Zombie

The Zombie is tiki culture's most notorious cocktail and Don the Beachcomber's masterpiece of rum blending. Created in 1934 by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt (aka Don Beach) at his Hollywood bar, this elaborate rum cocktail combines three different rums (light, gold, and dark), lime juice, falernum, grenadine, Angostura bitters, Pernod, and the secret "Don's Mix" (cinnamon syrup and grapefruit juice) to create a complex, dangerously potent tropical drink. Don limited customers to two Zombies, claiming more would turn them into the walking dead. Served in a tall glass or tiki mug with elaborate garnishes, the Zombie represents tiki culture's peak complexity, Hollywood escapism, and the art of rum blending. The drink embodies 1930s-1940s Hollywood, Don the Beachcomber's genius, and the golden age of elaborate cocktails. The Zombie's multiple rums, tropical juices, and secret ingredients create layered complexity that masks its high alcohol content (multiple ounces of various rums). The cocktail demands quality ingredients: three different quality rums, fresh juices, proper tiki ingredients (falernum, Pernod), and respect for the original recipe's complexity. The drink represents tiki culture's sophistication, the lost art of elaborate drink construction, and Hollywood's tropical fantasy. Whether served at a tiki bar or a craft cocktail lounge, the Zombie delivers dangerous tropical complexity.