Category: Recipe

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1947 Zombie

I’m sure some of you reading this might be thinking, “1947 Zombie? Your year is incorrect.” Well, friends, it is correct and it is delicious.

Behold the Zombie recipe from Victor Bergeron’s 1947 Bartender’s Guide. Trader Vic didn’t have Don the Beachcomber’s secret recipe but his Zombie is no slouch. It is boozy but very easy to drink.

Zombie (Trader Vic’s)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
½ oz Grenadine
1 oz Orange Curacao (Cointreau)
1 oz Jamaican Rum (Plantation Xaymaca)
2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (Bacardi 4)
½ oz 151 Proof Demerara Rum (Hamilton 151)
1 dash Pernod
Stir in mixing glass with large ice cube, then pour over shaved ice in a tall glass.

A few months ago I posed a question in a Facebook group to ask what were the seminal ingredients for a Zombie (in the same way that Orgeat is the seminal ingredient for a Mai Tai). I honestly did not get any sort of consensus answer, except for a mix of rums and maybe Cinnamon syrup. We also know that Grenadine is a key differentiator between the 1934 Zombie and a Jet Pilot.

All of which means that Trader Vic’s Zombie is probably not quite as spice-forward as those who love the 1934 Zombie are expecting. But it isn’t a terrible “guess” by Vic at what made the Don the Beachcomber Zombie world famous. The grenadine is there, along with Pernod/Herbsiant that often used in Don the Beachcomber cocktails. And, the rums are pretty much exactly as what Donn used in his various Zombie recipes.

Is it as good as a 1934 Zombie? Certainly not. But I’ll tell you that it is miles better than most Zombies I’ve had at good craft-oriented tiki bars.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Happy Hulaween.

The glass is from last year’s kickstarter from Will Penny.

 

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Lagoon of Mystery Rum Blend Mai Tai

I’m testing out the Orgeat from Liquid Alchemist, and while today I’m not quite ready to render a verdict, I did have fun watching the latest YouTube episode from Lagoon of Mystery. The latest episode covers Orgeat, including a home recipe demo. And finishes with a Mai Tai. Note that these are my lime/orgeat ratios, whereas the recipe from the video was ¼ less for both.

Mai Tai (Lagoon of Mystery Rum Blend)
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Liquid Alchemist)
½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao)
¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds)
1 oz Appleton Signature Rum
½ oz Clement VSOP Rhum
½ oz Rum Fire White Overproof Rum

This is a flavorful Mai Tai with the notes of the Clement and Rum Fire registering quite well, but not overpowering the cocktail. Well done!

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Painkillers for Two

I had fresh pineapple juice and fresh orange juice, so no better time to make a Painkiller. This is the kind of drink that Mrs. Mai Tai tends to prefer so I made it a little larger with a little more OJ and rum and then split this into two glasses. I like this cocktail with a lower Pineapple ratio so I’m going to keep this ratio going forward.

Painkiller (serves two)
3 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Valencia Orange Juice
1½ oz Coconut Creme (Liquid Alchemist)
3 oz Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum
Shake with crushed ice and pour into a tall glass. Garnish with ground Nutmeg and Cinnamon.

It has been too long since I’ve had a Painkiller. This one was really great with that fresh juice and the flavorful and high-proof Pusser’s rum.

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Bloody Wallbanger

The 1970s-era cocktail the Harvey Wallbanger is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine, but only when quality fresh orange juice is used. While not a complex cocktail, it is still pretty refreshing. Normally I recommend Valencia Oranges to be used in cocktails anytime OJ is called for but I had a Blood Orange and gave this riff a try.

Bloody Wallbanger
3 oz Blood Orange Juice
¾ oz Galliano
1½ oz Light Rum (Denizen)
Shake with crushed ice and pour into a tall glass

Blood Orange Juice is more tart than Valencia, but this cocktail didn’t suffer. In fact, it might be even a little bit more balanced. The Galliano is somewhat further back in this variant, but adds a little bit of additional flavor.

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Saturn Variant: Janus

A criminally underrated tropical cocktail is the Saturn, a late 1960s recipe that includes several syrups along with Gin. I decided to riff on it using Rum instead of Gin, so I named it after one of Saturn’s many moons.

Janus
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup
¼ oz Falernum
1½ oz Rum
Shake with crushed ice and strain into a Coupe glass.

I tried this with the best White Rum around, Probitas. That rum is a mix of Barbados rum and Jamaican rum and is so delightful when you want to taste the rum in a cocktail of this style. I also tried this with Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, which is heavier than the Probitas but still not overpowering the rest of the ingredients. If you made this with each of the rums it probably would reinforce your style preference (I preferred the Jamaican) but both are excellent.

I really like the subtle flavor of the Falernum in this, and I think it pairs well with the Passion Fruit Syrup and the Orgeat.

Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

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Coronado Luau Special

This recipe was recommended by Nathan Robinson who tried it with Blood Oranges. I needed to use up my Valencia Oranges though so went with the traditional Orange Juice.

This is recipe from the Luau Room at the Coronado Hotel, and noted by the inclusion in Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log.

Looking at the recipe I thought that this wasn’t very balanced and had too much juice/sugar. Turns out that’s exactly how it was. I added some Brandy and it was better, but this one likely won’t be going into rotation. I riffed a bit on the ingredients, so check the Grog Log or the Total Tiki app for the original recipe.

Coronado Luau Special
3 oz Valencia Orange juice
1½ oz Lemon juice
½ oz Lime juice
1 oz Demerara syrup
1 oz Dark Jamaican rum (Coruba)
1 oz Light rum (Denizen White)
¾ oz Cognac
¼ oz Ferrand Dry Curacao
¼ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
Float 1 oz Brandy
Flash blend

Be sure to check out more recipes and posts from Nathan Robinson who has some great photos on his feed.

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Don’s Spices no. 2 Mai Tai

A little bit of a riff for the Mai Tai tonight. It’s a regular Mai Tai but replaces the Demerara/Rock Candy Syrup with Don’s Spices no. 2. That’s equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Pimento Dram/Allspice Liqueur. I used BG Reynolds Vanilla Syrup and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram.

I don’t love cocktails that are Allspice forward, but just a little can be really great. This was a wonderful Mai Tai.

Glassware by B-Rex, paired with a B-Rex mug and Disney mementoes. The Mai Tai glass is still available so check out the B-Rex site.

2 oz Denizen Merchants Reserve Rum
½ oz Ferrand Dry Curacao
½ oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
¼ oz Don’s Spices no.2
1 oz Lime juice