Happy Halloween Indeed!

Some people, honestly. Luring me to their home the night before Halloween with a menu of "Corpse Revivers, Monkey Glands, Satan's Whiskers or some other appropriately named cocktail," when I arrived the dining room table was covered in newspaper and topped with a dozen pumpkins and squashes of varying sizes. Various implements of destruction were also on display, including power tools. Before I could skedaddle the heck out of there, though, a Monkey Gland was shoved into my hand. I left several hours later, two pumpkins to my credit. Thanks, K & D!

Scary Halloween Cocktail

"One Corpse Reviver recipe was entered by name in a little British tome titled 'Drinks of All Kinds' in 1895, and by Prohibition there were perhaps four or five examples of them. Of my favorite, the #2, Savoy barman Harry Craddock cautioned, 'Four taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.' Personally, I can't imagine drinking these in the morning, but then, no one has asked."

- Ted Haigh, "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails"

Originally formulated as a hangover cure, Haigh writes that Corpse Revivers were a class of drink rather than a single recipe. (Think "hair of the dog.")

Bright and citrusy, with the edges smoothed by Cointreau and Lillet (one of my favorite bath time-with-ice-and-a-twist liqueurs), this is a simple pre-dinner cocktail to make, and would easily adapt to pitcher proportions for a party.

For Halloween batches, a maraschino cherry is the perfect drop of blood in the bottom of the glass, but for everyday drinking we prefer amarena cherries for their more complex, and less artificial, flavor.

Corpse Reviver #2

1 oz. gin
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1-3 drops (not dashes) absinthe or pastis (Pernod, Herbsaint and Ricard all will work)

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Drop a stemless cherry into the bottom of the glass.