Zombie
Donn Beach, Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, 1934; recipe recovered by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry
The Zombie is three rums, including an overproof Demerara, shaken with lime, grapefruit and cinnamon, falernum, grenadine, a touch of absinthe and bitters, then poured over crushed ice. It tastes fruity and spiced and hides a lot of rum. A Halloween drink in every sense.
- GlassCollins
- MethodShaken
- Ingredients9
Directions
- Shake all ingredients with a few cubes of ice.
- Strain into a tall glass or tiki mug over crushed ice.
ToolsJiggerShakerHawthorne strainerCollins glass
Don't have these? Build a drink from your shelf →History
Donn Beach created the Zombie at his Hollywood bar, Don the Beachcomber, around 1934, and kept the recipe secret with coded ingredient bottles. Tiki historian Jeff "Beachbum" Berry spent years reconstructing it, publishing the recovered version in Sippin' Safari. It is the drink most responsible for tiki's reputation for strength.
Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
What you'll need to buy
Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.
Bottle math, generally
Batching dilution
When you batch, there's no ice melting in a shaker, so you add the water yourself: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken ones.
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