Zombie Cocktail Recipe

The Zombie, a potent combination of three varieties of rum, lime juice, Don’s Combine No. 2, falernum, grenadine, absinthe, and bitters, is taken into account by many to be the final word tropical cocktail. This drink was invented by legendary barman Donn Seaside within the Nineteen Thirties. His Hollywood bar, Don the Beachcomber, is credited with offering the blueprint for the mid-Twentieth century’s kitschy tropical cocktail motion. Seaside is credited with creating many tropical classics just like the Three Dots and a Sprint and the Cobra’s Fang.

The story goes that Seaside first combined the Zombie for a hungover businessman who wanted a “hair of the canine” earlier than a gathering. What the person obtained as an alternative was an easy-to-sip, however extra-boozy cocktail. When the person later complained that he’d gone to his assembly “feeling just like the residing useless,” Seaside supposedly grinned and christened his new creation the Zombie. Whether or not it occurred precisely that manner hardly issues; what counts is how neatly the story captures the drink’s spirit. Including to the drink’s infamy, Seaside instituted a two-drink restrict on the dangerously potent Zombie, which had the impact of daring his friends to strive it.

Throughout this period, many tropical bartenders stored their signature recipes carefully guarded. To forestall their bartenders from taking the recipes with them once they left, Don the Beachcomber pre-batched syrups and gave them numerical values. The bartenders knew the proper parts to combine, however had no concept what was really within the bottle. The unique Zombie referred to as for Don’s Combine No. 2, a syrup with a recipe that was utterly unknown till tropical cocktail historian, bar proprietor, and creator Jeff “Beachbum” Berry found it was a mixture of cinnamon syrup and recent grapefruit juice.

Why the Zombie works

As is typical of Donn Seaside’s originals, the Zombie has an extended checklist of elements that, at first look, may seem fairly unwieldy. The genius of Seaside’s creations is that they’re all constructed on the bitter, cocktail historical past’s most dependable template.

The place the basic bitter combines spirit, citrus juice, and sugar, Seaside provides a deep richness and complexity by utilizing a number of types of every core part within the Zombie. Beginning with the rum, Seaside mixed a punchy, funky Jamaican rum with a softer, barely aged rum from Puerto Rico, and a wealthy, caramel-like 151-proof demerara rum, making a potent combination that stands as much as the opposite sturdy flavors within the Zombie.

For the citrus part, Seaside caught with lime juice. Don’s Combine additionally comprises grapefruit juice, which offers a slight bitterness that helps stability each the heavy rums and lots of sweeteners.

The Zombie makes use of three sweetening elements: the rum-based spiced liqueur falernum, wealthy grenadine, and Don’s Combine, which is a mix of grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup. The result’s a fancy, wealthy profile with an honest quantity of tropical spice. The notes of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg are amplified by the addition of Angostura bitters, and some drops of absinthe add a refined presence of anise.

The ensuing drink is balanced, boozy, and sophisticated whereas nonetheless being a refreshing sip. This particular recipe comes from Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and stays true to the unique Nineteen Thirties recipe. With out his efforts, trendy bartenders won’t be capable of recreate this fruity, spicy, rum-heavy basic.