Spirited Cocktails

So how was your Memorial Day weekend? Calm and relaxed? Or perhaps quite the opposite? Maybe one too many Flamingo cocktails at the beach? If so, another cocktail may be the furthest thing from your mind. But if you tend towards the whole “hair of the dog” approach, the Corpse Reviver #2 (aptly named) might be just what the doctor ordered (no doctor I know, but I’m sure there’s a quack out there who would prescribe this.)

Here’s what you’re going to need:

1oz gin
1oz fresh lemon juice
1oz Lillet Blanc
1oz Cointreau
A splash of pastis, Pernod, Ricard, or absinthe

Combine all the ingredients along with ice in a cocktail shaker, shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Optionally, you might add a stemless maraschino cherry for garnish.

You’ll notice a few unique things about this cocktail. The first is the absence of any sugar or other sweetener. This definitely isn’t a sweet drink. Though the citrus, Cointreau, and Lillet see to it that it’s not very “boozy” either. It actually tastes a bit like a hard lemonade in some ways, though much, much beter.

Another unique attribute is the presence of the Lillet Blanc, which we’re using on this blog for the first time (I actually had to go out and buy some!) Lillet is a French apertif wine (available in both White and Red.) It’s a blend of wine and citrus liqueurs made from oranges, and definitely tastes citrusy. It’s probably most famous for its presence in the Vesper martini, ordered by James Bond in Casino Royale. It appears in a few other cocktails as well, but my favorite among them is certainly the Corpse Reviver #2.

One final note – you might ask, why #2? What about #1? There is a Corpse Reviver #1, which was listed in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book along with #2. It’s made with Applejack, Sweet Vermouth, and brandy. However, it seems to have fallen out of favor long ago, while the balanced complexity of the Corpse Reviver #2 has stood the test of time. For good reason.

Cheers!

In my last post, I discussed the Earl Grey MarTEAni – an inventive cocktail from the mind of Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club. Today I’d like to cover another Pegu Club classic – the French Kiss (gotta love that name!)

The French Kiss uses an interesting liqueur called Pernod. Pernod is a pastis – an anise-flavored aperitif that was created as a substitute for Absinthe in the early 20th century. Pernod can certainly be consumed on its own – though to do so it is usually diluted with water (about 5:1). In mixed cocktails however, it lends a great anise (licorice-like) flavor, which I personally really enjoy.

So here’s what you’ll need (again, notice that common sour formula of 2oz base, 3/4oz sour, 3/4oz sweet):

2oz gin�
3/4oz simple syrup
3/4oz fresh lime juice
1/4oz Pernod
1 spring of fresh mint

Simply combine all of the ingredients in your shaker, top off with plenty of ice, and give it a good hard shake for at least 10-15 seconds.

You want to serve this cocktail straight up (no ice), and technically it should be double-strained. This is mainly because, as you’ll notice after shaking, you’ve got quite a bit of mint floating about, and most bartenders prefer a cleaner look. To double-strain, you strain first (into an intermediate glass) using a Hawthorn strainer, then again into your cocktail glass using a Julep strainer. This will help remove most of the bits of mint.

And there you have it – a French Kiss, once again, courtesy of the brilliant mind of Audrey Saunders.

Cheers!