mortician

THE CORPSE REVIVER SHOW


THE CORPSE REVIVER SHOW

With Mortician Amber Carvaly
& Special Guest Host Aydrea Walden
& Guest Bartender James Slay
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Welcome to our Halloween show!  And how better to celebrate the season of spooks, costume parties, and candy comas than by plunging headlong into death!  Our guest is Amber Carvaly (Undertaking LA), a mortician with a mission to bring the funeral back into the hands of the bereaved and away from corporate casket-dealing bastards, and we get in deep conversation about death, dying, and whether you should be buried with your keno chips.

And our drink is the Corpse Reviver, versions number one and (the more common) number two, a class of drink as old as the 19th century, but brought into popularity by one man during prohibition.  We try both the old-school brandy-based beverage, and the more brunch-friendly gin-and-lemon version.   Which will revive a corpse faster?  You be the judge!

And with us again is special guest host Aydrea Walden, creator of The Oreo Experience blog, and guest bartender James Slay… Because Spork and Therm are dead!  (Alert Bela Lugosi.) (NSFW as always.)

Subscribe on iTunes here!

Or listen directly here!

DRINK ALONG AT HOME!
The Corpse Reviver no. 1 
(The olde-timey one.)

  • 2 parts Cognac
  • 1 part Calvados or Apple Brandy
  • 1 part Sweet Vermouth

Stir ingredients together with ice.  Pour into a cocktail glass, or if you’re appropriately schmancy, a coupe glass.  Administer to ease the walking dead hangover.

The Corpse Reviver no. 2
(The citrusy bunch-friendly one)

  • One part (or 3/4 oz) Gin
  • One part(or 3/4 oz) Cointreau or Curacao
  • One part (or 3/4 oz) Lillet Blanc
  • One part (or, wait for it… 3/4 oz) Lemon Juice
  • One dash Absinthe

Strain all the ingredients together into a shaker with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Drink.  And to quote Harry Craddock, inventor of the Corpse Reviver no. 2, “Four of these taken in quick succession will unrevive the corpse again.”

OUR DRUNKEN GUESTS

Amber Carvaly can be found at Undertaking L.A. and at the Order of the Good Death.

Aydrea Walden can be found at The Oreo Experience blog.

And James Slay can be found slinging drinks at Barbara’s at the Brewery, and his band The Capgun Holdups can be found in bars around Los Angeles.

BUY THESE BOOKS, YOU LOADIE!

The Savoy Cocktail book by Henry Craddock is an indispensable tome for all lovers of classic cocktails.  A direct reprint of the original 1930 volume, this book is home to the original recipe for the Corpse Revivers no. 1&2, as well as dozens of prohibition-era drinks.  Drink like you’re historic, man!


Amber Carvaly’s partner in crime at Undertaking L.A. is Caitlin Doughty, founder of the Order of the Good Death, and one of the foremost advocates for a more natural approach to caring for the dead.  Her book Smoke Gets in Your Eyes recounts her time working in a crematorium.  Damn, it’s fascinating.

 

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