Recipe: Zombie experiment

Okay since there are about a billion variations on the Zombie, while I like both the 1934 Original and the 1956 versions just fine, I'm not a huge fan of Pernod especially since it can overpower a drink very easily. I'm planning on experimenting with a new recipe I came up with this weekend to try to utilize a few different rums I've picked up recently. I'll post a report after this weekend and if anyone else is willing to try this one out too, let me know your thoughts!

Walking Dead (Modern Zombie)

1 oz. Flor de Cana Extra Dry
1 oz. Mount Gay Eclipse Gold
1 oz. Pyrat XO
1 oz. Appleton Estate Extra 12-Year
1/2 oz. Lemon Hart 151
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz. B.G. Reynolds Don’s Mix
1/2 oz. B.G. Reynolds Falernum
1/4 oz. B.G. Reynolds Hibiscus Grenadine
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Crushed Ice

I think I'm gonna need a big mug for this one....

[ Edited by: bender_rodriguez 2013-04-25 10:47 ]

[ Edited by: Bender_Rodriguez 2013-04-25 10:48 ]

On 2013-04-25 10:37, Bender_Rodriguez wrote:
1 oz. Flor de Cana Extra Dry
1 oz. Mount Gay Eclipse Gold
1 oz. Pyrat XO
1 oz. Appleton Estate Extra 12-Year
1/2 oz. Lemon Hart 151

I think I'm gonna need a big mug for this one....

...and something large and soft to land on when you fall over! Looks like an interesting (and high-octane) Zombie experiment. Have fun and let us know how it goes. Extra points if you post a photo of yourself passed out on the floor, ha...

Hence the reason I plan on trying it this weekend instead of tonight, lol. We're having a tiki party/luau for a joint birthday for me and the Mrs. I'm thinking this will easily be a potent enough drink for two, but hell it's a Zombie, so it SHOULD be strong right? I'm just hoping it's well balanced :P

'dats a lotta booze!

Yeah, the more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm apt to wuss out and cut one of the amber rums out of the mix. We'll see :P

But it's da weekend - if you test it on Friday or Saturday night you'll have the whole next day to recover if it doesn't go well, heh... Actually, you may be good to go with just one. But if it turns out way tasty and in your impairment you decide to do a second one, then adios and it's off to driving the big white porcelain bus for you!

On 2013-04-25 12:58, Bender_Rodriguez wrote:
Yeah, the more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm apt to wuss out and cut one of the amber rums out of the mix. We'll see :P

It seems like a lot at first glance, but remember that a '34 Zombie has 3 oz of 80 proof rum and 1 oz of LH 151, so you're look at 4 oz total and effectively 5 oz if you consider the 151 as almost double strength of the 80. Your recipe is 4 oz of 80 proof and 0.5 oz of 151, so it's also effectively 5 oz of rum.

The recipe itself looks promising, and I can see the influence of the 1950 recipe with the passion fruit and pineapple juice. It may end up on the sweet side for a Zombie (that's a relative scale, I'll admit), but I say that as someone who really likes the '34 version. To me, part of the appeal of a Zombie and its inherent strength is that you really don't power it down quickly like a sweeter drink. It you make a cocktail with 4-5 oz of rum in it, and a fair bit of sweetness you're really setting yourself up for a short night. One Zombie can become three very easily that way. :D

One recommendation I'd make to your base recipe is to substitute straight cinnamon syrup for the Don's Mix. It'll give you more bite and little less citrus (since Don's Mix is 2:1 grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup anyway). The falernum sounds like an interesting addition to the elements of the 50s recipe (pineapple, passion fruit).

Be sure to report back in!

kevin

--
if it's not a little complicated, it's probably not worth it.
http://twitter.com/heylownine

[ Edited by: heylownine 2013-04-25 22:12 ]

Ok, so I couldn't resist making one. I stuck to your original recipe with 3 exceptions: I subbed Cruzan light for Flor de Caña, I subbed El Dorado 8 because I don't have Pyrat or anything similar, and I used my own don's/falernum/grenadine.

It certainly has that Zombie strength and the falernum isn't lost with pineapple/passion fruit. I think the Appleton 12 gets lost (it's one of my favorites so I'd rather feature it). Maybe V/X?

I do prefer the flavor profile of the '34, but this is a good blend of the 30s and 50s. Nicely done! :)

Kevin

--
if it's not a little complicated, it's probably not worth it.
http://twitter.com/heylownine

[ Edited by: heylownine 2013-04-25 22:15 ]

Kick ass Kevin! I'm definitely excited to try this now. My main thought with the 12 year was to have a dark Jamaican rum in the mix, but I get where you're coming from. I'm out of of VX, but I do have Appleton reserve, so maybe I'll sub that instead. The color of the drink is definitely great. Mahalos for the photo!I definitely appreciate your review! How did you feel after finishing off that bad boy? LOL.

On 2013-04-25 21:50, heylownine wrote:
Ok, so I couldn't resist making one. I stuck to your original recipe with 3 exceptions: I subbed Cruzan light for Flor de Caña, I subbed El Dorado 8 because I don't have Pyrat or anything similar, and I used my own don's/falernum/grenadine.

It certainly has that Zombie strength and the falernum isn't lost with pineapple/passion fruit. I think the Appleton 12 gets lost (it's one of my favorites so I'd rather feature it). Maybe V/X?

I do prefer the flavor profile of the '34, but this is a good blend of the 30s and 50s. Nicely done! :)

Kevin

---

--
if it's not a little complicated, it's probably not worth it.
http://twitter.com/heylownine

[ Edited by: heylownine 2013-04-25 22:15 ]

On 2013-04-26 09:23, Bender_Rodriguez wrote:
How did you feel after finishing off that bad boy? LOL.

Right after I finished your Zombie, I made a '34 Zombie. After finishing that, I went to bed. :D

Kevin

My favorite Zombie variation is to use the 1934 recipe except substitute 1:1 Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur (or ginger infused simple syrup if you have it) for the Don's Mix.

Finally mixed up my Zombie variant last night and I gotta say it was pretty amazing. Just like Heylownine said, it's a terrific blend of the 30's and 50's Zombie. I did end up subbing the Appleton 12-year with Appleton Reserve since I didn't want to lose the flavor of the 12-year in the mix as Heylow said. The LH151 shined through and the falernum added great depth. No one flavor dominated and the drink was really well balanced. Powerful, yet smooth. Not too sweet, but definitely dangerous. As much booze there was in the drink, it would be easy to down 2 or 3 of these and be sloshed before you even realize it. I mixed up a bunch of these for folks at my party and it was a HUGE hit. However just so I didn't have a bunch of "Walkers" stumbling around my lanai, I split the drink into two small 7oz. tumblers per guest (finishing off the remainder from my shaker of course :wink: ) I think I've come up with a winner :D

Might have to give that a try Trop, thanks.

On 2013-04-27 06:03, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
My favorite Zombie variation is to use the 1934 recipe except substitute 1:1 Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur (or ginger infused simple syrup if you have it) for the Don's Mix.

Haha right on Kevin. I drank one and a half myself (sharing the other half because I'm a generous guy, lol) in addition to a Prince Kuhio (2oz. Cruzan Dark, 1oz. Kahana Royale Macadamia Liqueur, 1.5oz. pineapple juice, 1/2 oz. Orange Juice, dash of simple syrup), a Mai Tai, and a bit of a Scorpion bowl I made. Thankfully we had a ton of food catered from Moki's Hawaiian Grill, in addition to some pupus I made, otherwise I'm not sure I would have made it as long as I did last night, lol.

On 2013-04-26 23:05, heylownine wrote:

On 2013-04-26 09:23, Bender_Rodriguez wrote:
How did you feel after finishing off that bad boy? LOL.

Right after I finished your Zombie, I made a '34 Zombie. After finishing that, I went to bed. :D

Kevin

On 2013-04-28 13:16, Bender_Rodriguez wrote:

Hey! Now we have a face to put with the name.

A-LOOOOOOOOOOOO-HA!

Yeah, I was wondering if I should actually post my face on here, lest it be confused for the latest mug from Tiki Farm.

So after the rather wretched day I had at work, I had to make the drink again. This time I subbed Cruzan Aged rum in place of the Mount Gay Eclipse. I'll have to say, I enjoyed it more with the Mount Gay as the spiciness of it helped enhance the falernum and the Lemon Hart. The Cruzan was nice, but was kinda lost since its flavors are much milder than Mount Gay (in my rather amateurish experience). In either case, I think I'll stick with my original recipe with the Mount Gay instead.

Anyways, here's a picture!

Zombie on a Tuesday. I salute you sir.

...and you took the time to garnish nicely for yourself and share a pic. Bravo! Must have been a helluva day at your work.