savoy corpse reviver: yet another corpse reviver recipe

Posted on by barkeep

There are several different Corpse Reviver recipes out there, and the Savoy Corpse Reviver is just one of the many. As the name suggests, it is a loosely connected family of cocktail drinks that are intended to be hangover cures. The Corpse Reviver #2 drink is probably the most popular of them all.

The Savoy Corpse Reviver is variation invented by Joe Gilmore, who was the head barman at the Savoy Hotel’s American Bar in 1954. The base spirit in this recipe is Brandy unlike the Gin in the Corpse Reviver #2 and Cognac in Corpse Reviver #1. The drink also contains Fernet Branca, which is an uncommon or not so popular ingredient which can be hard to find.

There are several different recipes for the corpse reviver family of drinks. It is also not uncommon to find completely different recipes sharing the same name. Most of these recipes share the same or similar name only because of the intended use of the drink, which is to cure hangovers.

Ingredients

  • 1 shot of Brandy
  • 1 shot of Fernet Branca
  • 1 shot of White Creme de Menthe

Recipe/Preparation

  1. Add ice cubes into a martini shaker
  2. Add a shot of Brandy into the shaker
  3. Add a shot of Fernet Branca into the shaker
  4. Add a shot of Creme de Menthe
  5. Shake the ingredients several time to mix them well
  6. Strain the contents of the shaker into a chilled martini glass.
savoy corpse reviver martini cocktail

Variations and Similar Drinks

Most of the Corpse Reviver drinks are not the variations in the normal sense. They happen to just share the name because of the intended functionality of the drink.

Corpse Reviver #2: A Gin based corpse reviver that also uses Lillet Blanc and Lemon juice. This is probably the most popular of the Corpse Reviver family.
Corpse Reviver #1: A Cognac based drink that contains Calvados (or Apple Brandy) and Sweet Vermouth.
Kentucky Corpse Reviver: A variation of the Corpse Reviver #2 where the Gin is replaced with Bourbon Whiskey.

Notes and Tips

  • This is an acquired taste, but then so is most hangover cures. Some might find this close to undrinkable on a daily basis, but not so much if you are hungover.
  • If you find the drink to be bitter, try adding a little more sweetness to the drink with a little bit of simple or sugar syrup.
  • Fernet Branca is an Italian liqueur which has a bitter taste to it. It is usually consumed as a digestif rather than a cocktail ingredient.