October calls for a spooky drink, so I’ve come up with a Zombie that’s suitable for grown-up Halloween parties. The original Zombie, like many Tiki drinks, calls for a dizzying array of ingredients – and deals an equally dizzying punch to the cerebellum. The remixed drink offered here is much simplified, doesn’t require a blender, and has a complex autumnal aroma. The molasses in the dark rum and the coconut meld into a caramelly flavor cut by the acidity of the juice, the sweet cinnamon turns smoky, and the bitters add a fresh herbal top note. It’s vital that you squeeze the juice on the spot – bottled juices, even those not from concentrate, make for a shockingly different cocktail.
Classic Zombie
• 1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum
• 1 1/2 ounces gold Puerto Rican rum
• 1 ounce 151-proof Demerara rum
• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 1/2 ounce falernum
• 2 teaspoons grapefruit juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon syrup *
• 1 teaspoon grenadine
• 6 drops Herbsaint or Pernod
• dash Angostura bitters
• 6 ounces crushed ice
Put everything into the blender, ice last, and blend for five seconds. Pour into a tall glass and garnish with fruit, mint sprig and umbrella.
Remixed Zombie
• 1 ounce fresh-squeezed pink or ruby red grapefruit juice
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 ounce black rum (like Cruzan Black Strap)
• 1/2 ounce 151 rum
• 1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup *
• 1/8 teaspoon coconut essence **
• dash citrus bitters (about three drops)
Measure each ingredient into a shaker with ice, shake
until frothy, then strain into a tall glass over ice. Garnish ideas: candied grapefruit peel, sugar skull, glass eyeball.
* To make cinnamon syrup, boil together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water with two broken-up cinnamon sticks. After syrup boils and sugar is dissolved, set aside for two hours to let cinnamon infuse, then pour through a strainer.
** Coconut essence is available at most Asian markets or in the baking aisle of some supermarkets; substitute coconut extract if necessary.
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This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2011.
