Corpse Reviver No. 2
Classic Cocktail
A classic equal-parts gin cocktail built with London Dry gin, orange liqueur, blanc aperitif wine, fresh lemon juice, and a small absinthe element.
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Method & Technique
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is a shaken citrus cocktail served up.
Chill a coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Add a small amount of absinthe, rotate the glass until the interior is lightly coated, and discard the excess.
Add the following to a shaker tin:
0.75 oz London Dry Gin
0.75 oz Orange Liqueur
0.75 oz Blanc Aromatized Wine
0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Add ice and shake firmly until properly chilled and diluted. Double strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass.
Express an orange twist over the surface and place it neatly as the garnish.
The absinthe should provide an aroma before the first sip and a light herbal edge through the finish. It should never become the drink’s dominant flavor.
The original documented preparation placed a dash of absinthe directly into the drink. The LMA standard uses a rinse because it delivers the aromatic effect with greater restraint and keeps the equal-parts structure clean.
Related Core Methods
- Shaking Method
Straining Method
Citrus Handling Method
Citrus Expression Method
Glassware & Chill Standards
Ice Handling Standards
Juice & Syrup Handling Standards
Pour Standards
Labeling & Storage Standards
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Guest Story
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is a strong recommendation for guests who enjoy gin, fresh citrus, dry aperitif-style cocktails, or classics such as the Last Word, Sidecar, or French 75.
A good guest description would be:
“It’s a bright, equal-parts gin cocktail with orange liqueur, fresh lemon, aromatized wine, and a light absinthe rinse. It’s crisp, citrusy, gently herbal, and stronger than it tastes.”
For a guest interested in its history:
“Corpse Revivers were an old family of morning-after drinks said to wake up the nearly dead. This version was published in 1930 with a warning that four taken quickly would put the corpse back down.”
It is not the best recommendation for someone requesting a soft, sweet, tropical, creamy, or genuinely low-alcohol drink. The absinthe is restrained, but a guest who strongly dislikes anise should still be told that it is present.
Where It Came From
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 belongs to a much older tradition of drinks promoted (usually with dark humor) as morning-after restoratives. The name “Corpse Reviver” was already being used for alcoholic drinks in Britain by 1861, suggesting that the expression was understood before any surviving recipe established one standard formula.
The first known published Corpse Reviver recipe appeared in 1871. That drink combined brandy, maraschino liqueur, and bitters and bears little resemblance to the modern No. 2. This is important: “Corpse Reviver” originally described an idea or purpose, not one fixed cocktail recipe.
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 entered the documented record in 1930. Its formula called for equal parts lemon juice, Kina Lillet, orange liqueur, and dry gin, with one dash of absinthe, shaken and strained into a cocktail glass. It was accompanied by the famous warning:
“Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.”
The same publication included a Corpse Reviver No. 1 made with brandy, apple brandy, and sweet vermouth. The numbering did not represent a clearly documented progression created by one bartender. It distinguished different drinks sharing the same restorative name.
The 1930 publication securely establishes the No. 2 formula, but it does not prove who originally created it. Harry Craddock documented and popularized the drink through his work at London’s Savoy Hotel, but he should not be identified as its confirmed inventor.
Of the many drinks that have carried the Corpse Reviver name, the No. 2 became the enduring version. Its equal-parts structure, bright citrus, botanical gin, orange liqueur, aromatized wine, and restrained absinthe accent helped it return as an important modern classic.
Bartender Notes
- Use London Dry gin as the LMA classic standard.
Keep the four principal ingredients in equal proportions.
Use fresh lemon juice. Do not use bottled lemon juice.
Use orange liqueur, not orange syrup.
Do not add simple syrup to the LMA classic standard.
Keep the blanc aromatized wine refrigerated after opening. Label, date, and taste it regularly.
Test the complete recipe with the actual orange liqueur and aromatized wine used by the house. Their sweetness, bitterness, and aromatic intensity can vary significantly.
Rinse the glass lightly with absinthe and discard the excess. The absinthe should season the drink, not dominate it.
Shake firmly and double strain into properly chilled glassware.
Use an orange twist as the LMA garnish.
The finished drink should be cold, bright, citrus-driven, lightly herbal, gently bitter, and clean on the finish.
Do not describe it as a low-alcohol or spritz-style drink. It is stronger than its refreshing profile suggests.
Deep Dive
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is one of the clearest examples of how an equal-parts recipe can remain simple to remember while demanding precision to execute.
LMA Service Spec
0.75 oz London Dry Gin
0.75 oz Orange Liqueur
0.75 oz Blanc Aromatized Wine
0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Absinthe Rinse
Orange Twist
Each ingredient has a distinct structural role.
The gin supplies the alcoholic backbone, dryness, and botanical structure. A classic London Dry profile works well because the other components already provide citrus, sweetness, wine character, and aromatics. A softer contemporary gin can work, but it may produce a rounder drink with less definition.
The orange liqueur supplies most of the cocktail’s concentrated sweetness, along with orange oil, citrus depth, and body. If it is excessively sweet, the cocktail can become candied. If it is thin or harsh, the lemon may make the drink feel sharp and disconnected.
The aromatized wine creates the bridge between the gin and citrus. It contributes wine-based acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and botanical complexity. This is not a disposable background ingredient. Oxidized or poorly stored aromatized wine can make the entire drink taste flat and tired.
The historical formula used Kina Lillet, an aromatized wine with a more pronounced quinine-associated bitterness than many softer modern blanc aperitif wines. Modern replacements should not automatically be treated as identical to the historical ingredient.
A softer blanc aromatized wine produces a rounder, more floral, and approachable drink. A more bitter quinquina-style wine produces a sharper, drier, and more historical-leaning profile. Either direction can work, but the house must choose intentionally and test the complete recipe around that choice.
Fresh lemon provides the acid that tightens the other ingredients. Because the drink contains no added sugar or nonalcoholic lengthener, poor lemon juice has nowhere to hide. Old juice makes the cocktail taste tired; bottled juice makes it taste dull and artificial.
Absinthe functions like aromatic seasoning. The original documented formula called for a dash in the mixture. Many modern bars use a glass rinse to create a strong aroma with less absinthe in the finished drink. Both methods are recognizable, but the LMA standard uses a rinse for greater restraint.
The glass must be thoroughly chilled. Because the cocktail is served up without ice, all chilling and dilution must occur during the shake. A weak shake or warm glass produces a loose, sharp drink that warms too quickly.
The orange twist is an LMA service decision rather than a requirement found in the earliest documented formula. Its oils reinforce the orange liqueur and lift the cocktail’s aroma without adding sweetness. A lemon twist or no garnish can work as a house variation, but the garnish should remain clean and restrained.
Understanding the Corpse Reviver Family
The Corpse Revivers are not one recipe with numbered spirit substitutions. Historically, the name was applied to very different drinks associated with revival, stimulation, or morning-after drinking.
The earliest known recipe used brandy, maraschino liqueur, and bitters.
The Corpse Reviver No. 1 documented in 1930 combined brandy, apple brandy or Calvados, and sweet vermouth. It is darker, richer, and more spirit-forward than the No. 2.
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 used gin, orange liqueur, Kina Lillet, lemon, and absinthe. It is brighter, sharper, and more citrus-driven.
Later books introduced additional formulas and sometimes reassigned the numbers. One historical No. 2 variation replaced the aromatized wine with Swedish punsch and is now sometimes called the Corpse Reviver No. 2A. Drinks labeled No. 3 or No. 4 are not consistently defined across the historical record.
The bartender should therefore avoid presenting the numbered drinks as an orderly, universally standardized series. The No. 1 and No. 2 are historically recognizable formulas; the later numbers are far less consistent.
Balance and Common Failures
A properly made Corpse Reviver No. 2 should be:
Cold
Bright
Dry to gently sweet
Citrus-driven
Lightly bitter
Aromatic without becoming perfumed
Herbal without tasting strongly of absinthe
Clean and structured through the finish
If it tastes like lemon juice, the alcoholic components may be too soft, the lemon may be unusually aggressive, or dilution may be insufficient.
If it tastes like orange candy, the orange liqueur may be too sweet or the aromatized wine may lack enough bitterness and acidity.
If it tastes medicinal, the absinthe was overused.
If it tastes flat, check the freshness of the aromatized wine and lemon juice before changing the formula.
If it tastes hot or disjointed, the drink may be under-diluted or the glass may not have been adequately chilled.
Small house adjustments can accommodate ingredient differences, but the classic training standard should remain equal parts. Any deliberate change to the proportions should be identified as a house spec rather than silently presented as the historical formula.
The most important final lesson is that brightness does not mean low intensity. Gin, orange liqueur, and aromatized wine make this a serious cocktail. It should be sold as a crisp, bracing classic, not as a light aperitif or an actual hangover cure.
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