Zombie cocktail
Encyclopedia
The Zombie is a cocktail
made of fruit juices, liqueur
s, and various rum
s, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s, invented by Donn Beach (formerly Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt) of Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber
restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair
.
for his entire trip. Its smooth, fruity taste works to conceal its extremely high alcoholic
content. Don the Beachcomber restaurants limit their customers to two Zombies apiece.
According to the original recipe, the Zombie cocktail included three different kinds of rum, lime juice, falernum, Angostura bitters, Pernod, grenadine, and “Don’s Mix,” a combination of cinnamon syrup and grapefruit juice.
Beach was very cautious with the recipes of his original cocktails. His instructions for his bartenders contained coded references to ingredients, the contents of which were only known to him. Beach's original recipes for the Zombie and other Tiki drink have been published in Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Berry researched the origins of many Tiki cocktails, interviewing bartenders from Don the Beachcomber's and other original Tiki places and digging up other original sources. Mostly notably, Sippin' Safari details Beach's development of the Zombie with three different recipes dating from 1934 to 1956.
Due to the popularity of the cocktail during the Tiki craze and the fact that Beach both kept his recipe secret and occasionally altered it, today there are many variations of the Zombie made at many restaurants and bars, some showing few similarities to the original cocktail.
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
made of fruit juices, liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
s, and various rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
s, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s, invented by Donn Beach (formerly Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt) of Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber
Don the Beachcomber
Donn Beach , born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, is the founding father of tiki restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The many so-called "Polynesian" restaurants and pubs that enjoyed great popularity are directly descended from what he created...
restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
.
History
Legend has it that Donn Beach originally concocted the Zombie to help a hung-over customer get through a business meeting. He returned several days later to complain that he had been turned into a zombieZombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
for his entire trip. Its smooth, fruity taste works to conceal its extremely high alcoholic
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
content. Don the Beachcomber restaurants limit their customers to two Zombies apiece.
According to the original recipe, the Zombie cocktail included three different kinds of rum, lime juice, falernum, Angostura bitters, Pernod, grenadine, and “Don’s Mix,” a combination of cinnamon syrup and grapefruit juice.
Beach was very cautious with the recipes of his original cocktails. His instructions for his bartenders contained coded references to ingredients, the contents of which were only known to him. Beach's original recipes for the Zombie and other Tiki drink have been published in Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Berry researched the origins of many Tiki cocktails, interviewing bartenders from Don the Beachcomber's and other original Tiki places and digging up other original sources. Mostly notably, Sippin' Safari details Beach's development of the Zombie with three different recipes dating from 1934 to 1956.
Due to the popularity of the cocktail during the Tiki craze and the fact that Beach both kept his recipe secret and occasionally altered it, today there are many variations of the Zombie made at many restaurants and bars, some showing few similarities to the original cocktail.
In popular culture
- Scottish comedian and actor Billy ConnollyBilly ConnollyWilliam "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
advised his audience during his An Audience With...An Audience with...An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by ITV Studios, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.The show began as An...
show to try the Zombie, citing that it's "in an extraordinary concept; [the consumer gets] drunk from the bottom-up". - In M*A*S*H, Season 3, Episode 17, Trapper John McIntyre orders a Zombie at the Officers Club and says "Keep them coming until I turn into one."
- The Zombie cocktail also appears as one of many of the namechecksName-droppingName-dropping is the practice of mentioning important people or institutions within a conversation, story, song, online identity, or other communication. The term often connotes an attempt to impress others; it is usually regarded negatively, and under certain circumstances may constitute a breach...
found in Steely DanSteely DanSteely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
songs, appearing in the song "Haitian Divorce" on the album The Royal ScamThe Royal ScamThe Royal Scam is the fifth album by Steely Dan, originally released by ABC Records in 1976. The album went gold and peaked at #15 on the charts. The Royal Scam features more prominent guitar work than other Steely Dan albums...
. - In 1940, pianist Fats WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
recorded a novelty song called "Abercrombie Had a Zombie" about the effects of the cocktail on a previously law-abiding citizen who has a few zombies and becomes a public menace. The song also mentions AquacadeBilly Rose's AquacadeBilly Rose's Aquacade was a music, dance and swimming show produced by Billy Rose at the Great Lakes Exposition in 1937.Later Aquacade moved to the 1939 New York World's Fair where it was the most successful production of the fair . The Art Deco 11,000 seat amphitheatre was designed by architects...
and other features of the 1939 New York World's Fair where the drink was popularized. - In the "Is It Magic or Imagination?" episode of BewitchedBewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, Darrin orders a Zombie for Samantha. When she makes them leave before receiving the drink, Darrin says "if you didn't want the zombie I would have drank it" so she conjures one for him. - The drink is mentioned by the doctor in the 1943 film I Walked With a ZombieI Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures; the first was the very successful Cat People, also directed by Tourneur...
as the final example of what the definition of a zombie might entail. Frances Dee's character responds, "I tried one once, but there wasn't anything dead about it." - In the 1981 film comedy Modern ProblemsModern ProblemsModern Problems is a 1981 comedy film written and directed by Ken Shapiro and starring Chevy Chase, Patti D'Arbanville and Dabney Coleman. The film grossed $26,154,211 in the United States. A DVD release of the film was issued in 2005.-Plot:...
, Nell Carter (as voodoo maid Dorita) makes a big tray of really nice looking Zombies for vacationing guests Chevy Chase, Patti D'Arbanville, Mary Kay Place and Brian Doyle-Murray in the living room of their beach house getaway. Chevy Chase's character drinks the entire Zombie all at once, stunning the rest of the guests, and portending the weekend of chaos to come. - In the skit entitled "Scandalous Weekend" in season two of the sketch comedy show The Kids in the HallThe Kids in the HallThe Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
the recurring character Cathy Strupp, played by Scott Thompson, orders a Triple Zombie in a bar called the Love Boat Disco. - In the "Catch a Falling Star" episode of Quantum Leap, a number of the characters order Zombies.
- The Zombie appears in The Fiery FurnacesThe Fiery FurnacesThe Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The siblings are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago.- Band biography :...
' album Rehearsing My ChoirRehearsing My Choir-References:...
; the narrator states 'it just bombed me', during "A Candymaker’s Knife in my Handbag" - The Zombie is mentioned by rapper Common in the track "8 Minutes to Sunrise" off his "Sensibility" album (02:00).
External links
- Zombie at the Bartender's Database
- The Cocktail Spirit With Robert Hess: Zombie (video) - features 1956 Donn Beach recipe
- Amazon listing: Sippin' Safari
- Beachbum Berry website