The Spirit World

The Corpse Reviver was in truth more of a “family” of cocktails, than an individual cocktail itself. One of the first accounts of the Corpse Reviver comes from the 1867 “Exposition Universelle” in Paris, where a British Journalist reports:

“At the bar, and from siphon tubes decorated with silvery figures of the American eagle, were dispensed the delicious “cream soda” so highly recommended by the faculty. “Cobblers,” “noggs,” “smashes,” “cocktails,” “eye openers,” “moustache twisters,” and “corpse revivers” were also on hand; and I dare say you might have obtained the mystic “tip and tac,” the exhilarating “morning glory,” the mild but health-giving sarsaparilla punch, to say nothing of “one of them things,” which is a recondite and almost inscrutable drink.

One of the earliest known recipes for a corpse reviver consisted of equal parts noyau (almond liqueur), maraschino, and yellow Chartreuse, served a la pousse café. The corpse reviver was no doubt intended as a morning after pick-me-up (aka. Hair of the dog), and besides that, there seems little to provide an indication of what specifically separated such a drink from one of the other well-known categories, such as a cocktail.

Of the various corpse revivers that were once floating about pre-prohibition, only two appeared to pop out the other side, and were listed in Harry Cradock’s “The Savoy Cocktail Book”, which is where we encounter what he simply listed as “Corpse Reviver #2”

Corpse Reviver #2

• 3/4 oz gin
• 3/4 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1 drop absinthe (or absinthe substitute, such as Pernod)

Shake with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

This drink illustrates one of the important aspects of the craftsmanship of a well made drink. The balance of the ingredients listed here is so precarious that each one needs to be carefully measured to make this drink properly. The lemon juice also needs to be fresh, and you can’t substitute common triple sec for the Cointreau.

These days, it is far too common to see bartenders free-pouring the drinks they serve, not only not using a jigger for measuring, but sometimes not even using a pour spout to help them control the flow. These bartenders often think that such “devices” are a sign of incompetence, when instead they are actually a sign of a bartender who is concerned about consistency.

Give the Corpse Reviver a try, and don’t feel like you have to save it for the morning after.