Tiki
Zombie
Made with cinnamon syrup · Donn Beach, Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, 1934
- collins
- crushed
- blend
Zombie
- 1½ oz45 ml gold or dark Jamaican rum
- 1½ oz45 ml gold Puerto Rican rum
- 1 oz30 ml 151-proof Demerara rum (e.g. Lemon Hart 151)
- ¾ oz22 ml fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp10 ml fresh white grapefruit juice (part of Don's Mix)
- 1 tsp5 ml cinnamon syrup (part of Don's Mix)
- ½ oz15 ml falernum
- 1 tsp5 ml grenadine
- ⅛ tsp1 ml Pernod or absinthe (about 6 drops)
- 1 dash1 dash Angostura bitters
- Put everything in a blender cup with about 6 oz (a heaping cup) of crushed ice.
- Flash-blend for no more than 5 seconds, just enough to chill and froth.
- Pour into a tall glass and top up with more crushed ice.
- Garnish with a mint sprig.
Garnish: Mint sprig
The syrup
In this recipe
Cinnamon Syrup1 tsp5 ml
Cinnamon syrup is simple syrup infused with whole cinnamon sticks.
1/2 oz Don's Mix = 2 tsp grapefruit juice + 1 tsp of our 1:1 cinnamon syrup; or batch 2 parts grapefruit to 1 part syrup and keep it refrigerated.
As printed: Don's Mix (2:1 white grapefruit juice:cinnamon syrup), 1/2 oz
Or use
Falernum Syrup (Non-Alcoholic)½ oz15 ml
Falernum is a Caribbean lime, ginger, clove and almond syrup used in tiki drinks.
Spec means the liqueur (John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum). Swap our non-alcoholic falernum syrup 1:1 by volume; it is a little sweeter and has no alcohol, so trim by about 1/8 oz if the drink runs sweet.
As printed: falernum (Punch and Kindred specify John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum)
Or use
Homemade Grenadine1 tsp5 ml
Real grenadine is pomegranate syrup: pomegranate juice and sugar warmed together until dissolved, with optional pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water.
As printed: grenadine, 1 tsp
Where it comes from
Donn Beach created the Zombie at his Hollywood bar, Don the Beachcomber, in 1934, and it spread east via the 1939 New York World's Fair. Beach kept his recipes in code and limited guests to two Zombies each; Jeff Berry decoded the 1934 formula for Sippin' Safari (2007).
Source: Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari by Jeff Berry (2007).
Checked against: Punch - Zombie (Don the Beachcomber 1934, as translated by Jeff Berry) · Kindred Cocktails - Zombie (Sippin' Safari) · IBA - Zombie
Gear for this drink
Ninja Professional 72 oz Countertop Blender (BL610)
OXO SteeL Angled Measuring Jigger
Best for Measuring syrup into drinks