The Red Lion – an easy cocktail recipe

Christmas is a time to flex your cocktail making skills and, besides shaking up our favourites, we also like to perfect something we’ve not tried before. This year we’re dabbling with a cocktail recipe from the 1930s that shows off the classic orange liqueur Grand Marnier and goes by the name ‘The Red Lion.’ Sounds like a pub. Must be good.

As with most cocktails there are numerous versions, with some recipes containing a long list of bitters and other specific drinks brands. We’ve stuck with the original, a competition winner created by Arthur Tarling, with just four main ingredients: Grand Marnier, Dry Gin (we’ve introduced Bulldog’s bark to the Red Lion’s roar), Orange and Lemon. Here goes…

How to make a Red Lion cocktail

Ingredients
30ml London Dry Gin
30ml Grand Marnier
15ml Orange juice
15ml Lemon juice
Ice
Caster sugar

Method

First chill a cocktail glass then rub the rim with a piece of lemon and dip it into sugar (sprinkled on a plate) so your glass has a sugary rim.

Pour the gin, Grand Marnier, Orange Juice and Lemon Juice into a shaker with ice and give it a good shake.

Strain into the sugar-crusted glass and enjoy.

About the drinks

Grand Marnier
Grand Marnier is a French booze brand that makes a few drinks but is best known for its orange liqueur (“Cordon Rouge”) made from Cognac, distilled wild bitter oranges and sugar. It’s one of the world’s most famous liqueurs and is a familiar site on cocktail bars all over the world. Well worth adding to your cocktail booze collection.

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Bulldog London Gin, 40%
This gin is easy to get hold of and very affordable. It’s got a few odd ingredients among its botanicals (Dragon Eye and Lotus Leaf) and a nice citrussy edge. A good value choice for cocktails.

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Note: Samples of Grand Marnier and Bulldog Gin were sent to us for review purposes. This piece contains affiliate links.