The Corpse Reviver #2

In honor of the spookiest of nights, tonight our cocktail is the Corpse Reviver #2. I'm pulling this recipe from the book I used for the Boulevardier, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. The Corpse Reviver is more of a class of drinks than just one drink--as the name implies, these are drinks intended to cure hangovers. After drinking one of these, I'm not sure how much curing it does, other than the fact that it extends how long you are drunk (thus, no hangover, at least for the time-being). The famous (infamous?) cocktail book, The Savoy Cocktail Book, originally published in 1930 by Harry Craddock, warned of this drink, "Four taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again." Yeah. I'm pretty sure he was right about that.

The ingredients:

• 1 oz gin (I used Plymouth)
• 1 oz Cointreau (we are out of Cointreau so I used Grand Marnier)
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 to 3 drops of absinthe or pastis (I used Absente)
• Garnish with one unstemmed cherry dropped in the bottom of the glass

Combine all ingredients (except the cherry) in an ice-filled shaker, shake until chilled, and serve. I actually used a shaker for this one, so go me. I've found that the absinthe can sometimes be really overpowering, but the lemon knocks the oomph out of it in this drink. It's quite tart and that masks the flavor of the booze, which can be dangerous (hence, the four in a row unreviving the dead). This is a tasty cocktail, and I'll be adding it into my normal rotation more often.

Bourbon Renewal

Tonight's cocktail is one that Peyton brought home from Portland, the Bourbon Renewal. If you're like us, you sometimes just collect interesting liqueurs. At the risk of sounding utterly ridiculous, I insisted that we buy a bottle of creme de cassis because I have fond memories of studying abroad in France and drinking more than my fair share of Kir Royals, but that's a story for another time.

The Bourbon Renewal is the invention of Jeffery Morgenthaler, bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon. What I love about this drink is that the black currant flavor sort of rubs up against the caramel and vanilla notes in the Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. And, at the risk of being too sweet, the lemon juice adds just the right amount of acidity and brightness to the cocktail. Needless to say, it is a new household favorite. Here are the ingredients:

2 oz bourbon (We used Four Roses Single Barrel, my favorite bourbon)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz creme de cassis (There are a number of brands, all of them are inexpensive. We used Mathilde's Creme de Cassis.)
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Ice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice into an old-fashioned glass (or, if you're Peyton, just combine everything and stir until cold). Morgenthaler recommends garnishing with a lemon wedge, or, if in season, fresh currants, but we have been drinking them sans garnish. Salut!

The Boulevardier

Tonight's cocktail is the Boulevardier, close cousin to the Negroni. This is a classic recipe, but the particulars of this one come to you from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh, AKA Dr. Cocktail (this book is AWESOME, by the way and I highly recommend it). According to the good doctor's research, the Boulevardier first appeared in print 1927, in Harry McElhone's (ex-barman at the Plaza Hotel and owner of Harry's New York Bar) Barflies and Cocktails.

For this one, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 oz bourbon (I've used Evan Williams, which is probably one of my favorite mixing and plain old drinking bourbons, but you could use anything)
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth (again, the Carpano is suggested, but any sweet vermouth will do in a pinch)
• Garnish: Cherry (we have some really fancy Luxardo cherries that I like to use), lemon peel, or orange slice
• Ice

Throw the bourbon, Campari, and vermouth in an ice-filled shaker. Shake until chilled and strain into a cocktail glass. Put the garnish in and enjoy.

This is basically a Negroni with bourbon instead of gin, and honestly I prefer this to the Negroni. I feel like the bourbon sweetens up the Campari, whereas the gin keeps it fairly bitter. I like both drinks though, so make sure you try 'em both and see which you prefer.

I feel like I have to come clean about the shaker business here--I rarely (and I mean rarely) use a shaker. I really only ever use one if someone is having a Martini (which I never do, but occasionally my sweetheart likes a Gibson) or if we have company and I want to be classy. I usually just put everything in an old-fashioned glass, fill it with ice, and stir until it is chilled. I will admit there is something nice about using a shaker, mainly that your drink gets COLD fast, but I tend to struggle with not making a mess. So, if you don't use a shaker, don't feel bad, because I'm right there with you.

Chet Helms

The latest issue of Imbibe Magazine had a pretty big section devoted to pisco. I'd never had it, and the only drink I'd ever heard of using it is the Pisco Sour. The egg in a PS makes me kind of nervous (I'm still new to eggy cocktails) so I looked for another recipe using pisco and found the Chet Helms on the Imbibe website. I always feel really good about myself when I have all the ingredients for one of these cocktails.

• 1 1/2 oz pisco
• 1/2 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz Campari
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3 dashes rhubarb bitters (I like Fee's)
• Club soda
• Ice

Put the pisco, vermouth, Campari, lemon juice, and bitters in a shaker filled with ice. Shake it up and strain into an ice-fille collins glass. Fill it the rest of the way with club soda and garnish with an orange wedge and mint. 

This has become a house favorite. It's boozy, but not overwhelmingly so and it is quite refreshing. I highly recommend this one.

The Cheeky Negroni

I've been a fan of Campari for awhile now and I wanted to try its cousin, Aperol. I picked up a bottle yesterday and set to finding a recipe for a drink to test it out. I came across the Cheeky Negroni on Serious Eats and I had all the ingredients (well, except for the garnish), so I mixed it up. 

The ingredients are pretty simple:

• Ice
• 1 oz Hendricks Gin
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1 oz Aperol
• Grapefruit peel for garnish

Fill up a shaker with ice; add the gin, the Lillet Blanc, and the Aperol. Give it a hearty shake and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Twist the grapefruit peel over the drink to release the oils, plop the peel into the drink, and bottoms up.

I could definitely taste the relationship to a Negroni, but this wasn't quite as bitter. The Hendricks was a nice addition, but I might try a regular London Dry next time (this house enjoys Plymouth), but I'm happy with the way this came out.