Tried a Zombie today...

Hi all

I tried the 1934 original zombie recipe. Used Lemonhart 151 / Appleton VX / Flor de Cana 4 gold, and BG Reynolds Falernum and Don's mix. Fresh lime juice, Pernod, etc. All exactly according to the recipe. Even used the 3/4 cup of ice, blended for exactly five seconds, then served in a glass with ice.

I did not like it at all. I managed about a 1/4 of the drink, then dumped all that beautiful alcohol in the sink. I looked at the recipe afterwards. It's all just alcohol and syrups. Kinda gross to be honest. No fresh flavors really except for the 3/4 oz of lime juice. The drink was not pleasant. I much prefer the 1950/Dr Cocktail version of a zombie (passion fruit, lemon, lime, pineapple, rums, bitters). Maybe it's just the fresh citrus flavors that I really like. I just found the original zombie to be unappealing and just yuck.

Sorry. Please don't crucify me.

Don't worry about it. Not everyone likes the taste of rum. It is called a Zombie for a reason, it is ALL BOOZE!

Sounds like you used the correct ingredients. I think it takes a couple before you will appreciate the flavor, it may be an acquired taste for some.

Do you drink rum neat? On the rocks? If not, one day when you do, you'll love the Zombie Punch... And the 151 Swizzle...

Forgot the mint!

No wonder! :wink:

Firstly, the BG Reynolds Don's Mix is not using fresh white grapefruit juice.

Secondly, my wife also prefers Meyers to the Appleton...molasses vs. brown sugar. The sweetness helps for her.

Thirdly, some may also find the Pernod overpowering.

Lastly, try the Aku-Aku version contained within "Beach Bum Berry Remixed."

Still think it may have been the mint!

When making my 1st 1934 Zombie I used very similar ingredients and it came out awful.
It didn't take long to figure out that the BG Reynolds Falernum was knifing through with a flavor I could not stand. Tried dialing back etc but that flavor just killed the cocktail. Other drinks that called for Falernum came out the same way.

Replaced the RG Reynolds with Fee Bros Falernum and I found magic in my tiki mug. All the wonderful flavors could now be tasted and savored.

Maybe a bad batch, maybe I just don't like BG Reynolds Falernum, but I ended up pouring the rest of the bottle down the sink. I made the purchase based on good recommendations, it just didn't work out for me.

Funny, because I LOVE BG Reynolds' falernum, much better than John D Taylor velvet falernum.

I didn't realize that you could purchase Don's mix. It is so easy to make, you should make it from scratch.

I always make my own Falernum and Don's Mix. Try that out and I bet you will like it better. Also, if you do not like the taste of Absinthe, make sure to put barely any Pernod into the drink. This can easily and quickly overpower the whole flavor.

And yes, fresh mint is where it's at! :wink:

I agree you should try the Aku Aku Zombie from Remixed. It retains the flavor elements of the 1934 version but dials back the alcohol to be balanced more like a standard Tiki cocktail. I adore the 1934 Zombie but I find myself making more and more of the Aku Aku version, it is very good.

I have only done my own Don's Mix so I don't know if that is an issue but I agree this is a challenging drink that can really grow on you with repeated visits. Now I can't get enough of 'em!

I've reacted kind of the same way to the don's style of the zombie. I drink rum straight, and strong drinks and had it's individual ingredients used in various cocktails but in this drink it seemed like to many things fighting to dominate. Where I've had this it's very popular and while while one of my friends guzzled two I was nursing mine, not too pleased until the ice started melting, then the drink opened up and the ingredients worked in harmony, I really started enjoying it. I didn't order a second, not because I didn't think it was good but because I wasn't patient enough to wait for it to "open up". Don't know if this would have helped your drink but sometimes a small change can make a big difference.

aloha, tikicoma

The Aku Aku Zombie is excellent. I have had probably 4-6 Zombie Punches (1934 Zombie) in the last few days. I have been making them with 80 proof rather than 151. The Aku is a "fruitier" Zombie.

I like to think of a Zombie Punch as a journey in a glass, because by the time you get to the bottom of that glass you will be in a different place. 5 ounces of booze will do that.

In 1934 the cocktails of the day were pretty much straight booze with a dash of something. So the booze of the Zombie was not an issue for them. It was likely closer to their taste than something like a Rum Barrel.

And it is important to dilute a drink a bit. The melting ice is part of the equation. All the tall tales of mixologists of old tossing out drinks when they sat in the window too long make us think it was like 30 seconds. Probably not. A bit of melting and dilution brings out the flavors properly and they knew that.

One thing in the directions for this drink that may need to be tweaked is the mix time. And by that I mean blender/mixer. These days I use the milkshake type mixer exclusively. You almost can't go wrong with it. It mixes the ingredients very well and chills them very thoroughly without turning it into a slushie like a blender. 4 seconds, 8 seconds will hardly matter. Once it's cold it's cold and you're good. And since this drink is potent, it should be sipped slowly and that allows it to dilute and change as you sip. along with your own mind changing as you get tipsier. The last 4 sips will be very different than the first 4 both in taste and in your demeanor. That's the real beauty of it.

To each his own, though the '34 Zombie is my all time fave Tiki drink: rum, rum and more rum. And some rum

Well, there are those of us that like our booze to taste like booze
then, there is the rest of you.

meh.

if we all start threads about the drinks we DONT like, this place would be overrun.

I hate Martini's!

Thank you all for the advice. I've looked up some Aku Aku Zombie recipes, and they seem to use Cruzan gold and Cruzan white for their rums. I will try my next one too with a legit cinnamon syrup and fresh grapefruit juice instead of Don's mix. I have a feeling the BG Reynolds Falernum was the taste I truly didn't like, and I will try that again individually to see if I can pinpoint that.

I was so surprised to not find this drink pleasant. I didn't hate it but I didn't enjoy it enough to finish it. The 1950 Zombie ("Dr. Cocktail's") is my favorite drink on earth, so I was really surprised to not love the original. I will definitely try to tweak it and see what I can do. And I do think I like the taste of rum, as I enjoy it neat and I do enjoy it in drinks like the daiquiri, the beachbum barry / original hurricane, etc.

On 2014-10-16 18:06, lunavideogames wrote:
I hate Martini's!

Ditto. A waste of perfectly good gin the way i see it.

I likewise find the 1934 Zombie a 'tough drink' - it's got spicy ingredients & lots of rum to balance. I have had some success cutting the rum down to 1-1-2/3rds & going light on the pernod.

There is a thread compiling all the published Zombie recipes & also Doctor Cocktail's Zombie Horde is excellent for new Zombie versions to make.

I've made the ones that appealed most (from both sources) the Aku Aku & Beachberry Simplified Zombies being my faves. Both need pepping up to meet the strength of the original.

Swankys tip to switch the 151 for an 80 are noted as something to try out.

I've made a few cocktails with Bacardi 151 in recently, they worked out fine (I thought they'd be terrible because, you know, it's 'Bacardi'! :o) so the 'switcheroo' to a Spanish 151 for the kick & a 80 proof demerara for flavour seems something else to try out.

*On 2014-10-16 07:36, Swanky wrote:
*And it is important to dilute a drink a bit. The melting ice is part of the equation... A bit of melting and dilution brings out the flavors properly and they knew that.

One thing in the directions for this drink that may need to be tweaked is the mix time. And by that I mean blender/mixer. These days I use the milkshake type mixer exclusively. You almost can't go wrong with it.

When I have made the 1934 Zombie 'right' the dilution has been key - I've been working my way round to buying a milkshake mixer for a while now too!

The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

On 2014-12-29 23:13, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

I see on your page where you mention your updates but I don't see the updated recipe, sir.

Ingredients are everything!

I took many of my cocktails for granted. Then I ran out of my preferred falernum and passionfruit syrup. So I made my own falernum to get me through and took my passionfruit juice and converted it to syrup. I made a cocktail or two and they were pretty rough. Well, very rough. If I made you a Zombie Punch with my normal stuff, you'd love it. If I made you a Zombie Punch with these ingredients, you'd hate it!

It took me many bad drinks to dial in the right flavor, but I was only able to figure it out because I had made it pretty perfectly before. If I had never made a Zombie right, I'd have no idea how to make these ingredients work.

So, I can certainly see making a Zombie Punch and not caring for it.

For me, I found my Passionfruit Syrup was so strong I had to use about 1/4 of what the recipe called for, and my falernum was about twice as strong.

This is where regular mixing pays off. You get to know your ingredients and can make the drink work by adjusting on the fly.

And then I mixed a pair of Zombie Punch "Lites" and managed to double the lime juice and killed those.. And I was stone cold sober! Took me till the next day to realize what I had done.

It is easy to take a good cocktail for granted when you have been doing this for a long time. And it is fairly easy to follow a recipe to the T and it turn out awful.

rockydog101, the update is there now. Sorry about that.

Swanky, you have a good point about ingredients, especially in drinks like the Zombie and Mai Tai. Most people obsess about the rums, but there's a lot more to it.

According to Mariano Licudine in a 1978 Palm Beach Post article:

What separates the good mixologist of tropical drinks from the ordinary is the blending of the juices and the weight of the syrup, he says, adding: "You've got to have the touch."

On 2014-12-29 23:13, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

Can you recommend a branded version of passion fruit syrup or do you suggest making it yourself?

Passionfruit syrup is very easy to make at home with frozen fruit pulp (Goya is the brand we get here), sugar and water. There is an easy to follow recipe in either Sippin' Safari or Remixed (or both).

While easy and very tasty, homemade passionfruit syrup is not shelf stable and should be refrigerated used within a couple weeks. I have had very good results using a couple of commercial Puerto Rican passionfruit syrups you can find at latin groceries (available here as well: http://www.prproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=PPSK&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=syrup) and I think are used as snow cone syrups. They are quality products made with fruit, sugar and water and some preservative chemicals that make them shelf stable.

On 2014-12-30 13:31, Chadwickitiki wrote:

On 2014-12-29 23:13, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

Can you recommend a branded version of passion fruit syrup or do you suggest making it yourself?

If you don't want to make it yourself, try the "Monin" brand

I made the Aku Aku version tonight. Absolutely delicious and very similar in taste to what Jeff is serving at Latitude 29, and it's what they serve at Tiki Tolteca in NO. I was trying to copy the rums they used at Tiki Tolteca. I think they used Meyers, ED5, and Plantation. So I used ED8, Plantation 5, and LH151. It was very good. I have ED12 and 15 too but didn't want to open them if not needed. This is a very delicious Zombie as is. What are your rum combos for this drink?

On 2014-12-30 13:31, Chadwickitiki wrote:

On 2014-12-29 23:13, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

Can you recommend a branded version of passion fruit syrup or do you suggest making it yourself?

The original standard was the Trader Vic's Passionfruit Syrup. Then they changed it and it really sucked. There were many things tried in those dark days and most were hardly any better and people began making their own from pulp. I do not recommend Monin or any other of those named brand ones. Torani or whatever.

Auntie Lilkoi's is the best choice now. It is actually superior to the old TV stuff. You can order 6 bottles and it will ship in one box. I think BG Reynold's is also good, but expensive. One of the things I like about Auntie's is the small bottles. I can fit it in the little door shelf in the fridge and don't have to open a giant bottle of something I use fairly slowly. I put one bottle in the fridge and stock the others in a cabinet.

My mistake was ordering bottles of her juice instead of syrup. So I made the juice into syrup and it was way too strong. Next time I will change my method. The taste was okay, just way too strong.

Agreed Aunties is the best. I will also use Finest Call in a pinch. It's not as good as Auntie's, but it's not bad & I can get it locally. It has been recommended by the Bum & I believe Hurricane also as a decent sub.

Thanks for the advise, I will order a bottle or two and give it a try. May also see if I can pick up some frozen passion fruit in order to make my own at home. Happy New Year to you all!

[ Edited by: Chadwickitiki 2014-12-31 13:58 ]

I tried the Beachbum Berry Simplified Zombie tonight. I really liked it. It basically just strips away a little bit of the work from the Aku Aku zombie.

For rums, I used 1 oz Appleton 12 and 1/2 oz ED8. It was really great. I'm trying to conserve my LH151 for now. What rum recommendations would you make for a 2 rum zombie? Or a 3 rum? I made a 3 rum Aku Aku zombie with Plantation 5, ED8, and Lh151, it was great, but again I'm trying to cut back on the LH.

Gotta Love Swanky

"I have had probably 4-6 Zombie Punches (1934 Zombie) in the last few days."

Wish you were out in Cali brother!

-Longboard

On 2015-01-06 15:15, Longboard wrote:
Gotta Love Swanky

"I have had probably 4-6 Zombie Punches (1934 Zombie) in the last few days."

Wish you were out in Cali brother!

-Longboard

Yeah, you know he's had 4-6 zombies if after only a few days he can't remember the actual number. :)

On 2014-12-31 09:04, Swanky wrote:

On 2014-12-30 13:31, Chadwickitiki wrote:

On 2014-12-29 23:13, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
The Zombie served at The Mai-Kai, created by Don the Beachcomber alum Mariano Licudine in the 1950s, is a great combination of the best elements of the 1934 and 1950 Zombies. You can taste both the passion fruit and Pernod, along with the rums. Like most drinks at The Mai-Kai, it's sweet and savory, but it also has a spicy kick. Check out the updated tribute recipe ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/01/mai-kai-cocktail-review-the-theory-of-evolution-of-the-zombie/#tribute

Can you recommend a branded version of passion fruit syrup or do you suggest making it yourself?

The original standard was the Trader Vic's Passionfruit Syrup. Then they changed it and it really sucked. There were many things tried in those dark days and most were hardly any better and people began making their own from pulp. I do not recommend Monin or any other of those named brand ones. Torani or whatever.

Auntie Lilkoi's is the best choice now. It is actually superior to the old TV stuff. You can order 6 bottles and it will ship in one box. I think BG Reynold's is also good, but expensive. One of the things I like about Auntie's is the small bottles. I can fit it in the little door shelf in the fridge and don't have to open a giant bottle of something I use fairly slowly. I put one bottle in the fridge and stock the others in a cabinet.

My mistake was ordering bottles of her juice instead of syrup. So I made the juice into syrup and it was way too strong. Next time I will change my method. The taste was okay, just way too strong.

If you live near a chinatown, you might also be able to find Sarang Tawon brand passionfruit syrup. I haven't tasted it side by side with any of the other brands, but it smells just like fresh passionfruit and the first 2 ingredients are passionfruit and sugar. To top it off, it's only 5 bucks a bottle.