Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Rum Cocktails

Zombie Rum Cocktail

Zombie cocktail in curved Hurricane glass, orange hued over crushed ice with mint sprig garnish, on back background

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Zombie is a classic drink by the legendary bartender and restaurateur Donn Beach. It's one of many popular cocktails created and served at the lively Hollywood bar, Don the Beachcomber, which opened in 1933 and was responsible for kicking off what became popularly known as the Tiki-style of drink.

The Zombie is a behemoth of a cocktail that features three different rums—Jamaican, Puerto Rican and 151-proof—along with fresh lime juice, falernum, grenadine, a few drops of absinthe and Don's mix, a cinnamon-flavored simple syrup mixed with fresh grapefruit juice. It's emblematic of the type of cocktails served at Beach's bar—strong and complex with many ingredients and multiple rums. The Zombie fits perfectly within Donn's philosophy, "If you can't get to paradise, I'll bring it to you."

Bartenders and authors regularly tweak the Zombie, so published recipes can vary. Even Beach changed his recipes over the years, and another legend of Tiki-style cocktails, Trader Vic, also served a version on his restaurant menus.

This recipe comes from Tiki historian, bar owner and author Jeff "Beachbum" Berry and stays true to the 1930s original. Just note that Beach allegedly limited his customers to two Zombies because of their strength. Any more, he said, could make you "like the walking dead."

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Jamaican rum

  • 1 1/2 ounces Puerto Rican gold rum

  • 1 ounce 151-proof demerara rum

  • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/2 ounce Don’s mix (recipe below)

  • 1/2 ounce falernum

  • 1 teaspoon grenadine

  • 4 dashes Pernod

  • 1 dash Angostura bitters

  • Garnish: mint sprig

Steps

  1. Add the Jamaica rum, Puerto Rican gold rum, demerara rum, Pernod, lime juice, Donn’s mix, falernum, grenadine and bitters into a blender, then add 6 ounces of crushed ice.

  2. Blend at high speed for no more than 5 seconds.

  3. Pour the contents into a tall glass or Tiki mug and add additional crushed ice to fill, if necessary.

  4. Garnish with a mint sprig.

How to Make Don the Beachcomber's "Don's Mix" at Home

Bring 3 crushed cinnamon sticks, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Simmer for two minutes, then remove from the heat and let sit for at least two hours before straining into a clean glass bottle.

To finish the mix, add 1 part of the syrup to 2 parts fresh grapefruit juice. Cover and keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Why Is It Called a Zombie Cocktail?

The most well-known origin story of the cocktail's name suggests that Donn Beach created the Zombie in an attempt to cure the hangover of one of his regulars. When Beach later asked how his cure had worked, the customer allegedly said it made him feel like a 'zombie.'

What Is the Alcohol Content of a Zombie Cocktail?

At four ounces of spirit—one of those ounces an overproof spirit—the original Zombie recipe makes a potent cocktail with more than double the alcohol content of a typical classic cocktail recipe.

The combined liquid components of the Zombie clock in at around 32% ABV by themselves (depending on the exact brand of rums used). However, blending with 6 ounces of crushed ice, as the recipe states, brings the final ABV of the drink down to a more manageable 16–20% ABV