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Are you looking for a refreshing tropical drink that will absolutely ruin you?
The Zombie cocktail recipe is just the ticket.
Made using three different types of Rum (and a whole host of other booze too) this bad boy is a little extravagant in terms of ingredients…but it’s SO worth it.
Here’s what you need to know about making a Zombie…or just click here and jump directly to the recipe.
What is a Zombie?
A Zombie is a classic Tiki drink dating all the way back to the 1930s.
To make it, you combine dark rum, golden rum, Falernum, Grenadine, Angostura Bitters, Pernod, Lime Juice, and Don’s Mix to make a tropical, yet entirely boozy delight.
Zombie Ingredients
Now let’s take a look at the ingredients that go into our Zombie cocktail recipe.
…Or click here to jump directly to the recipe.
Dark Rum
Dark Rum is one of the official grades of rum, that typically comes in brown, black, or red colours.
Dark Rums are typically made using caramalised sugar or molasses, aged longer than other rums in charred barrels, and usually have much stronger flavours than light or golden rums.
For Dark Rum, we recommend:
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Cocktails with Dark Rum
Golden Rum
Golden Rum (aka Amber Rum) are medium-bodied, aged Rum that get’s its dark colour from aging in wooden barrels.
Golden Rums tend to have more flavour and are stronger tasking than their lighter counterparts.
For Golden Rum, we recommend:
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Cocktails with Golden Rum
Demerara Rum
Demerara Rum is made by fermenting molasses, which results in sweeter, rounder, and usually darker rum,
The rum is produced on the banks of the Demerara River using the sugarcane grown nearby.
For Demerara Rum, we recommend:
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Falernum
Falernum is a syrup from Caribbean that can either be a liqueur or a nonalcoholic syrup.
It contains flavours of ginger, lime, almond, and cloves or allspice and is widely thought of as a spicier version of orgeat syrup.
For Falernum, we recommend:
Grenadine
Grenadine is a non-alcoholic bar syrup that’s traditionally use to give a cocktail a red or pink tint and is made from pomegranate.
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Cocktails with Grenadine
Angostura Bitters
Angostura bitters is a concentrated bitters (aka a herbal alcoholic preparation) based on gentian (a kind of clear liqueur), herbs, and spices.
It’s produced by the House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago and is called Angostura as it was created in the town of Angostura in Venezuela.
Typically, Angostura Bitters are used for flavouring beverages and also produce orange bitters to add to the alcoholic flavouring collection.
For Angostura Bitters, we recommend:
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Cocktails with Angostura Bitters
Pernod
Pernod is a type of Absinthe that can be traced all the way back to the 1790s.
It’s made by mixing wormwood, fennel, melissa, and anise in a neutral spirit (usually wine) in a copper alembic where the mixture is distilled to produce a transparent liquor.
For Pernod, we recommend:
What Barware do I need to make a Zombie?
So, now we know what ingredients we need to make a Zombie – what barware do we need?
Jigger
It’s important to get the mix of any cocktail right. The measurements are set for a reason – to specify a tried, tested, and tasty drink.
A jigger is going to help you get those perfect measurements – after all, it is what the pro’s use.
For a jigger, we recommend:
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Hawthorne Strainer
If you (or perhaps the person your buying for) don’t have a Hawthorne strainer as part of a cocktail shaker set, it’s a great, and incredibly useful, cocktail gift you need in your cocktail toolbox.
The strainer is typically used to remove the ice (or any other unwanted solid ingredients) from your cocktail as it’s poured from the cocktail shaker into your glass.
For a Hawthorne Strainer, we recommend:
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Cocktail Shaker
Cocktail shakers improve the taste of cocktails. It’s a fact.
There’s a reason that famed British spy James Bonds says “shaken, not stirred”. And that reason is: because it tastes better.
If you don’t already have a cocktail shaker set, you might want to check out our detailed Cocktail Shaker comparison article.
But to cut a long story short, here’s the cocktail shaker we recommend:
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What Glass is a Zombie Served In?
A Zombie is typically served in a Tiki glass.
For Tiki glasses, we recommend:
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Zombie Cocktail Recipe
Zombie
Tweet this Recipe
Share on FacebookIngredients
- Dark Rum 45ml / 1.5oz
- Golden Rum 45ml / 1.5oz
- Demerara Rum 30ml / 1oz
- Lime Juice 20m / .6oz
- Falernum 15ml / .5oz
- Donn’s Mix (2 parts fresh white grapefruit juice and 1 part cinnamon syrup) 15ml / .5oz
- Grenadine 1tsp
- Angostura Bitters 1 dash
- Pernod 6 drops
- Garnish with a sprig of Mint
Recipe
- Add Ice and all of the ingredients to your Cocktail Shaker.
- Shake well until the outside of the Shaker is cold to the touch.
- Strain mix with a Hawthorne Strainer into a Highball Glass or a Tiki Glass.
- Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Recipe Variations
Whilst this is the official Zombie recipe, there are a couple of interesting variations on the recipe out there.
Some recipes ignore Falernum and replace it with pineapple juice and passion fruit syrup, but the BBC recipe changes the recipe quite considerably, using white and dark rum, lime juice, grenadine, and pineapple juice. Now THAT does sound refreshing.
But it gets a little wilder. Bacardi adds Triple Sec and orange juice to the mix in their version whereas the Delish recipe uses Apricot Liquor and lime bitters in their mix.
How to make Donn the Beachcombers’s “Donn’s Mix” at Home
Donn’s Mix comes from the creator of the Zombie cocktail itself and combines white grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup.
You can make your own by:
- Bring 3 crushed cinnamon sticks, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil, stirring the sugar until it has fully dissolved.
- Simmer for 2 minutes and then remove if from the heat.
- Let it sit for 2 hours before straining into a clean container.
- To finish the mix, add 1 part of the syrup to 2 parts fresh grapefruit juice.
- Cover and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
How do you garnish a Zombie Cocktail?
You garnish a Zombie with a sprig of mint.
Who Created the Zombie Cocktail?
The Zombie was created by bartender and restauranteur Donn Beach in 1934. He created in his bar, Don the Beachcomber, in Hollywood.
For years, Don kept the recipe under wraps and so many different exotic variations sprang up as the drink became more and more popular.
Our recipe is the closest to the original, and the same as the International Bartenders Association’s official version of the recipe.
Why is it called a Zombie?
Legend has it that the Donn Beach created the cocktail in an attempt to cure the hangover of one of his regular bar patrons.
Later, when Beach asked the man if the cure had worked, he said that it made him feel like a Zombie.
And so the name was born.
How Strong is the Zombie?
The Zombie is a rum-filled concoction that’s notoriously potent.
Billy Connolly famously said that it got him drunk from the legs up. He was feeling fine, until he tried to get off his bar stool and walk.
When to Serve a Zombie
The Zombie is a great summer drink that’s great for garden parties and Barbeques.
Want More Cocktail Recipes?
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