Zombie

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A Zombie is a cocktail made from fruit juice and alcohol. It can be thought of as basically a fruit punch with some rum in it, though perhaps it would be more accurate to think of it as rum with some fruit juice in it.

Though there are now a zillion variations, the original recipe reputedly used 6 different types of rum, along with papaya juice, Pernod, and other alcohols and juices. The original recipe was not released to public, but it would be hard to replicate anyway given that many of the varieties of rum used aren't made or exported anymore.

The mixture is shaken with ice, then poured into a glass and garnished with a maraschino cherry and a piece of pineapple, along with a jaunty paper cocktail umbrella. The Zombie is then topped with very strong rum. Some people who don't like Zombies say it's owing to the taste of this pure rum on top.

The glass used is tall, either a Zombie, Highball or Collins glass.


History
The Zombie was invented by Donn Beach at his restaurant called "Don the Beachcomber" in Hollywood. His real name was Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt (born 1907). Sometimes his name is spelled "Don" Beach, but apparently he legally changed his name to Donn Beach, so that it was like the name of his restaurant, but not quite.

Donn Beach started the trend for Polynesian style restaurants.

Some say he invented the drink in 1930, others say 1934, others just say "late 1930s". Many stories say the name Zombie came about because people felt like a Zombie after drinking it.

Reputedly, his restaurant limited customers to two Zombies per visit.

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