Corpse reviver #2

Corpse Reviver #2 is a classic cocktail that blends gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, and lemon juice. It is refreshing, citrusy, and has a distinctive herbal flavor.

Corpse reviver #2 recipe

• 3 cl gin
• 3 cl lemon juice
• 3 cl Cointreau
• 3 cl Lillet Blanc
• 1 dash absinthe

Shake ingredients together in a mixer with ice. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with orange zest.

How to build a Corpse Reviver #2

1. Chill a cocktail glass well in advance, either in the freezer or by filling it with ice water while you prepare the drink.
2. Add gin, fresh lemon juice, orange liqueur, and Lillet Blanc to a shaker filled with plenty of cold ice. The equal-parts structure is part of the drink’s signature balance, so measure carefully.
3. Add a small dash of absinthe. You only need a little: it should lift the aroma, not dominate the drink.
4. Shake hard for about 10 to 15 seconds until the shaker is very cold. This cocktail wants proper dilution to soften the citrus and knit the botanicals together.
5. Empty the chilling ice or water from the glass, then fine-strain the drink into the cold cocktail glass for a clean, silky texture.
6. Express a strip of orange zest over the surface to release its oils, then either discard it or drop it in as garnish, depending on how bright and aromatic you want the finish.

What it tastes like in the glass

The Corpse Reviver #2 is bright, crisp, and deceptively elegant. Lemon brings sharp freshness, while the orange liqueur adds sweetness and a gentle citrus depth. Lillet Blanc contributes floral, honeyed, lightly bitter notes, and the absinthe leaves a subtle anise perfume that makes the drink feel more complex than its simple build suggests. It lands somewhere between a sour, an aperitif cocktail, and a botanical martini.

Why this classic still wakes people up

Despite often being grouped with modern classics on menus, this drink is much older. The most widely cited source is The Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, where Harry Craddock included it among the “corpse reviver” family of bracing morning-after drinks. Whether it was truly used as a hangover cure is another matter, but the name certainly helped it stick. The #2 version became the best-known of the group thanks to its balance and charm.

Best moments to serve it

Serve it very cold and straight up, ideally just before a meal. It works beautifully as an aperitif because it is lively and palate-awakening without feeling heavy. If you want it slightly softer, reduce the lemon a touch or use a gentler hand with the absinthe rinse or dash.

A no-proof nod to the original

For a non-alcoholic riff, shake together alcohol-free gin alternative, fresh lemon juice, a non-alcoholic orange aperitif, and a white grape or quinine-based alcohol-free aperitif. Add a tiny rinse of absinthe substitute or a fennel-anise hydrosol if available. You will not get the exact texture of the original, but you can capture its citrusy, herbal snap surprisingly well.