The recipe
for your table
Put all ingredients with crushed ice in a blender or shaker.
Mix or shake briefly but vigorously.
Pour into a tall tiki glass and top up with crushed ice.
Garnish with mint and, optionally, a flammable lime wedge with overproof rum for the fireworks.
The story
Donn Beach - born Ernest Gantt, world traveler, bootlegger and founder of the first tiki bar - created the Zombie in Hollywood in 1934. A customer with a hangover asked for something 'to help him get back on his feet'; afterwards, he reported that he had felt like a zombie for three days. Beach guarded his recipes fanatically and coded his bottles, so the original was not reconstructed until 2005 by tiki historian Jeff Berry. At the 1939 World's Fair in New York, the Zombie made him definitively famous.
The right glass
A cocktail called Zombie should not be served in an ordinary long drink glass. A tall tiki glass with Polynesian relief or - even better - a 70 cl skull glass completes the presentation. The large capacity is functional: it holds a mountain of crushed ice that keeps the strong mix drinkable. Our tiki category is full of characterful heads that complete the scene. Would you rather use a tall glass in which the crushed ice remains visible? Then take a look at our hurricane glasses.
Tiki Skull Glass 70 cl
Tiki Maori Cup 33 cl
Together € 48,90.
The right tools
For a Zombie, in addition to the glass, you need a shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer, and glass straws. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 4 bar tools - together € 76,75.
Variations & twists
The original 1934 recipe contains nine ingredients, with two per person as the house rule - there was a reason for that. Make a lighter version with two rums and no overproof float. The flaming lime shell with rum is spectacular: do it safely, away from straws and napkins. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Follow Donn Beach's house rule: no more than two per person. Falernum - a clove-flavored liqueur syrup from Barbados - is essential for the authentic flavor and is readily available online.
How strong it is and why two are enough
This glass contains 9 cl of rum, divided into 3 cl white, 3 cl gold, and 3 cl dark rum, whereas most cocktails use 4 to 6 cl. At 40 percent ABV, that amounts to 3.6 cl of pure alcohol, or almost three standard drinks in a single cocktail. Diluted with crushed ice to around 25 cl, it still comes to about 15 percent ABV. Donn Beach imposed a limit of two per guest for good reason, and almost a century later it remains a sensible house rule.
Falernum: buy it, replace it, or make it yourself
Falernum is a syrup or liqueur from Barbados with lime, cloves, ginger, and almond, giving the Zombie its spicy foundation. The best-known bottle is 11 percent and costs around twenty euros; at 1.5 cl per cocktail, 70 cl makes more than forty drinks. You can also make it yourself: infuse lime zest, ten cloves, and fresh ginger overnight in 25 cl of white rum, strain, and mix with an equal amount of sugar syrup and a splash of almond syrup. In an emergency, sugar syrup, almond syrup, and a pinch of cloves will get you close.
Zombie or Mai Tai: the difference
Both are tiki classics with multiple rums, but they are worlds apart. The Mai Tai has five ingredients and revolves around 6 cl of rum, lime juice and almond syrup; it is a crisp, almost sour-like cocktail in which you can clearly taste the rum. The Zombie piles nine ingredients and 9 cl of rum together, with falernum, passion fruit, pineapple and grenadine, making it more complex, sweeter and considerably stronger. If you want to taste the rum itself, choose the Mai Tai; if you are looking for spectacle and a story, go for the Zombie.
The burning lime boat, done safely
The fireworks come from a squeezed-out lime half, turned upside down on top of the cocktail, filled with a teaspoon of 75 percent overproof rum and ignited. Only do this at the table, away from straws, napkins and hair, and keep the rum bottle closed and at least one meter away. The flame burns for about a minute and then goes out by itself. Have a saucer ready to smother it, and let guests drink only once the flame is out and the lime shell has been removed from the glass.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a zombie?
A Zombie contains three types of rum: 3 cl white, 3 cl gold and 3 cl dark, with 2 cl lime juice, 1.5 cl falernum, 3 cl pineapple juice, 1.5 cl passion fruit purée, a bar spoon of grenadine and a dash of Angostura bitters. Nine ingredients, blended or shaken with crushed ice.
What is the strongest cocktail in the world?
The Zombie is considered one of the strongest classics: it contains 9 cl of rum in a glass, while most cocktails make do with 4 to 6 cl. Its inventor, Donn Beach, therefore introduced a house rule of no more than two per guest. The Long Island Iced Tea is a well-known competitor.
What can you substitute for falernum?
Falernum is a clove-infused liqueur syrup from Barbados and readily available online; it is difficult to replace without losing flavor. If you cannot get a bottle, approximate it with sugar syrup, a splash of almond syrup, some lime zest and a pinch of clove.
Which glass do you use for a Zombie?
A tall tiki glass with Polynesian relief or a 70 cl skull glass. That large capacity is functional: it holds a mountain of crushed ice that keeps this strong mix drinkable and cold. An ordinary highball glass does the presentation a disservice; see our tiki glasses for hospitality-quality sets.
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