The Perfect Cocktail: Corpse Reviver #2

One of the things that keeps me going in life is my search for the cocktalian holy grail, the perfect cocktail that has it all: complexity, balance, and that refreshing drinkability that upon finishing one makes you immediately feel like you’d like another. Well, recently I feel like I’ve discovered just that drink.

One Saturday night while on a tour of the newest cocktail lounges in downtown Oakland with my lovely wife Joyce and good friends Cyndie, Bill, and Simone, one of our stops was at Flora, a newish restaurant bar with an Art Deco vibe and a superlative cocktail list, including drinks like the Queen Park Swizzle, the French 75, and the spectacular drink that seems to get mentioned in all their reviews (drum roll please…), the Corpse Revivor #2. It’s at the top of their list, and once we saw that it involves gin, Lillet, lemon, and absinthe, we read no further and ordered up a round. The results were a unanimous ‘Wow’! The combination of the orange/lemon/gin base spiced up with the hint of licoricey absinthe was complex, potent, and tasty all at once, and these Corpse Revivers were a major hit. Of course I made an immediate note to myself that this would have to be recreated at home.

Now I’d acually already come across the Corpse Reviver #2 recipe in Joy of Mixology and chuckled at the name, but had no idea of how amazingly good it could be. So my first pass utilized Gary Regan’s recipe, which he cites as being based on Craddock’s 1930’s classic The Savoy Cocktail Book: 1 part gin, 1 part triple sec, 1 part Lillet Blonde, 1 part lemon juice, and a dash of absinthe. Instead of the lemon twist garnish they’d used at Flora, I substituted the brandied cherry that I’ve found to be such a big hit in my version of the Aviation Cocktail. In any case, this first mixture, though a little different that what we’d had at Flora was deliciously good. So good, in fact, that in my usual fashion when I discover a new great cocktail, I found myself experimenting with the mix on an almost nightly basis in order to fine tune the recipe to my own taste. Well it’s been a couple of weeks now, and I’m still finding the Corpse Reviver #2 to be the ideal cocktail to take the edge off after a long day’s work (or a long weekend day chasing the kids around). And I feel like I’ve refined the recipe to a near perfect balance for my taste, which also seems to be a hit amongst the many guests I’ve served it to. My only complaint about the Corpse Reviver is the name. While humorous, it doesn’t really do justice to this incredibly refreshing elixir. In thinking of alternatives, Michael has suggested the Reanimator, which has a certain ring while staying true to the original concept, but I’m not 100% convinced. So while you’re enjoying your own version of this magical cocktail, I urge you to try to think of a more inspiring and fitting name for it. But whatever the hell you want to call it, the Corpse Reviver #2 is a magnificent drink. Enjoy!

Rob’s Corpse Reviver #2

• 1 1/2 parts gin
• 1 1/4 part Lillet Blonde
• 1 part triple sec (Cointreau if you have it)
• 1 part fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. absinthe (or absinthe substitute)

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously until very cold, strain into martini glasses, and garnish with a brandied cherry. Come back from the dead!

Desert Sun

Sometime you need an easy cocktail for a large group. One that works either straight up or on the rocks and can be (mostly) pre-mixed for ease of delivery. Even one they can make themselves after they watch you do the first one…if you’ve got 30 people over you either need to hire a bartender or turn your guests into one!

One of my standard offerings during the warmer months that meets these criteria is the Dessert Sun:

• 3 parts vodka (I like Stoli)
• 1 part fresh orange juice (must be fresh or the result tastes like Tang)
• 1 part Grand Marnier (or other orange liquor)
• a splash of fresh lime juice (don’t ask me what “a splash” is…)
• a splash of homemade grenadine (really, don’t use that corn syrup & red food coloring)

Shake everything except the grenadine in a cocktail shaker (you can premix all of this and have an ample supply already for your guests). Pour into a martini glass or over ice. Slowly pour just enough grenadine into the glass to create a small layer of red at the bottom (about a quarter to a half an inch). I said “a splash” above but you don’t want it to actually splash…you need to pour it gently. You’re aiming for appearance here, not so much for flavor.  If you do it right this drink looks really attractive, especially on a sunny day. It isn’t my favorite cocktail but is a real crowd-pleaser.

Enjoy!

A Basic Margarita

The weather turned hot this week in Berkeley which means, of course, that it is Margarita season. After hearing a colleague complain about mediocre Margaritas I promised a blog post that would ensure no such future statements.

First, a margarita is not a frozen drink. It can be served on the rocks or straight up. I prefer the latter. It is not made from mix. The only ingredients are tequila, lime juice and an orange-flavored liquor. And salt for the rim if you like.

Second, the proportions in the margarita are a bit different than many cocktails. I’ve been talking with Rob and Shannon about the 3:1:1 rule. If I’m experimenting with a new cocktail I use 3 parts of the main alcohol, and 1 part each of the two additives (one is usually sweet). From there you can experiment with the proportions or begin to add other ingredients until you have a new concoction you like.

But this rule doesn’t work at all for the Margarita. Instead, give this a try:

• 3 parts tequila
• 2 parts fresh squeezed lime juice (I like the little Mexican limes the best)
• 1 part Cointreau (I actually like Patron Citronage just as well at about 1/2 the cost)

Shake over ice, strain into a martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of lime.

Depending on the sweetness of the limes you may find that you need a bit more Cointreau.

Enjoy!

The Albert Hofmann Cocktail

The great Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann passed away this week at the ripe old age of 102 (he must have been doing something right!). In trying to figure out a way to honor his significant contributions to the planet, I decided to create a cocktail dedicated to this inspiring pioneer. Where to start? Well, since the ergot fungus that grows on rye grain played a role in his work, and since I happened to have a bottle of Old Overholt in my bar, I started with a rye whisky base. In doing a little research on rye-based cocktails, I noted that the Sazerac is built on rye, simple syrup, and a bit of absinthe. Now given the Swiss origins and colorful history of absinthe, it clearly warrants a place in the Albert Hofmann, and instead of simple syrup I decided to go with Maraschino liqueur for the sweet component based on how well cherry works as a garnish in the Manhattan. To round things out, I added lemon juice based on how it balances out the rye-based Delmarva Cocktail. A dash of Pechaud’s Bitters serves to add some final complexity and depth. For the garnish, I wanted something exotic and visually vibrant, and had recently spotted kumquats at hour local produce market. I’ve never seen a cocktail garnished with a kumquat, but somehow it just seemed right and worked out splendidly. Outside of his scientific contributions, Hofmann lived a joyful, active, and inquisitive life. He once stated in an interview:

“Through my…experience and my new picture of reality, I became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom. I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

Words to live by. This one’s for you, Albert!

The Albert Hofmann Cocktail

• 1 oz. rye whisky
• 1 oz. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. Absinthe
• Dash Peychaud’s Bitters
• Kumquat sliced in half for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice, shake vigorously, and strain into martini glass with skewered kumquat garnish.

The Exodus

Our friends Gina and Alani are in town from Brooklyn, and we are in the process of preparing a lamb dinner in celebration of Passover, with horseradish touches where they need to be.  Alani challenged us to make a cocktail that could be paired with Passover dinner,  thereby marking the great Exodus and making sure that the Angel of Death would know to move down the block.  It needed to interact properly with lamb, if not necessarily with lamb’s blood.   It needed to be reasonably refreshing, interacting with the sunny, windy Berkeley day we offered to Brooklyn friends.  And frankly, it needed to be made with gin, because vodka is so insidiously unflavorful and reminds me too much of a party where a Phi Delt is trying to get you drunk.

An experiment

My son has been sick the last couple of days and wanted some juice. We were out of everything but, oddly, pomegranate juice (a small Odwalla bottle). Not sweet enough for the little guy, so I added a bit of Rose’s grenadine to it. Then I thought, isn’t real grenadine made from pomegranate juice? And I found some good information on The Cocktail Chronicles Blog.

So tonight I converted the remainder of the pomegranate juice into grenadine (cold method). And, of course, I needed to try it. Which I did, in the following proportions:

• 4 parts bourbon
• 1 part lemon juice
• 1 part homemade grenadine

No name for this concoction yet. It’s really a variation on the classic Jack Rose cocktail, using bourbon instead of applejack. I’m hoping Joyce will come up with something….

Photo by Ahmed

Reclining Buddha

Last night my wife was off at a conference and Rob’s wife (Joyce) was out with a friend, so he and I did what any enterprising single dads would do–we combined forces, treated the kids to a sleepover (chez lui) and conducted some mixology experiments.

Rob was in an inspired mood. I’m sure he’ll have more to add later but I wanted to document the big success of the evening:

• 4 parts lemongrass infused vodka. Rob made this himself and it had a beautiful, antique-yellow color.
• 1 part mint simple syrup. I whipped this up on the spot. 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water brought to a boil. Turn off the heat and throw in a handful of mint leaves. Let steep for 5 or 10 minutes and strain. This is a lovely green color.
• 1 part lime juice.

Shake over ice and strain into a proper martini glass. Garnish with mint leaf (duh). Sit down. Lean back. Enjoy.

After much incoherent debate about an appropriate name, Joyce struck upon the perfect name the following morning: The Reclining Buddha. Yum.

Reclining Buddha photo by joestump.

Green Spring

Cucumber and gin are a classic cocktail combination that haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. One good example is Pimm’s #1 cup, a gin-based concoction, which is often combined with some kind of cucumber. We’re fond of both gin and cucumber in our house and one of our favorite local restaurants, “Grasshopper” (now closed and replaced with the equally good Wood Tavern) served a gin and cucumber cocktail they called a “Water Lilly”. Luckily their bartender moved down the street to Pearl. You can probably get her to make one for you. Pearl (and the bartender) are worth a trip regardless of the availability of the Water Lilly.

We also had a great gin-cucumber cocktail at the St. Regis hotel in San Francisco. We forget what they called it, but it was fantastic. It was a combination of gin, cucumber “water” and rosemary-lemon grass simple syrup. We made some tonight and it definitely lived up to our memories…

• 3 parts gin (Boodles is the house gin)
• 1 part cucumber water
• 1 part rosemary-lemongrass simple syrup

Shake over ice and serve up with a slice of cucumber for garnish.

To make the cucumber water, puree a cucumber (or two, which we recommend because you’ll like the result) in a blender or food processor. You should peel the cucumber almost completely. If you want the drink to be bright green then leave a bit of cucumber peel (it doesn’t take much). If you want it pale green then remove all of the peel. Cut the cucumber into large pieces, drop in the food processor with 1/2 teaspooon of salt, and puree until it liquifies. Then strain the result for 30-60 miniutes to get the liquid and discard the solids.

To make the simple syrup, bring a cup of sugar and a cup of water to a gentle boil. Then add a couple of sprigs of rosemary, lightly crushed, and the smashed ends of three stalks of lemongrass. Let the rosemary and lemongrass steep in the simple syrup until it cools. You don’t really want to boil the rosemary or lemongrass…steeping them like a tea will do the trick.

This is a great St. Patrick’s day option. If you make the cucumber water with enough peel the cocktail will definitely be green. And it will taste far better than any Chartreuse-based cocktail or green beer. We expect to see a lot of folks drinking this next March.

Enjoy!

Michael and Shannon

cucumber image by Nick Atkins

Cocktails in China & Spain

 I just returned home from a week in China followed by a week in Spain.  Cocktails weren’t really part of the daily scene in China (although I did have one gin & tonic at a club featuring Western music).

I’m happy to say that I found one of my favorite cocktails, the Negroni, on the menu of more than one establishment in Spain (both in Barcelona and Valencia).  Due to the Campari, this is a bitter drink and is not for everyone. But, I think, it is probably my personal favorite.

And, so, my standard Negroni recipe:

• 2 parts gin (my house gin is Boodles)
• 1 part sweet vermouth
• 1 part Campari

Shake over ice. Serve garnished with a thin slice of orange. Or better yet, three slices of kumquat.  Negroni’s are also often served on the rocks and work just fine that way. But I prefer most cocktails up.

The Sidecar: I finally get it!

Being a long time Martini man, up to now my cocktail focus has been on gin, vodka, and tequila based drinks like the Aviation, Lemon Drop, and Margarita.  Even though Michael and his lovely wife Shannon have been longtime servers and drinkers of Sidecars, I’ve tended to steer away from brown liquor based cocktails.  No more.  My new favorite cocktail book, The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan, talks about the Sidecar’s original manifestation from the mid-1800’s, the Brandy Crusta, as the prototype of a whole class of drinks he calls New Orleans Sours, which includes many of today’s favorite cocktails like the Margarita, Cosmopolitan, and Lemon Drop.  He discusses how the proto-formula of a base spirit, orange flavored liqueur, and citrus juice provides an amazingly solid and versatile framework on which to build a cocktail.  So one night after work last week, I picked up a $10 bottle of Raynal French brandy at Trader Joe’s and decided to see for myself.  I started out with Regan’s recipe from Mixology, then upped the brandy ratio and added orange bitters for complexity and a sugared lemon wheel for garnish, which I’ve found to be a tasty accenting morsel to bite into while enjoying my earlier Minty Lemon Drops:

Rob’s Sidecar

• 2 parts brandy
• 1 part triple sec
• 1/2 part lemon juice
• 1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously, and serve in martini glasses garnished with sugared lemon wheels.

From the very first sip–WHAT AN EPIPHANY!  Who knew that a brandy based cocktail could be as sweet, strong, balanced, and refreshing as a Margarita or Lemon Drop?  The result was so smoothly enjoyable that I found myself verifying it with several more test rounds, and reprising that session several more times over the following week, including once with my gin-loving father during a ski weekend in Lake Tahoe (all in the spirit of research, of course…).  I can see that the mixological balance for the ideal Sidecar will require fine tuning for different brandies and orange liqueurs, and have already started experimenting with Cointreau and Bols triple sec in place of the De Kuypers I used originally.  I look forward to whiling away many a future evening hour on analysis and refinement of my recipe for this exquisite cocktail!