Raising the dead: a classic cocktail comes alive in New Orleans

Cheers, Sept, 2007 by Donna Hood Crecca

To be in New Orleans for the Tales of the Cocktail is a wonderful thing--the city is a literal smorgasbord of great food and an orgy for cocktail geeks. Add to that the presence of cocktail greats--Dale DeGroff, Gary Regan, David Wondrich, Tony Abou-Ganim, Francesco Lafranconi, Audrey Saunders and Julie Reiner, among others--and one can be star-struck on so many levels. While I was fortunate to hobnob with mixology royalty and sample many an outstanding drink while in the Crescent City, one drink and one bartender proved most memorable.

Cafe Adelaide & The Swizzle Stick Bar, a Brennan establishment nestled in the Loews New Orleans Hotel on Poydras Street, has been on my radar for some time. Exuding the spirit of the cocktail culture of the 1950s and '60s--the time in which Adelaide Brennan pursued the good life in New Orleans--it caught my attention late last year, when I heard bar chef Lu Brow and executive chef Danny Trace had created the first Bar Chef Table. A menu of harmonious food and cocktails, with drinks shaken and stirred in view of the guest? I'm there.

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While I didn't book such a dinner, I did have the pleasure of occupying a bar stool at the Swizzle Stick for some time on Saturday evening. It was early enough and not yet crowded, and I was thrilled to see Brow herself behind the bar, especially since she was a participant in the Tales' Bar Chef Competition late that afternoon. While Brow did put on a great show during the competition, she looked far more at home behind the bar at the Swizzle Stick.

Her title of bar chef indicates she plays at a different level--and it's rightly deserved--but Brow is the quintessential New Orleans bartender. Soft spoken, with an easy smile, she embodies Southern hospitality, although a sly wit belies her Louisiana roots; she grew up in Shreveport and has been in New Orleans since 2005. We talked about our current favorite cocktails, and found a shared guilty pleasure--coconut rum and pineapple juice sipped by a pool on a hot day. "It just tastes good," she enthused.

But Brow is a passionate fan of the classics and of cocktail history. While the cocktail menu includes signatures like the Neutral Ground--Sogno di Sorrento Crema Limoncello, peach liqueur and house-made sour mix--and "Modern Day Libations," including DeGroff's Whiskey Smash, along with "Cocktails for Hot, Humid and Balmy Weather," such as the New Orleans Lime Daiquiri, it's the "Classic Cocktails" section that Brow gravitates to when asked for a recommendation. When laid on the bar, the menu seems to naturally fall open to it. Coincidence? I think not.

Thanks to a conversation with a fellow drinks writer earlier that day, a particular cocktail was on my mind, the Corpse Reviver II. Brow's face lit up at the mention of it, and she quickly went to work.

As if the name Corpse Reviver isn't enough to catch one's attention, the "II" is what really got me. Do we need to revive the dead twice? Apparently, the original--outlined by legendary bartender of the early 1900s and author of The Savoy Cocktail Book Harry Craddock as a mix of Calvados, VS Cognac and sweet vermouth--must not have done the trick. When asked about the first version, spirits expert and author Robert Plotkin notes that those revived might rejoin the living specifically to complain about the cocktail.

The Corpse Reviver II is a much more refined way to bring someone back, no doubt. There are numerous versions, but Craddock's recipe lists gin, Lillet, lemon juice, Cointreau and absinthe. Renowned cocktailian Gary Regan weighs in that Corpse Reviver is actually a group of cocktails that essentially deliver the "hair of the dog." Craddock purported that when four were consumed in quick succession, the dead--or at least those feeling six feet under--would be raised.

Brow's version follows Craddock's to marry Tanqueray Gin, Lillet, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice with a drop of Herbsaint, served in a chilled cocktail glass. The aroma alone is sublime. A sip reveals that in Brow's hands it is a perfectly balanced, delectable treat, the best of each ingredient showcased and complemented by the others, made spectacular by the charm with which it was delivered. I was revived and ready for another night in New Orleans.

RELATED ARTICLE: CORPSE REVIVER II

Lu Brow, bar chef at Cafe Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick Bar, New Orleans, La.

  1 oz. Tanqueray Gin
  1 oz. Cointreau
  1 oz. Lillet Blanc
  1 oz. fresh lemon juice
  1 drop Herbsaint

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a stemless cherry.