Aki Eguchi’s Corpse Reviver #101. By Jethro Kang.
What is it? Popularised in Harry Craddock’s The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, the Corpse Reviver No2 is a drink potent enough to raise the dead (or hungover). This version, made for us by Gibson Singapore’s Aki Eguchi at his guest shift at El Ocho in Shanghai, swaps gin out for vodka and turn the dash of absinthe into a jelly garnish.
How is it made?
45ml Absolut Elyx
10ml Jasmine tea-infused vermouth
10ml St-Germain
10ml Lemon juice
1 Dash wormwood tincture
Shake all the ingredients together and serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with an absinthe jelly and a mint leaf.
How does it taste? The smell of blossoms tricks your eyelids into relaxing, but the blinkers fly off on the first sip, jarred loose by a dry and an astringent palate. The jelly, thankfully, brings relief, with absinthe’s menthol flavours bringing your heart rate back to baseline. If Craddock’s drink was designed as a restorative, this version will wake you up and have you smelling the flowers.
