tropical lion's tail

3/4 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Appletone Reserve Rum (Appleton Signature)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lime wheel.Two Sundays ago, I found a note on my phone to make the Tropical Lion's Tail from an October 2023 article in Imbibe Magazine. This riff of the 1937 classic Lion's Tail was crafted by Brandon Ristaino at Test Pilot in Santa Barbara. Along with the Junior, the Lion's Tail is one of the few classic American whiskey drinks paired with lime instead of lemon for it can often create a flavor clash as described by Donny Clutterbuck in his talk Life Gives You Limes. In those drinks, the Benedictine and rum-based allspice dram perhaps act like bridges between the new charred barrel flavors of Bourbon and rye, and I tried to soften things in this classic with a lemon-driven riff called the Lion's Share. Here, the Bourbon was split with rums which is a technique I previous experienced in the Lion's Fang which also took things in a Tiki direction with additional sweeteners like pineapple syrup here and falernum there. Once prepared, the Tropical Lion's Tail began with a lime, caramel, and allspice bouquet. Next, lime, pineapple, and caramel on the sip wagged its way into Bourbon, funky rums, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.