How to make ...
TT Zombie
The TT Zombie is our own take on one of tiki culture’s most notorious drinks. The blend of tropical fruit, zingy lime and grenadine is doing serious work here — keeping the cocktail dangerously smooth despite the formidable rum count underneath. The flaming overproof rum finish isn’t just theatre, either. It adds a subtle, smoky warmth to the first sip that makes this worth every second of the build.
Ingredients
75ml Rum Blend (1:1:1 Dark Rum:Gold Rum:White Rum)
25ml Apricot Brandy
25ml Pineapple Juice
25ml Grapefruit Juice
25ml Lime Juice
12.5ml Grenadine
2-3 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
25ml Overproof Rum (Garnish)
Squeezed Lime-Half for Garnish
Powdered Cinnamon for Garnish
Times:
Prep: 2 Minutes
Make: 30 Seconds
Total: 2 Minutes and 30 Seconds
Calories:
299 calories
Allergens:
No common allergens to be found, although, since every body is different, we advise you check out this recipe's ingredients list just to be sure!
Servings:
Serves 1
Method
Take your Boston glass or small tin and, using your jigger to measure, add the rum blend, apricot brandy, grenadine, pineapple juice and grapefruit juice to the shaker.
Juice your lime using a Mexican elbow, measuring out 25ml, and add it to the shaker. Hold on to one squeezed half — you’ll need it for the garnish.
Add 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Fill the shaker with cubed ice, seal, and shake hard for 10-15 seconds until the tin is cold to the touch.
Strain into a tiki mug using your Hawthorne strainer, then fill the mug with fresh cubed ice.
Hollow out the reserved lime half to form a small bowl and sit it on top of the drink.
Pour overproof rum into the lime bowl and light it carefully with a match. Dust cinnamon over the flame to send up a shower of sparks — the bit everyone’s waiting for.
Blow out the flame, pour the warm rum into the drink, and finish with a bamboo straw.
Equipment
Shaker
Jigger/Measure
Hawthorne Strainer
Mexican Elbow
Cinnamon Shaker
Cubed Ice
Matches
History
The Zombie’s origins go back to 1934, when Donn Beach — founder of the Donn the Beachcomber restaurant chain and one of the godfathers of American tiki culture — put together the original recipe. The story goes that he threw it together for a customer who needed something to shake off a hangover before a business trip. That same customer reportedly came back a few days later, not exactly grateful: the drink, he claimed, had left him a walking zombie for the duration of his travels.
The legend stuck — and so did the precaution. Donn the Beachcomber famously imposed a two-drink limit on the Zombie, a rule that most bars and restaurants serving it still honour today. At TT, we make ours with the same respect for the original: all the drama and depth of a classic Zombie, built exactly the way we teach it in class.
