Welcome, RTD Cocktail Club Members, to our sixth installment! Each month we will be featuring a classic cocktail, sharing the story behind it, and bottling it along with three interesting variations for you to try and enjoy at home. This week, we take a look at the Corpse Reviver!
History
One of the few cocktails not tweaked for the modern palate - it’s been essentially unchanged for over a century. While the kina wine switches - many preferring Cocchi Americano to Lillet for a drier end result but regardless. Not only has the drink survived but so has the connotation - a beverage intended to undo last night’s one-too-many. Thinking about the pace of change in the world of slang (how words like dope and fire have replaced spectacular and magnificent) that’s pretty impressive.
One of the earliest printed recipes appeared in 1871, and called for half a glass each of brandy and maraschino, with two dashes of Boker’s bitters.
One of the most well-preserved versions is the #2, which features gin, although there are dozens of variations, many lost to history.
As Harry Craddock wrote in the Savoy Cocktail Book, “To be taken before 11AM, or whenever steam or energy is needed.” However, “Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.”
A doctor was known as a corpse provider and a hangover cure was known as a corpse reviver- which may not be as widely used as hair of the dog but you still get it.
Recipes
CORPSE REVIVER NO. 2
.75oz Bimini Overproof
.75oz Cocchi Americano
.75oz fresh lemon juice
.75oz Dry Curacao
Absinthe rinse
Coat the inside of your serving glass with a dash of absinthe and discard. Combine remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds and fine-strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a lime twist.
CORPSE REVIVER NO. 13
1.5oz Bimini Coconut
.25oz Fernet Branca
.75oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth
.5oz coconut water
9 dashes white cocoa distillate
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe.
CORPSE REVIVER NO. 21
1.5oz Bimini Barrel Reserve No. 1
.5oz Ferro-China
.25oz fresh ginger juice
.25oz Angostura bitters
.25oz maple syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing
glass with ice. Stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe.
CORPSE REVIVER NO. 66
1oz Bimini Gin
.75oz fresh lime juice
.25oz Green Chartreuse
.75oz C. Comoz Blanc Vermouth
1 pipette Saffron tincture
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice.
Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds and
fine-strain into a chilled glass.
PRO TIPS:
HYDRATE! The best way to help prevent a hangover is to keep up your water intake.
Make sure you eat something before you drink so your system absorbs the alcohol more slowly.
Avoid sugary mixers and foods. Consuming sugar with alcohol can overwhelm your liver and make your hangover worse.
A hair-of-the-dog remedy can help in the short term, but don’t overdo it or you’ll be back where you started.
Get moving! Even if all you want to do is crawl into a hole, physical exertion can boost your metabolism which will help to relieve your hangover more quickly.
