All you Zombies,show your faces…

Well,you can never have too many Zombie riffs…or can you? The idea for this post first came from a Zombie recipe that came in my e-mail from Trader Vic’s:

While the Trader knew a thing or two about Tiki drinks,you can’t always bowl a strike. This is very tart to the point I added more grenadine to finish it,and it wasn’t very strong. I posted about it on Facebook,and Kevin Crossman suggested this version from the 1947 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide:

2oz Puerto Rican rum
1oz Jamaican rum
1/2oz 151 proof Demerara rum
1oz orange curacao
1oz orange juice
1oz lemon juice
1/2oz grenadine
1 dash absinthe

Stir with large ice cube,then strain into tall glass with crushed ice.

This was proper Zombie strong,but still too tart for me. All respect to the Trader,I’ll stick to his Mai Tais and to Donn for Zombies. Fortunately,I found another riff that I liked.

Mix #238 Zombie King

1oz Cruzan Blackstrap rum
1oz coconut rum
1/2oz Demerara rum
3/4oz allspice dram*
1oz pineapple juice
1oz lime juice
1/2oz cinnamon syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash walnut bitters

Shake with ice and pour into vessel.

*Original recipe called for 1oz but I backed it down.

From The Blind Rabbit in Anaheim comes an interesting Zombie riff. The blackstrap rum and allspice really come forward to make it taste more like a Xmas drink than Halloween. It does taste good enough to serve any time of the year. The original recipe called for a full ounce of allspice,but I dropped it to three quarters per a Reddit posting I read. I also don’t have walnut bitters,so that would’ve probably made it taste even more Christmas-y. In any case,while it’s not potent like most Zombies,if you like spicy and funky give it a try,you’ll like it.

So just one more week until Spooky Time. I’m getting excited.