Red Lion
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 23.2% ABV ∙
The Red Lion is a shaken gin sour built with orange liqueur, orange and lemon juice, grenadine, and a hint of sugar syrup, served in a sugar-rimmed coupe. Frothy and bright, it lands tart-sweet with a silky citrus finish, the sugared rim softening each sip before a fragrant orange-oil lift at the nose.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Rim the glass with sugar
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 45 mlCognac orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier) 20 mlOrange juice 20 mlLemon juice 10 mlGrenadine syrup 5 mlSugar syrup 5 mlOrange bitters 1 dash
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and discard
Tips
- Rim the coupe with sugar before shaking so it sets dry while the drink chills, rather than rushing it at the end.
- Measure the grenadine and sugar syrup carefully — both are small pours that can tip the balance sweet if over-poured.
- Fine-strain to keep citrus pulp and ice shards out, giving a clean, glossy pour into the chilled coupe.
- Express the orange twist directly over the drink before discarding it — the oils carry more aroma than the peel itself.
History
The Red Lion was created by Arthur Tarling, head bartender at London's Café Royal, who won first prize with it in the British Empire Cocktail Competition in 1933. It first appeared in print four years later in his younger brother William "Billy" Tarling's 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book, which credited "A. Tarling" as the inventor. The original recipe specified Booth's Gin, and the drink's name is thought to reference the red lion emblem used on that brand's bottles, though whether Tarling named it directly after the logo or for some related promotion is not established. Notably, Tarling's original version was not red at all but a murky yellow, relying on a sugar-crusted rim rather than grenadine for balance; later recipes, including David Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, dropped the sugar rim and added grenadine, a change that eventually gave later versions the red hue implied by the name. Once promoted by Booth's Gin and later associated with Grand Marnier as its orange liqueur of choice, the Red Lion has remained a fixture of gin cocktail lists since its 1930s debut.
FAQ
What is a Red Lion?
A Red Lion is a shaken gin cocktail, brightened with orange liqueur and fresh citrus, then fine-strained into a sugar-rimmed coupe and finished with an expressed orange twist. It comes in at about 23% ABV.
