Corpse Reviver No.2 – Make this Excellent Drink

Corpse Reviver No.2


A Sour Cocktail in Disguise

Corpse Reviver No.2
Corpse Reviver No.2

The recipe for the Corpse Reviver No.2 was made famous in the Savoy Cocktail Book. It’s obviously not the first Corpse Reviver, but in the book it is described as the most popular.

The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is a gin based sour. As you might expect in a sour cocktail recipe it contains spirit, sugar, lemon juice and sugar. Only, in this case, it’s all a little deceptive.

No.2? How Many Corpse Revivers are there?

At one time, the Corpse reviver was a cocktail family in its own right. These were drinks designed to help a person recover from a hangover. As such, they came in many, many forms. There are at least seven classic recipes that I’m aware, included a No.2a which substitutes Swedish Punsch for Kina Lillet.

Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.

Harry Craddock – The Savoy Cocktail Book

Corpse Reviver No.2 Ingredients

The Corpse Reviver No.2 is a little heavy on ingredients. There are four elements in total. Gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano, fresh lemon juice, and a little absinthe for a rinse.

Gin – The original recipe simply calls for Dry Gin. We can assume that its referring to London Dry Gin.

Cointreau – The Savoy Cocktail Book recipe specifies Cointreau. Not all orange liqueur is created equal but you can safely substitute triple sec or curaçao here.

Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano – The original recipe called for Kina Lillet. Kina Lillet was a style of vermouth called China China. It is has cinchona bark added for extra bitterness.

Lillet no longer makes a Kina version. The closest substitute is Cocchi Americano. You can also use Lillet Blanc, but if will have less bitterness than the original.

Fresh Lemon Juice – For acidity and balance.

Absinthe – You only need a little here. If you have trouble finding absinthe, pastis or herbsaint will work as well.

A Sour Cocktail in Disguise

In addition to the gin and lemon juice there is triple sec and Kina Lillet. Not to mention some absinthe. Oh, and no sugar. So, how is this a sour? That’s where it gets a little tricky. The sweet element in this cocktail comes from the two liqueurs.

Cocchi Americano has a sugar content of 200 g/L or 18.57° Brix. Cointreau is slightly sweeter are 230 g/L or 21.14° Brix. In comparison a simple syrup is 500 g/L of sugar or 50° Brix. Basically, double the two liqueurs.

If we math it out we’ll start with what we know. And, we know that simple syrup is half sugar. So, in a typical 2:1:1 sour ratio we have one ounce of simple syrup. One ounce is 30 ml. That is around 15 ml sugar.

We also know that Cointreau is about 21% sugar, so that gives us roughly 6.5 grams of sugar. Cocchi Americano is about about 18.5% sugar, so that give us another 5.5 grams of sugar. The two liqueurs combined contribute roughly 12 grams of sugar to the cocktail.

Now, that doesn’t seem to be quite enough sugar. 12 grams is obviously less than 15. We could, just say that’s good enough for the girls we go with and call it a day, but don’t forget there’s some absinthe in the mix as well.

This One Trick…

A dash of absinthe will add some sugar. The problem is that your absinthe is about 10-15% sugar and a dash is roughly a ml. Ten percent of one ml is not going to add a lot more sugar. But, absinthe has something else going for it.

That something else is anethole. Anethole is one of the aromatic compounds that gives licorice, anise and fennel its distinct flavor. It also happens to be 13 times sweeter than sugar.

What that means is that a tiny amount of absinthe can help bring a drink that is too sour or bitter into balance without adding sugar. Rinsing or spray the glass with a little absinthe fixes that problem quickly.

The other thing a rinse with an anise flavored spirit will do it add some complexity. If you get it just right, the licorice flavor is barely noticeable but the whole cocktail is just a little tastier.

Corpse Reviver No.2

  • chilled cockail glass
  • cocktail shaker
  • Hawthorne strainer
  • find strainer
  • 1 oz. London Dry Gin
  • 1 oz. Cointreau
  • 1 oz. Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano
  • 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 dash absinthe
  • orange zest for garnish
  1. Rinse chilled coupe glass with absinthe.
  2. Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
  3. Fine strain into prepared glass.
  4. Garnish with orange zest.
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