The zombie is a

Tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small woo ...

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

made of fruit juices,

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

s, and various

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

s. It first appeared in late 1934, invented by Donn Beach at his Hollywood ''Don the Beachcomber'' restaurant. It was popularized on the East coast soon afterwards at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

History

Legend has it that Donn Beach originally concocted the zombie to help a hung-over customer get through a business meeting. The customer returned several days later to complain that he had been turned into a

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

for his entire trip. Its smooth, fruity taste works to conceal its extremely high

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

content. ''Don the Beachcomber'' restaurants limited their customers to two zombies apiece because of their potency, which Beach said could make one "like the walking dead." According to the original recipe, the zombie cocktail included three different kinds of rum, lime juice, falernum,

Angostura bitters Angostura bitters () is a concentrated bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) based on gentian, herbs, and spices, produced by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. It is typically used for flavouring beverages, or less often, food. The ...

Pernod Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod (brand), Pernod'' or ''Ricard (liqueur), Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and ...

grenadine Grenadine () is a nonalcoholic bar syrup commonly used as a cocktail ingredient, distinguished by its sweetness, mild flavor, and red color. Popular in mixed drinks, grenadine syrup was traditionally made from pomegranate, but today is most p ...

, and "Don's Mix", a combination of

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

syrup and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

juice. Beach was very cautious with the recipes of his original cocktails. His instructions for his bartenders contained coded references to ingredients, the contents of which were only known to him. Beach had reason to worry; a copy of the zombie was served at the

by a man trying to take credit for it named Monte Proser (later of the mob-tied Copacabana). Beach's original recipes for the zombie and other Tiki drinks have been published in ''Sippin' Safari'' by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Berry researched the origins of many Tiki cocktails, interviewing bartenders from Don the Beachcomber's and other original Tiki places and digging up other original sources. ''Sippin' Safari'' details Beach's development of the zombie with three different recipes dating from 1934 to 1956. The zombie was occasionally served heated (a drink more commonly known today as the I.B.A. hot zombie), as outlined by the Catering Industry Employee (CIE) journal: "Juice of 1 lime, unsweetened pineapple juice, bitters, 1 ounce heavily bodied rum, 2 ounces of Gold Label rum, 1 ounce of White Label rum, 1 ounce of apricot-flavored brandy, 1 ounce of papaya juice" The cocktail is named in the lyrics for the song "Haitian Divorce" on the 1976 album '' The Royal Scam'' by

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

Preparation

Preparing a cocktail consists of adding a glass of ice and all ingredients to a shaker or juicer (except for Rum 151, if it's included in the recipe at all), shaking the closed shaker vigorously for five seconds, and serving in a glass. Then pour the 151 rum over the mixture so that it lies on top of the other ingredients, and finally, garnish the glass with a slice of some fruit of your choice.

Options

One variation on the recipe is to keep the base of the various rum, brandy, and Bacardi varieties and substitute orange, pineapple, lemon, and grenadine juices for the pineapple and papaya juices. Another version is based on giving up brandy and substituting juices from sweeter flavors to more citrusy ones like lemon, pineapple and papaya. The zombie voodoo cocktail is a variation of the classic zombie cocktail. It contains unique ingredients like absinthe and blackberries that give it a distinctive flavor. This version retains the tropical base of the original zombie, but takes on a slightly different flavor thanks to the added ingredients.

Tiki culture influence

Due to the popularity of the cocktail during the Tiki craze, from the 1930s, and the fact that Beach kept his recipe secret and occasionally altered it, there are many variations of the zombie served at other restaurants and bars (some tasting nothing like the original cocktail). The word ''zombie'' also began to be used at other tiki themed establishments, such as at the Zombie Hut and ''Zombie Village''. Trader Vic also listed a recipe for the zombie in his 1947 ''Bartender's Guide''. Other competitors created drinks linked to the zombie. At Stephen Crane's Chicago Kon-Tiki Ports restaurant they featured a drink on the menu called ''The Walking Dead'': "Makes the dead walk and talk. For those who want immediate action - meet the first cousin to the famous 'zombie'. Demerara 151 rum. 90¢."

References

External links

Zombie
at the Bartender's Database
The Cocktail Spirit With Robert Hess: zombie (video)
- features 1956 Donn Beach recipe * {{Cocktails, IBA=y Tiki drinks Cocktails with rum Zombies Cocktails with Angostura bitters Cocktails with grenadine Cocktails with anise-flavored liquors Cocktails with lime juice Cocktails with grapefruit juice