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Cocktail History
The Necromancer is a modern cocktail that was created by Jacob Briars, a bartender and brand ambassador at Bacardi. Another variation of the Corpse Reviver No. 2, the recipe also calls for gin, absinthe, and lemon, but it swaps the ratios of the gin and absinthe in favor of more anise-flavored spirit. It also omits the citrus liqueur and opts for floral elderflower liqueur instead.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Absinthe: This is a spirit made with anise, wormwood, fennel, botanicals, and alcohol. We used Great Lakes Distillery Amerique 1912 Absinthe Verte because it’s flavorful and made locally to us. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Absinthe in place of the absinthe.
Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflowers, citrus, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. We used St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur because it’s high quality and has a fresh flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur.
Lillet Blanc: This is an aromatized wine liqueur made in France with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes, citrus, florals, honey, baking spices, and water. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Apéritif Dry in place of the wine liqueur.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Gin: This is a spirit made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. We used Bombay Sapphire Gin because it has a crisp and clean botanical flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin.
Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
The Necromancer has citrus-tinged licorice aromas followed by a flavor that starts with slight herbality and citrus before leading into palatable and slightly sweet explosion of absinthe, florals, and has a slightly tart vermouth-like finish.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This one was interestingly polarizing to us. As expected, Kendall liked but didn’t love it mostly due to its inclusion of absinthe, but Alex found the Necromancer to be an absolutely wonderfully complex but crushable combination of the flavors, with just enough of everything but not too much of anything.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“After trying the Death In The Afternoon the day prior, I was a little afraid to open up our bottle of absinthe again, but I was pleasantly surprised by this foray into the anise spirit. The Necromancer was a delicious combination of absinthe, sweet elderflower, the extra herbs of Lillet and gin, and citrus. While honestly very difficult to describe with words, the flavors of this recipe were absolutely delicious to my palate. The absinthe was the star of the show, but it was in no way aggressive or too far forward since the other flavors all worked so well together. It gets five stars from me after the few sips it took to realize how good it was.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“I’m not a fan of absinthe and will typically write off any recipe that uses it as one I’m probably not going to like, but I have to give this one credit. The absinthe flavor is still there, but it’s much more palatable than it usually is, in my opinion. I still don’t love the anise note so I can’t quite rate it as one I’d have again because the truth is that I wouldn’t. But if you don’t mind absinthe or are trying to get used to it, this cocktail is worth a try.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor.com, an online beverage publication.
Add absinthe, elderflower liqueur, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Add absinthe, elderflower liqueur, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Absinthe in place of the absinthe, Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Apéritif Dry in place of the wine liqueur, and MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Halloween Cocktails
If you like this Halloween-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Witch’s Brew Lemonade: A gin cocktail made with lemonade, blue curaçao, lemon juice, and a rosemary sprig
Poison Apple: A rye whiskey cocktail made with cinnamon syrup, cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice, and apple slices
Vampire’s Kiss: A lemon vodka cocktail made with raspberry liqueur, cranberry liqueur, lemon juice, grenadine, cherry, clove, and cinnamon bitters, and red food coloring
Empress Corpse Reviver No. 2: A gin cocktail made with triple sec, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, absinthe, and an orange twist
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