The Zombie cocktail is a classic tiki drink from the 1930s, concocted by the legendary Donn Beach in his restaurant “Don the Beachcomber” in Hollywood, California. The Zombie is a very complex drink. Made with 3 different rums (Jamaican dark rum, Puerto Rican Gold rum, and 151-Proof rum), fresh lime juice, Absinthe, Falernum, Donn’s Mix (cinnamon simple syrup mixed with fresh grapefruit juice), Grenadine, Angostura bitters, and Pernod. Serious stuff…

The story goes, Donn originally concocted the Zombie for a hangover customer who had to get through a business meeting. No need to explain how bad that idea was. Several days later, that same customer returned with a complaint. The drink turned him into a zombie, and I guess his meeting didn’t go so well… 😀 The name stuck and since the cocktail is really potent, the restaurant limited the customers to only 2 cocktails.

Beach was very cautious of his original cocktails and even used coded words and references to ingredients. Some might call that paranoid, but there was a copy of the Zombie at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, served by someone who wanted to take credit for it.

On the list of IBA Official Cocktails.

 

Ingredients:

  1. 1 ½ Ounce (45 ml) of Jamaican Dark rum.
  2. 1 ½ Ounce (45 ml) of Puerto Rican Gold rum.
  3. An Ounce (30 ml) of 151-proof rum.
  4. ¾ of an Ounce (25 ml) of fresh lime juice.
  5. 6 drops of Absinthe.
  6. ½ Ounce (15 ml) Falernum.
  7. ½ Ounce (15 ml) of Donn’s Mix (cinnamon simple syrup and grapefruit juice).
  8. A teaspoon of Grenadine.
  9. A dash of Angostura bitters.

Preparation:

Shaken:

  1. Add all ingredients into a shaker with crushed ice.
  2. Shake well and pour into a tall glass or a Tiki mug.
  3. Top up with crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
  4. Enjoy.

Blended:

  1. Add all ingredients into a blender.
  2. Add crushed ice.
  3. Blend for 5-6 seconds.
  4. Pour into a tall glass or Tiki mug.
  5. Garnish with a mint sprig.
  6. Enjoy.

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