About
This cocktail was created by Jordan Hughes (@highproofpreacher) and featured in his book Twist. The original Zombie is nearly 100 years old and famously complex, with a long list of ingredients that makes it tough to riff on without completely changing the drink. Jordan was challenged to create his own spin and ended up landing somewhere closer to an Old Fashioned format than the original Zombie.
He keeps the classic three-rum base but swaps the citrus elements for grapefruit oleo saccharum, an old-school sweetener made by pulling oils from citrus peels with sugar. The result keeps that explosion of tropical flavor but presents it in a more composed, slow-sipping format.Cheers y’all!
Ingredients
- ¾ oz · 22.5 mloverproof Jamaican rum
- ¾ oz · 22.5 mlPuerto Rican rum
- ½ oz · 15 ml151-proof Demerara rum
- ¼ oz · 7.5 mlgrapefruit oleo saccharum
- 1 tsp · 5 mlgrenadine
- 2 dashesAngostura bitters
- absinthe, to rinse
- charred cinnamon stick, to garnish
Method
- 1
Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe.
- 2
Add the remaining ingredients to a mixing glass.
- 3
Add ice and stir until chilled.
- 4
Strain into the prepared glass over large-format ice.
- 5
Garnish with a charred cinnamon stick and grapefruit twist (optional).
GRAPEFRUIT OLEO SACCHARUM
- 150 g. grapefruit and lemon peels
- 200 g. white sugar
- 1
Peel the citrus, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible to limit bitterness.
- 2
Add the peels to a container and cover with the sugar.
- 3
Mix briefly to coat.
- 4
Let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally as the sugar draws out the citrus oils and dissolves.
- 5
Strain out the peels.
- 6
Bottle and refrigerate.
anatomyofadrink.com/cocktails/classy-zombie