Corpse Reviver #2

Two or three milliliters, swirled around a chilled coupe and tipped out. The film left behind is enough. Measured in properly, absinthe takes over inside two sips and the anise buries the lemon, which is the single most common way this drink gets ruined.

Pastis or Pernod will do the job, though both are sweeter and heavier on licorice, so use even less. Herbsaint sits closer in style. If you have none of them, leave it out rather than reaching for ouzo — the drink still works, just quieter.

A large one. Cointreau is the reference and it's dry enough to keep an equal-parts build honest. Cheap triple sec is sweeter and thinner and tips the whole thing over. If that's what you have, cut it to 18 ml and add a little more lemon.

Not identical. The original specified Kina Lillet, which carried more quinine bitterness than today's Lillet Blanc. Cocchi Americano is the closest widely sold stand-in and restores that bitter spine. Blanc vermouth works perfectly well and reads a touch softer and more herbal.

Stronger than it tastes. Only one of the four equal measures is juice, and the citrus hides the rest completely. The name is a joke about hangover cures, and the printed advice about what happens if you drink four in a row was not entirely a joke.

A classic Corpse Reviver #2 calls for absinthe, to rinse Absinthe, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Gin, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Triple sec / Cointreau, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Blanc vermouth, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Fresh lemon juice. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A Corpse Reviver #2 is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.