It was a top-secret recipe and only two guests were allowed, so it’s no wonder Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie was a sensation from the moment it hit the menu in 1934. Like all Don The Beachcomber drinks, this particular ingredient was a closely guarded secret in its creation and is now only known through our dedicated study and research. Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry. Considering the original recipe contained 4 ounces of rum and the number of non-alcoholic ingredients was outnumbered by a 2:1 ratio, the 2 drink limit was a reasonable policy.
Many modern bartenders use less rum, but rum choice is still paramount to a successful zombie. On this front, the tasters, myself and bartender Paul McGee, founder of Chicago’s acclaimed and now-closed tropical bar Lost Lake, Orlando Franklin McRae of Brooklyn’s Night Moves, as well as Garrett Richard of Brooklyn’s Sunken Harbor Club is assertive and can see the fine line between showiness and arrogance. You should be able to taste the rum, but you can’t. just rum.
However, other elements of the drink are also not important. According to Magee, Zombie “needs the bright citrus of grapefruit, the grassy notes of absinthe, and the cinnamon and clove finish of bitters and farlernum.” If any one element is out of alignment, the drink will be soggy. Richard presents a surprising but apt analogy to technology. “With Microsoft products, if some component fails, the product still works. Whereas with Apple, if one part fails, the whole thing fails. “
The panel tasted eight different drinks (concocted by Nightmoves bartender Lavender Chanel) with over ten ingredients each. Our most ambitious tasting to date, Kitchen Sink recipes required the preparation of 20 unique syrups and the availability of 19 different rums. Anton Kinloch of Fuchsia Tiki in New Paltz, NY was the number one recipe posted. his zombie recipe This was the only eight in which the presence of grenadine was discernible, thanks to the fact that Kinlok acidifies the syrup so that even a mere tablespoon makes it pop. This was what McCrae was specifically looking for. As for the rum, Mr. Kinloch stays true to the original’s intense nature. 1.5 ounces each of Havana Club Anejo Classico Puerto Rican Rum and Hampden Estate 8 Year Jamaican Rum are blended with 1 ounce of Hamilton 151 Proof Demerara. The rum was the brightest. “[Demerara rum] It should be on top when everything else is around,” said Richard. “You can taste the layers,” agreed Maggie.
Second place was chris coy zombie From the Inferno Room, Indianapolis, Indiana. A blend of Plantation OFTD, Worthy Park 109 Jamaican Rum, and Hamilton 151 Proof Demerara Rum, the rum’s profile was less assertive for its non-alcoholic ingredients, but the carp recipe had its rich, velvety flavor. It had a pronounced mouthfeel, a very difficult quality to achieve. Drinks made in a spindle blender can easily become too thin and feel thin. Thanks to it is a thick honey syrup that complements the essential cinnamon syrup and phalernum. “It’s very difficult to get the texture right with this drink, but it worked beautifully,” said Richard.
Third place went to Shantal Tseng, a Washington, DC-based legal consultant. recipe It was bold and spiced with thoughtfully theatrical and fragrant garnishes. An upside-down lime shell was stuffed with overproof Demerara his rum, topped with a few drops of absinthe and Angostura bitters, ignited, sprinkled with nutmeg and poured over the drink. . Ms. Tseng is the only bartender to choose her half-ounce amount of Rum Her Agricol, which she paired with Overproof Jamaican Her Rum and Demerara Her Rum. Compared to the drops and dashes in most other recipes, Absinthe was a full quarter ounce, straying away from the drink’s archetype, but after tasting (and re-tasting) the lineup, it’s still remained in our hearts. As Richard sums it up, “It’s a weirdo. A lovable weirdo.”
