Zombie Cocktail Recipe

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PREP TIME 5 min

Cocktail Type

Rum

Great for

Summer

Difficulty

Easy

JUMP TO RECIPE

If you’re looking for the perfect (potent) drink to get the party going, our Zombie cocktail recipe is a great place to start. This classic cocktail has a special place in American cocktail history and was first mixed together in 1934 by Donn Beach, owner and creator of the country’s first-ever tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, in Hollywood. As the tiki bar craze became more popular, so did retro rum-based fruity drinks like the Mai Tais, Rum Runners, and Zombies.

The best Zombie cocktail recipe

This is our take on the best Zombie cocktail, and it’s the perfect tropical cocktail for hot summer days—especially when served with a tiki-themed snacks menu.

While the original recipe calls for 10 different ingredients, we like to keep things simple. Still, we’ll warn you: you and your friends might turn into creatures from The Walking Dead if you have too many of these rum-based fruity cocktails, so take it slowly.

QUICK TIPS

Add a special touch and serve your Zombie cocktail on crushed ice.

For an extra burst of tropical and tart flavor, add 1 oz of passion fruit syrup to your Zombie cocktail recipe.

For the best fruity cocktail, always use freshly squeezed fruit juice.

INGREDIENTS

MAKE FOR

1 Person

30 Ml

1 Oz

1 Parts

Appleton Estate Rum

30 Ml

1 Oz

1 Parts

Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum

60 Ml

2 Oz

2 Parts

Lime juice

150 Ml

5 Oz

5 Parts

Pineapple juice

Dash of Grenadine

Ice

Cherries, mint, and orange slices to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice

Add the rum, then the pineapple and lime juice

Shake until your fingers feel at risk of frostbite, then shake a bit more

Fill a Collins glass with ice

Strain the rummy juice into the glass

Add a dash of Grenadine

Garnish with orange wedges, cherries, and mint

Pop in a swizzle stick and serve

What is a Zombie cocktail?

The original Zombie cocktail recipe contains a staggering amount of ingredients, including Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum, gold rum, 151-proof rum, lime, grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup, Grenadine, falernum, Pernod, and bitters.

As the Zombie alcoholic drink became more popular across the country, different influences and bars evolved the cocktail into various fruit flavours—from passionfruit to pineapple and even papaya. The one constant that remained part of Zombie cocktail ingredients throughout the years, however, is the addition of rum. This is definitely one of the most famous rum-based summer cocktails out there.

There are three types of rum in the Zombie cocktail

Our original Zombie cocktail ingredients contain three types of rum.

Appleton Estate Rum: This blended rum has an aroma of molasses, banana, orange, and sweet fruit with notes of caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Gold rum: this is most commonly used in mojitos and has notes of vanilla and toasted almonds.
151-Proof: Also known as overproof rum, this blend of light and dark rum contains 75.5% alcohol and is mainly used in cocktails and shots. 151-proof rum usually floats on top of drinks and can be ignited as part of your cocktail party trick. Be careful, though—it’s got quite a kick!

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

One of the epitomes of the Tiki movement, the Zombie cocktail is a perfect drink for summer, thanks to its tropical blend of rum and pineapple juice. However, its name also makes for a ghoulish Halloween cocktail that will bewitch all your invitees.

The original Zombie recipe called for Gold Puerto Rican Rum, Dark Jamaican Rum and 151-proof Rum. Each of them adds a specific flavour note to the mix. For the Jamaican Rum, you can use Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum, which brings a taste of hogo-heaven on earth. Or if you want to take the funk down a notch, try the Appleton 12yr Gold. As your Demerara option, you can choose between Lemon Hart 151 and Appleton 12yr Gold. Lastly, smooth, slightly smoky Bacardi 8, or the Ron del Barrilito 3 Star will be perfect substitutes for the Gold Puerto Rican Rum.