The way I see it, you have two choices right now. Either you spend January consuming spirulina and quinoa, and contemplating zumba...
This is what I intend to do, once I have given you the insalubrious alternative, which is to administer a short, sharp shock to the system.
I had such a jolt myself on a hazy afternoon in the American Bar last year. As the evening session approached, I asked Erik the bartender for something that would bring the world back into focus again. He returned with a Corpse Reviver #2, a recipe listed in Harry Craddock’s celebrated Savoy cocktail book of 1929.
The various members of the Corpse Reviver family seem to have little in common except that our forefathers used them to zhuzh themselves up at low moments. The Corpse Reviver #1 is a puissant concoction of two parts cognac to one part apple brandy and one part sweet vermouth, “to be taken before 11am”, according to Craddock. One of his successors at the American Bar came up with a Corpse Reviver involving brandy, Fernet Branca and crème de menthe — but the classic is the number two.
To make one yourself, combine equal parts gin, orange liqueur (Cointreau is best), Lillet Blanc and fresh lemon juice in a shaker with half a teaspoon of absinthe and plenty of ice. Shake and strain into a cold martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
The result is my go-to drink when I need to get out of a tight spot. The lemon juice purifies, the Cointreau adds a sherbety sweetness and the Lillet makes it feel all sophisticated. The absinthe (which you must not overdo) floats above the drink like a wistful phrase in a Debussy piano piece. It is at once delicate and incredibly powerful. Though as Craddock warned: “Four of these will swiftly unrevive the corpse again.”
