What else would I make on Thanksgiving? This was an ideal pre-dinner aperitivo for our quarantine Thanksgiving feast for four. Who wouldn’t enjoy a French 75 built with cranberry syrup? Follow the berry syrup recipe on simmering until berries break open.
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 belongs to a family of pre- Prohibition cocktails able to “rouse the drinker from the dead.” In other words: every bar had its version of a “reviver” drink, all meant to cure hangovers, increase vigor and otherwise improve one’s morning. This version comes from the classic Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which claimed that four of these taken in quick succession would reanimate the dead. I’ll have to get back to you on that, but in the meantime, enjoy. I used New Orleans’ anise-flavored liqueur Herbsaint in this drink for the first time I made it as I had a tough time tracking down a bottle of absinthe. The scent of anise here teases the senses as you sip from the glass. Heavenly!
Here is another gin sour I keep in frequent rotation for my evening drink that comes from the PDT Cocktail Book I keep in frequent rotation for my evening drink. You must use a good quality cherry for this to work! I’ve tried this with many different gins, and it plays well with your classic London Dry as well as softer Plymouth. The cherry taste definitely reaches the stratosphere between the Luxardo liqueur and the muddled fruit.
