feature of the Horse's Neck Cocktail. To make it, you can cut a broad peel, as shown below, and place that along the inside of the glass.
Alternatively, you can use a thin, long lemon zest, and place that in a twirl inside the glass so that one end protrudes over the rim of the glass.
The first looks more sophisticated, and the second is more traditional and matches the name a little better.
Apart from the non-alcoholic version that omits the cognac, you can also replace the brandy base with whiskey. As mentioned above, this would usually be bourbon, but you can also try rye - it's spicier and balances the sweet ginger ale nicely. A Canadian variation named the Rye & Ginger even specifically requires Canadian whiskey.
Further, since ginger ale is quite a sweet soft drink, some people like to add a splash of citrus juice to the recipe for better balance. If you feel like you need a sour element, add 0.25 freshly squeezed lemon juice.
In the late 1800s, the Horse's Neck was merely a non-alcoholic refreshment. The beverage incorporated ginger ale, cocktail bitters, lots of ice, and a long lemon peel. It took until 1910 that the drink evolved into the so-called Horse's Neck with a Kick, also called a Stiff Horse's Neck, spiked with brandy.
The traditional non-alcoholic version was not immediately off the map. In the state of New York, the refreshing soft drink got poured on a regular basis until the 1960s. After that, the original version became more and more forgotten. Eventually, the drink was popular only in its alcoholic form.
These days, the International Bartending Association (IBA) lists the drink under their Contemporary category. Their recipe uses cognac. However, as explained before, the base spirit is subject to change. Often, you come across recipes that suggest making the Horse's Neck with bourbon, sometimes also Rye.
If you like drinks with a spicy note of ginger, try some of these: