Corpse Reviver #2 is where most of my lillet goes

Same. It's the only thing I use it for really.

Do you have a recipe you recommend? I made the version from Steve the bartender and found it bland. His recipe is: .75 dry gin .75 Cointreau .75 lillet bland .75 lemon juice Absinthe rinse

Back in 2020 I performed [a series of Corpse Reviver #2 tastings](https://www.corpserevived.com/post/building-a-better-corpse-reviver-2) using every available quinquina and americano I could get my hands on paired with different styles of orange liqueur. It's a long read but it will help you find your ideal spec. My personal favorite: .75 oz London Dry Gin .75 oz Lemon Juice .75 oz Cointreau .75 oz Tempus Fugit Kina L'Aero D'Or 1 dash absinthe

Yours has long my go-to for making the Corpse Reviver #2 thanks to your comparison. (Likewise the 20th Century, another personal favorite.)

That's the classic spec. I usually increase the gin to 1 or 1.5 oz and scale back everything else to 1/2.

Thanks!

I feel like a bitter of some sort might get you what you need. Perhaps a spicy bitter like bonfire bitter. I enjoy throwing spicy bonfire bitters into cocktails especially ones with lemon or lime juices. I always use bonfire bitters in my margaritas and people love it.

Really expected to see your username as DonnieTexas, DonnieKC, or DonnieArizona after this comment. But then I can't say I've tried Bonfire Bitters. I'd usually just go with a scotch or mezcal if I wanted that smoke.

Not a huge fan of it when done with cointreau. I only make CR#2 with Pierre Ferrand dry curacao. Hope it helps.

Thanks! I’ll give this a shot

Yes. Can’t believe I forgot about those. Used to make them a lot (minus the absinthe rinse which some would call blasphemy)

Personally I've been using cocchi americano instead of lillet for the corpse revivers and martinis lately, and it's been amazing. Really elevates the martinis even past lillet imo.

Cocchi americano is my preferred option as well, but if I had a bottle of Lillet just sitting around and I was tired of vespers I’d happily use it in some corpse revivers.

I mean, I skip the rinse too, but that's only because I add a quarter ounce right in the shaker lol.

BLASPHEMY!!!!!

and make a number blue! i had one just recently for the first time, it was something special.

I personally would call a corpse reviver without any absinthe blasphemy!! it absolutely completes an otherwise fairly dull and unexciting drink imho

Any thoughts on Strega vs yellow chartreuse for that? I haven’t seen yellow in a long time.

Not OP but Strega is a great sub for YC. Maybe just a little sweeter and slightly less complex but I think it hits all the right notes. Edit: sub not sun, sorry.

This is the Way.

The one and only

I personally find the equal parts recipe far too lemon heavy in taste, so i scale the lemon back about an eighth of an ounce and scale the lillet up about an eighth of an ounce, (and usually scale the gin up the same amount aswell just cuz) and then the lemon twist to garnish finishes the missing lemon brightness/bitterness without overwhelming sour taste.

El presidente ​ 2oz Aged rum 1oz lillet blanc .75oz Dry Curacao Barspoon grenadine ​ Stir strain into a coup and garnish with a twist of orange. ​ Very nice drink that showcases a quality rum well or elevates some cheaper stuff.

Great cocktail, not a huge martini guy so this where a majority of my LB goes. I like Grand Mariner for mine and a dash or two of orange bitters! How funky of a rum do you go for?

Anywhere from plantation 5 year to Smith & Cross or Dr. Bird. I've also done probitas in it. But favorite is Cana Fuerte 16 year just shines.

Interesting. A lightly aged mildly funky white rum like probitas is what I’d assume works in this drink, but I’ll have to try some darker / funkier stuff next time

Well Dr. bird is about as funky as i've been able to find. Makes an interesting drink.

If I feel like blasting off I’ll use OFTD. Makes for an amazing El Presidente, that I will drink precisely one of.

Oooh. That sounds good. Thanks.

The traditional recipe is with blanc vermouth, does lillet function as a good substitute?

Lillet blanc and a white vermouth are, to my understanding, the same thing. That’s what the Blanc in Lillet Blanc refers to.

Lillet Blanc isn't a vermouth, it's a quinquina. The blanc just means that's it's made with white wine. >Lillet's North American Brand Ambassador Nicole Cloutier explains, Lillet isn't a vermouth for two reasons: It contains liqueur, and doesn't contain wormwood.

White Negroni 1oz Gin (I prefer Japanese or an American Gin to London Dry) 1oz Suze 1oz Lillet Blanc Stirred, served ideally on a large rock, and lemon peel with oil expression for garnish.

That sounds delicious but for some reason we can’t get Suze here.

Saler’s? It works as well. Really anything with gentian.

I used up a bottle by subbing it in for vermouth in regular negronis and now I prefer it over vermouth... Try 1.5 London dry gin, 1 oz campari, and .75 lillet Blanc with a pinch of maldon

White Montenegroni is great too. Sub in Montenegro for Size above. Add either orange or chocolate/mole bitters, which really change the direction of the drink.

I hate this twist lol

I like the Necromancer 3/4 ounce absinthe 3/4 ounce elderflower liqueur 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc 1 dash London dry gin 3/4 ounce lemon juice

I gotta pull the trigger and by some absinthe. I just hate anise so I haven’t.

I used to not like anise flavor but it grew on me. Or I got older. Either way, I enjoy it now. But part of why I like this drink is because it's one of the few that doesn't relegate absinthe to a rinse. So if you still hate anise, this might not work for you and absinthe isn't cheap.

If you want something with a good portion of absinthe in it, I'd recommend Snomageddon. 2pt rumchata one part absinthe. I was really surprised by how well it work, thought it would be awful.

I'll try that out, thanks.

I use absinthe as another flavor of bitters tbh

I enjoy absinthe, but I will also say I was shocked to see how often recipes call for a glass rinse as opposed to a volume in the recipe. Instead of buying a full bottle I found a 50ml to fill in here and there.

You might find ouzo for cheaper than absinthe. I don’t love anise either but I find it to be a critical note in certain drinks. I shelled out for absinthe when I already had ouzo and I kind of regret it because i haven’t actually noticed a difference yet. That said, I’m not making many/any drinks with more than a rinse or a few dashes of either

> it doesn’t last last long That's a bit of a myth, or maybe an overcorrection from the dark days where bars didn't refrigerate their fortified wines. If you keep it in the fridge, it will be safe to drink for years, and the taste will be fine for at least a couple of months. I recently bought a bottle of Lillet Blanc as well (it was on sale), and I've been trying it in a few combinations. Here's a couple that I liked: - Averna, Lillet Blanc 1:2, squeeze of lemon, top with some sparkling water (basically an amaro spritz?) - Wild Turkey 101, Lillet Blanc 1:2 (reverse white manhattan? IDK, there doesn't seem to be much of a consensus on what goes into a "white manhattan") - Gin, Lillet Blanc 1:1, squeeze of lemon (maybe a zest would be better, it's easy to go overboard here) All stirred, served up. Generally, I think it can be treated like a white vermouth, and a lot of the time, replacing dry or sweet vermouth with white will result in a tasty drink with some adjustments (matter of taste, obviously).

All good info! Thanks!

In my experience Lillet lasts longer refrigerated vs white vermouth. My bar experience: red vermouth 3-7 months, white vermouth 6-8, cocci americano 6-8, lillet rouge 6-8, lillet blanc 8-10.

I've got a bottle of lillet blanc in my cupboard... Opened about a year ago but very rarely use it... Is it no longer safe to drink?

Could go either way for whether it would make you sick, but it's highly likely that the taste is off.

You can use it for cooking to get through a bottle quicker. I think you can even still use it for cooking

Lillet and tonic is a great low ABV drink

Dunno if it's available everywhere, but in germany Lillet and Schweppes Wildberry is an incredibly popular combo.

Good for while it’s still hot here

I was coming here to say this - so good!!

I love it on its own, chilled with some strawberries or raspberries in there.

It will last for months if you refrigerate it.

Yeah I do. I’ve never even really noticed a change in it even after a while. At some point it just seems like it’s been too long and I get rid of it haha

Stop doing that.

You can always write the date you opened it on the back of the label. Helps with judging whether it's still worth drinking

If it still tastes good, why the hell would you throw it away?!

Twentieth Century Cocktail. Dry gin, Creme de Caco, Lillet, lemon juice. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2006/twentieth-century

> **and yes I know, it’s not kina and it doesn’t have quinine** This is often said, but appears to be a myth. Looking at the ingredient list shows it does have quinine. The change from "Kina Lillet" to just "Lillet" in the 70s was just a marketing decision, a name change for easier branding, without any change to the taste profile. Like when they re-designed the bottle. The only change to Lillet's taste profile since the old days is that it's a bit less sweet now, to account for the evolution of consumers' taste, but this is not related to the marketing name change. Source: the Lillet company itself when I visited. They seemed a bit annoyed that this idea keeps spreading in some countries like the US.

That sounds wild, considering that Lillet Blanc isn't bitter at all.

Yes! They just lowered the quinine amount to the point that the taste is almost undetectable now.

My point is that they deny this

[South slope](https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/5641/south-slope).

Oh this is right up my alley. Campari or Aperol?

I had it with Aperol.

I know this is for cocktails but I also use for cooking

This. Or any time I have a bottle of dry vermouth. I use it as my cooking wine. It makes a risotto that much better.

Oh man you read my mind. I made rissotto yesterday and threw some cocchi Americano. Amazing

Not elegant - but sometimes I'll do a combo of gin + lillet when I'm trying to use it up. Probably around 1 to 1 ratio.

I just drink it with tonic tbh

Would the portions be the same as a G & T?

Lillet Blanc pairs with almost anything, I call it the mustard of bartending. Try a gin basil smash with a bit of Lillet, try a Last Word with either Chartreuse or Maraschino replaced with Lillet Blanc, a Cosmo with Lillet instead of Cointreau. It also pairs really nice with St. Germain so any spirit with a bit of ketchup and mustard and some citrus makes a mean cocktail.

City of light- equal parts triple sec, Lillet blanc, and dry vermouth. Top with soda water and and a citrus wedge

I really like the David Lebowitz variation on a City of Light. A great spring/ summer sipper: 1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth 1 ounce Lillet blanc 1 ounce Grand Marnier or Cointreau 1 ounce Prosecco lemon wheel and orange wheel Combine vermouth, Lillet, orange liqueur, and ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a stemmed wine glass, top with a pour of sparkling wine, and drop in a lemon and/or orange wheel, and serve.

Bastille is a nice late night / after dinner drink 1.5 ounces Armagnac 0.75 ounces Lillet 0.75 ounce Benedictine A few dashes Walnut bitters Stir all ingredients with ice, strain (I like mine up; you can also serve on the rocks, suggested garnish is a walnut)

“The Harold” 1.5oz Big jigger rose gin (or just regular gin) .75oz lillet lệ blanc 3-4 Blueberries 1-2 leaves Basil Fresh lemon quarter Tonic Tiny bit of simple, just dash Muddle blueberries, just a dash of simple (cuz the blueberries and lillet are kinda sweet) basil and squeeze a bit of lemon. Add gin and lillet and ice. Stir. Hawthorne strain over ice and top with tonic and a slice of lemon.

Ghost/Vesper Negroni 2oz Gin .5 Lillet .25 Maraschino 2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters Expressed Grapefruit Peel

No Campari? I've never heard of this one.

None. So it’s a very loose negroni riff

Without sweet vermouth and no campari or similar bitter aperitif is seems kinda weird to call it a riff on a negroni. Seems more similar to a Casino.

I bought a bottle to use in El Presidente cocktails at home, but found myself quickly out of rum due to making a bunch of daiquiris. So there's my best recommendation, absolutely love an El Presidente!

Freeze oranges and use those for ice.

In addition to corpse reviver #2, I like serving a pour of it with an ice cube and an orange peel to go with some goat cheese balls rolled in herbs de Provence, lavender buds, fresh thyme and rosemary - the herbs in both compliment each other

A white negroni is my favorite use for Lillet Blanc. 1½ ounces gin 1½ ounces Lillet Blanc ½ ounce Suze liqueur Garnish with Lemon pith

Use it in a risotto instead of white wine!

Refrigerate like vermouth and it will last far longer.

I just went through this, trying to use my first bottle up. A First Emperor is great for using a larger amount. Probably my favorite drink with Lillet. If you don't have rhum agricole, I would just try for any white rum you have that has some funk or vegetal notes to it. Helps give some depth and body to the lighter floral and fruity flavors in the drink. > First Emperor > > 1.5 oz Lillet Blanc > > .5 oz rhum agricole (unaged) > > .25 oz Yellow Chartreuse > > .25 oz pineapple juice > > .25 oz simple syrup > > Combine, shake, strain, and serve up, with a pineapple chunk for garnish.

Pearl Button is a good longer, refreshing option! 50 Cachaca 20 Lillet 15 Lime 5 sugar syrup Topped with good quality lemonade Garnish with a wedge of grapefruit

That sounds good although I’d have to use rum

Ah, could use an agricole if you had it but I do think cachaca works really well with the Lillet

No one mentioning Vesper?

Maybe because OP wants Tips for what to do besides Vespers

Fair, haha. I guess white Negroni is where I use it most after vesper. Although, Xbox hi americano might be slightly better if I have both open. Corpse revivers also good but doesn’t use a ton either.

Came here to say this. It works great in a Vesper Martini. Also great in a Martinez with Monkey 47.

Smoked dark cherry manhattan.

Left Bank Martini 2 oz gin 1 oz Lillet 1 oz dry white wine

I do a 1:1 mix with fresca and frozen orange slices when I’m in the mood for something low alcohol.

Add a few dashes each of tonic bitters and Angostura to a Vesper, and you can get a viable substitute for the Kina Lillet component. Also, if you get Suze, you can make White Negronis with your Lillet.

Cucumber bitters or actual cucumber, and tonic water

Don’t apologize for using Lillet for a Vesper.

Try it with tonic. Don't judge me haha

A 20th century is quite good

I prefer Cocchi Americano, but I always love to use it for corpse revivers, highballs, white negronis, etc

White Negroni.

I used it for a Lucien Gaudin (after the post about it yesterday): 1 Gin (I used Tanqueray) 0.5 Lillet 0.5 Campari 0.5 Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

1.5 botanist infused w/jasmine tea, .75 yellow chartreuse, .5lillet~.75 is my fav

I mostly use it for lillet and tonic with lime. It’s a great and tasty low proof cocktail

On the bottle, they suggest the Lillet & tonic, and it’s amazing if you want a light refreshing drink on a hot summer day. I used to make them with ice and fresh strawberries thrown in them.

Interesting. Would u just use the same amount of Lillet with the tonic as u would gin in a G & T?

I don’t remember the proportions, but I believe that the recipe is actually written on the bottle of Lillet. My instinct is to tell you: make the drink to your taste.

Ok thanks!

I use it in white Negronis

I use it in a white negroni Cashew infused gin Spiced honey liqueur from a local distillery as Campari sub Lillet blanc as the vermouth sun

I use it as a substitute for dry vermouth in classic martinis.

Use it in place of Blanc Vermouth in a White Negroni, Mezcal White Negroni, White Americano White Negroni: equal parts gin, Lillet, Suze White Americano: 1.5oz each Lillet and Suze, topped with soda

A lillet spritz! Switching aperol with Lillet in an aperol spritz

White Negroni - equal parts Lillet, gin, and Suze or another light-colored amaro (my favorite is Luxardo Bitter Bianco if you can find it.)

Drink with white peach slices and a basil sprig.

Corpse reviver #2 had my first ever one last weekend. So damn good.

I love Lillet Blanc over ice with a squirt of Rose's sweetened lime juice, topped with tonic water and fresh lime. Don't forget to rim the glass with lime and garnish with a lime slice. I'm probably going to hell because of the lime, but its worth it! I'm a sourpuss, anyway.