Thursday 8 May 2014

Corpse Reviver #2

Corpse Reviver #2

This. Cocktail. 

You might find this cocktails on some menu's in cocktail bars, and it's not because of it's silly name. It is truly a very decent cocktail.

It's origin probably finds itself early in the  20th century, though written in a book one can find it in the Savoy Cocktail book, written by Harry Craddock in 1930.

Next to the name, there's also a good punchline that comes with it.
"Drink before 11 am, or whenever steam or energy are needed."

It's wasn't unusual that around the time of writing of the Savoy Cocktail book people would drink cocktails for breakfast or have it during brunch. What he meant by steam or energy, was basically when you had a hangover. Drink one of these and it will definitely wake you up.
Hence, the name, Corpse Reviver.

There is one other line that you should know about though. 
"four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again."

I assume this doens't need much explaining. A line that comes up in every cocktail book that consists of the Corpse Reviver. 

What about this cocktail then that's so good?
All different ingredients, a simple cocktail, but perfectly balanced. Perfectly balanced if you get the measurements right.

Cointreau, gives you a ever so slight sweet taste of orange. With the lemon juice giving you that tartness. Lillet brings floral to the mix. Of course, using an good gin base. Then for the finishing a dash of absinthe or pastis. Just subtle, 'cause this can be dominating, but with the right amount it's perfect.

Lillet what?
Lillet is a french aperitif wine. It consists of 85% bordeaux wines and 15% macerated liqueurs (sweet orange peels and bitter orange peels).
To be served fridge temperature with an ice cube and a orange peel. This is mainly only done in France. Anywhere else they use Lillet Blanc in cocktails. 
Next to the Corpse Reviver there's one other cocktail I can think of at this time that also consists of Lillet, and that is the Vesper. You might've heard of it in a James Bond movie? 

The Corpse Reviver #2:

Ingredients: 
3/4 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Cointreau
3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
A dash of absynthe or pastis

I used pastis (Pernod) for this, because it's not as easy for consumers to find a absynthe in a store. 
Anyway, there's options with this one. 
I've shaken the pastis in the cocktail with the rest. Not bad, but maybe a bit overwhelming. 
What I did the following time is swirl the pastis in the glass, so it' stuck on the inside of your glass. Any leftover? Drink or use again. It really nice as a smell and then with the little hint in your glass. It's gets you craving for more. 
Steve of the Old Fashioned gave me the idea of using a spray bottle to equally cover the inside of your glass with pastis. Still going to try this, but I imagine it being the best solution.

Garnish with a maraschino cherry, but I'm going for an anise star. It seems fitting with the little bit of pastis. 

(Pics coming soon)

Cheers,
Niklas 
x

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