Zombie
Three rums, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon and falernum over crushed ice. A tiki classic, and a strong one.
- Time
- 7 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Glass
- Hurricane glass
- Strength
- 3.3 UK units
How to make a Zombie
- Pack the glass with crushed ice. Fill a hurricane glass to the top with crushed ice and put it in the freezer while you work. If you have no crushed ice, wrap cubes in a clean tea towel and hit them with a rolling pin until they look like gravel.
- Add everything to the shaker. Pour in the three rums, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon syrup, falernum, grenadine, absinthe and bitters, then fill the shaker two-thirds with ice.
- Shake hard. Shake for 10 to 12 seconds, until the shaker is painfully cold to hold and the tins start to frost.
- Strain over the crushed ice. Strain into the chilled glass. The ice should sit just above the rim, and the drink should be the colour of burnt orange with a little froth on top.
- Garnish and serve. Slap the mint between your palms to wake up the oils, tuck it in beside a straw and serve straight away.
- Glass
- Hurricane glassNo hurricane glass? Any tall glass that holds 350 ml and a good amount of ice.
- Ice
- Crushed ice
- Garnish
- A big sprig of mint, slapped between your palms firstOr: A lime wedge and a cocktail cherry.
What you need to make a Zombie
Kit
Cocktail shakerA two-piece Boston tin is the easiest to use and clean.
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
StrainerA Hawthorne strainer fits over the tin or glass.
Bottles we'd use
- A gold Jamaican or Demerara rumAppleton Estate Signature or El Dorado 5 Year Old bring the aged, funky depth the drink needs.Find it on Amazon
- FalernumVelvet Falernum is the easy one to find in the UK; it adds clove, almond and lime.Find it on Amazon
- A dark rumSomething rich and not too sweet: Goslings Black Seal or Myers's both work.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Zombie story
The Zombie is usually credited to Donn Beach, who opened Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood in the 1930s and is said to have made it around 1934. He guarded the recipe, writing his ingredients as coded numbers so rivals could not copy it, which is why so many Zombies since have been educated guesses. The story that he limited customers to two is widely told but hard to prove.
It works because the rums do different jobs: aged for depth, dark for weight, a lighter or overproof one for lift. Lime, grapefruit and cinnamon keep it from tasting heavy, and falernum and grenadine add spice and sweetness. It is strong, about three UK units in one glass. Make it once, drink it slowly, and do not stack them.
Zombie: your questions answered
What is in a Zombie?
A Zombie is made with 30 ml aged rum, 30 ml dark rum, 20 ml white rum, 25 ml fresh lime juice, 30 ml fresh grapefruit juice, 15 ml cinnamon syrup, 10 ml falernum, 10 ml grenadine, 3 dashes of absinthe and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. Garnish: a big sprig of mint, slapped between your palms first.
Is a Zombie shaken or stirred?
A Zombie is shaken, not stirred. Shaking hard with ice chills it quickly and helps mix the juice in properly, which stirring cannot do. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
How strong is a Zombie?
Made to this recipe, a Zombie contains about 3.3 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve a Zombie in?
Serve a Zombie in a hurricane glass over ice. No hurricane glass? Any tall glass that holds 350 ml and a good amount of ice.
