Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail

A perfectly spooky sounding name makes the Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail one of my favorites for Halloween. The best part though is that it’s a fantastic drink to boot!

Let’s talk about the day after Halloween. Yes, when you have partied and reveled and possibly overdone it. When you wake up in the morning and your head hurts and you wonder why you did all that stuff. You my friend are the corpse because I know you feel like death…and this is just what the doctor ordered; the Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail!

Or if you’re more like me and my cocktail enjoying but lightweight friends; you’ll just forgo all that reveling business and simply enjoy this cocktail while you’re handing out candy to the kiddos. Truth is this corpse needs to be revived more often after a long day than after a big night. Who’s with me?

The early twentieth century actually saw many similar type breakfast drinks that were used to remedy hangovers and hopefully steel oneself to get through the day. Most of the other formulas were forgettable but one has had timeless appeal.

Appearing first in Harry Craddock’s 1930’s ‘Savoy Cocktail Book,’ Mr. Craddock was a renown mixologist who stirred up cocktails for the likes of Ava Gardner, Charlie Chaplin and Errol Flynn. Names maybe unfamiliar to many today but in their heyday they were the likes of Brad and Angelina!

I’ll be honest, this is such an elegant and complex gin based cocktail that the name belies how wonderful it is. Featuring the wine based Lillet it also includes orange liqueur, lemon juice and a dash of absinthe. The absinthe makes it mysterious even though the drama of presuming you will be drugged has been cleared from it’s history, it still feels a bit naughty. For each cocktail you will need: (Full recipe with instructions at bottom of post)

1 oz London Dry Gin
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz orange liqueur
1 oz lemon juice
Dash of Absinthe – probably the only real specialty liqueur required to make this; but typically easy to find as well.

These are tasty and go down very easy but they are not a lightweight concoction. As Craddock once remarked, ‘Four of these taken in swift succession will un-revive the corpse again.’

Although not a new recipe I did use a new book for my version. I was sent a small cocktail book titled, ‘Storied Sips‘ by Erica Duecy and this won’t be the last cocktail I’ll share from this tome. I simply love knowing the history of a drink (well baring some; Sex on the Beach might not be one I’ll investigate soon!) and after perusing this wonderful little book I see several more from the collection of 40 recipes that I want to share.

This is seriously one of the best of the many cocktail books I’ve been asked to review and it’s the tie-in to the history and the written story that give each drink a greater meaning. You know…I like history when it’s served up with a cocktail! If you’ve got an interest in making some cocktails at home I can highly recommend this as something you should consider for your library.

In the meantime, I’ll do my usual and prepare a batch of these to hand out to revelers; no not the kiddos, their parents. Not a lot, I get little cups and it’s literally one sip but it’s fun to share with neighbors too. For me, I’ll sip just enough of this Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail to not revive me tonight; I want to leisurely enjoy the luxury of this cocktail a bit longer and enjoy my time spent handing out candy to the kiddos.

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