Tiki Central / Tiki Drinks and Food / Mai Kai Zombie
Post #585106 by Hurricane Hayward on Fri, Apr 15, 2011 8:49 AM
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Hurricane Hayward
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Fri, Apr 15, 2011 8:49 AM
It's pretty darn similar. As you may or may not know, many of the Mai-Kai drinks are direct descendants, if not exact copies, of Don the Beachcomber drinks. Many remain unchanged since the restaurant's 1956 opening. The Zombie is a great example and my favorite Mai-Kai drink. The flavor profile is very similar to the 1934 version, probably more so than any other version. It's definitely not a copy of the sweeter, simpler 1950 Zombie.
Your initial sips of this drink yield strong cinnamon, Pernod and mint flavors and by the second or third sip you're savoring the strong rums. Although the Mai-Kai apparently no longer pours Demerara, there's most likely a 151 at play here. I'd call this a slight variation of the Donn Beach original. For those craving more knowledge (and more than a few Zombies), I'd highly recommend Beachbum Berry's seminar at the upcoming Zombie Jamboree on Monday, April 25, at the Mai-Kai: Not only will the Bum grace us with an enlightening presentation (and drink samples), but afterwards you'll be able to sample up to a dozen different contemporary Zombie recipes as bartenders compete to see who can put the best spin on the classic. It's all part of the annual Miami Rum Renaissance Festival. I'm one of the contestants and will be competing against a slew of industry professionals and rum representatives. Hopefully I'll represent Tiki Central and the home Tiki bartender community proudly. I'll post photos and a report on the event here: |
