Another article just appeared in DRiNK. Since this issue looks at brandy, I wrote about the Corpse Reviver. The Corpse Reviver is more like a semi-forgotten category than a single cocktail. The famous Corpse Reviver #2 is based on gin, but most of the other Corpse Reviver recipes use brandy. Oddly, despite being a diverse bunch, Corpse Revivers never seem to call for American spirits like bourbon, rye, etc. I figure they were a specifically English thing.
The category has a few recipes worth reviving. Also, while not exactly a Corpse Reviver, I like the Stomach Reviver. Space constraints unfortunately meant a couple of recipes were left out of the final article, though they still got a brief mention. For those recipes see below:
Champagne Corpse Reviver
30ml brandy
30ml orange juice
30ml lemon juice
champagne
Shake the first four ingredients over ice, strain into a wine glass, and top with champagne. Another variant is basically Hemmingway’s Death in the Afternoon, but with a shot of lemon juice (i.e. absinthe, champagne, and lemon).
Stomach Reviver
30ml brandy
20ml kummel
15ml Fernet Branca
5 dashes aromatic bitters
Stir over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. This recipe is a touch drier than the original, which called for equal parts of brandy and kummel. No kummel? Substitute creme de menthe, increase the Fernet Branca, omit the bitters, and you have the Savoy Corpse Reviver - circa 1954.
