Corpse Reviver No. 3

A potent morning-after cure combining brandy with Fernet Branca and crème de menthe. Not for the faint of heart.

The Corpse Reviver family of cocktails takes its name from the Victorian-era concept of the morning restorative — a bracing drink administered to the sufferer of the previous night's excess. The No. 1 and No. 2 were the most famous, both documented in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, with Craddock's famous warning that four of the No. 2 in quick succession would revive the corpse and kill it again. The No. 3 emerged later, created at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar in London somewhere between the late 1940s and early 1950s, attributed to either Johnny Johnson or Joe Gilmore — two of the bar's most accomplished post-war bartenders. Where the No. 2 is gin-based and approachable despite its absinthe rinse, the No. 3 is a more intense proposition: brandy combined with Fernet-Branca's mentholated bitterness and crème de menthe's cooling green freshness. The combination is deliberately confrontational, designed to shock a compromised digestive system back into function. Fernet-Branca was formulated in Milan in 1845 by Bernardino Branca, who marketed it explicitly as a medicinal remedy for cholera, fever, and digestive complaints — making it an entirely appropriate choice for a morning-after formula. The Savoy's American Bar, which has operated continuously since 1893, remains one of the most historically significant cocktail bars in the world.