Maple Zombie
Invented in the late 1930′s by Don Beach of Hollywood, this strong drink is usually made from fruit juices, liqueurs, and various types of rum. As the story goes, Don often made it for one of the regulars to his Beachcomber restaurant. The man left on a week long trip after having three large Zombies and upon his return he declared that he’d become the “living dead” for the entire length of his trip. And so the Zombie was named and to this day customers are limited to only two Zombies per visit.
There are hundreds of different versions of the Zombie. Some with Cognac, some containing brandy, but all include rum, the secret of the Zombie. So many variations have come and gone it is difficult to say which variations were created when and who created them. This simple variation below uses maple syrup.
Don used rum not typically available in the USA so unless you can take a Caribbean trip you are going to have to find substitutes.
Dons Original Zombie
- 3 oz water
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz fresh grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz sugar syrup
- 1 oz dark rum
- 1 oz gold rum
- 1 oz white rum
- 1 oz overproof rum
- 1 1/4 oz spiced rum
- 3/4 oz Cherry Heering
- 1/2 oz Falernum syrup
- 2 dashes (1/2 tsp) Pernod
- 3 dashes (3/4 tsp) Grenadine
Shake all ingredients (except the overproof rum) with ice. Strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice. Float the overproof rum on top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Garnish with pineapple wedge and cherry. Find a very comfortable place to sit down and relax.
If you find yourself short on the necessary ingredients of Falernum and Heering, don’t despair. Wake the dead with this simplified version of the classic.
Easy Zombie
- 1 oz light rum
- 1 oz gold rum
- 1 oz dark rum
- 1 oz apricot brandy
- 2 oz grade a maple syrup
- 1 dash (1/4 tsp) Grenadine
- 1/2 oz overproof rum
Shake all ingredients (except the overproof rum) with ice. Strain into any tall glass filled with ice. Float the overproof rum on top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Avoid operating heavy machinery.
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