Category: Classic Tiki Cocktails

While a Zombie might conjure up thoughts of the living dead, the Zombie is more the sort of cocktail designed to keep the dead moving.  Myths say that imbibing the Zombie at Donn’s once helped a hungover business man get through an important day.  That it made, ‘a zombie out of him’.  In all likelihood this often butchered drink was the result of many careful attempts to balance it for Donn.  Deceptively simple as it might be say, a Zombie is a complex, delicious drink that you should probably have no more than two of in an evening.

Zombie

Zombie

1 oz

Black Blended Overproof Rum

1 ½ oz

Aged Rum #1

1 ½ oz

Aged Rum #2

½ oz

Falernum

1 Bar Spoon

Grenadine

¼ oz

Cinnamon Syrup

¼ oz

Grapefruit Juice

¾ oz

Lime Juice

2 Dashes

Herbstura

1

Mint Sprig

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add crushed ice and shake. Open pour into a Collins glass. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

The Zombie is a beautifully boozy rum forward drink that’s sure to put you into an undead trance.  The rums tangle into a blend that ascends with the assistance of the accompanying ingredients into a singular, complex rum fueled punch.  The result is a roller coaster ride of rum.  The flavor transitions from ethers and Jamaican funk with tropical fruit into vanilla from Caribbean casks before dead ending in demerara brown sugar notes.  The middle is pops of citrus and herbal notes, tied together with a balanced sweetness.

Drink Notes and Recommendations

There’s a reason you’re only supposed to have one of these.  Packing over FOUR ounces of rum, one of which is overproof, the Zombie contains almost two full drinks worth of booze in one.  Despite the fact that it looks like it should be a combination to wake the undead on paper, it all pulls together with a couple of tips and tricks.

• Overproof Black Blended Rum – Due to the concentration of flavor, the decision of which rum you select has a big impact on how the Zombie comes out.  We used Plantation O.F.T.D here, but we’ve also greatly enjoyed Goslings 151.  For something more adventurous, try Lemon Hart & Son 151.
• Aged Rum #1 – One of the ways that Tiki drinks can get some of their allure is by using the split base method.  This means taking the full amount of liquor and splitting it between spirits in the same category.  In this case we’re using Aged Rum #1 as some of column still aged choices.  We used Bacardi 8 here to give a tropical brown sugar feel, but you could also use Kirk and Sweeney.
• Aged Rum #2 – On the flip side of split base, we went for a blended rum.  Using Appleton Reserve here gave a lot of tropical fruit notes and funk to add another dimension to the drink.   You could also use Doorly’s X.O. or Plantation 20th Anniversary, the later of which would considerably drive up the cost of making this drink.
• Falernum – We use John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, but feel free to substitute your preference.
• Grenadine – To make grenadine, combine equal parts by weight pomegranate juice and white sugar in a sauce pot.  Heat until almost simmering and all the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Add  ½ oz of neutral spirits (vodka / overproof such as Everclear) if desired for preservation. Place in a clean bottle and store in the fridge for up to several weeks.  Dispose of if any mold or haze develops.
• Cinnamon Syrup – Combine 250g of sugar, 250g of water, and 10 grams of cinnamon broken into 1″ pieces in a pan.  Add heat until sugar is dissolved and syrup reaches a boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Once cool, strain cinnamon pieces from syrup using a chinios and coffee filter.  Add .5 oz of Everclear / overproof vodka and shake gentle for 1 -2 seconds to combine.  Store in fridge.  Discard if no longer transparent / any hazy develops
• Grapefruit & Lime Juice –  Use fresh squeezed for best results.
• Herbstura – This herbal liqueur is not available everywhere.  To replace it, add 1 part Angostura Bitters to 1 part Pernod (or absinthe).  Stir.  To measure a dash, add .04 to .08 oz (or a couple of bar straws worth) to your shaker tin.

Not to be mistaken with the proto-tiki drink, Grog, Navy Grog is one of the strongest original tiki drinks. Originating at Trader Vic’s, the drink contains not one, not two, but three shots of rum. Intended to be manly and to entice those with manly visions of the Navy, this drink is anything but easy going.  That said, this drink was made in the 1940’s, and today you should drink whatever you damn please, regardless of its strength or delicate nature.

Navy Grog

Navy Grog

1 oz

Lightly Aged Overproof Rum

1 oz

Lightly Aged Rum

1 oz

Aged Rum

¼ oz

Demerara Syrup

½ oz

Rich Honey Syrup

¼ oz

St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

¾ oz

Lime Juice

¾ oz

Grapefruit Juice

¾ oz

Club Soda

1

Mint Spring (Garnish)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Separate the shaking tins and add club soda. Open pour into a double rocks glass. Garnish with a mint spring.

Navy Grog is powerful and bright with notes of each rum that joins in the concoction.  Allspice and notes of tropical fruits and rum ethers come forward, followed by notes of oak barrels used in aging.  A slight tropical funk begins to join in at the end.  While the drink is sweet, it requires the sweetness to bring it back toward balance from the combination of rum and citrus.  The spice notes amazingly don’t overwhelm the rest of the drink, and it speaks to sunken treasure and pirates on the high seas.

Drink Notes and Recommendations

Sometimes it takes more than one attempt to get the drink right. Navy Grog is one of those drinks where there’s subtle variations depending on which individual’s recipe you look at. In our case, we identified that based on testing we wanted a little more sweetness to balance out the drink. Some of the sweetness is also due to be adjusted by whether or not you use an ice cone in your service of the Navy Grog. We purposely have not used one here due to the time to make one and the complexity of doing it.

• Lightly Aged Overproof Rum – For this we’ve use Smith and Cross, but a navy strength rum should do just fine.
• Lightly Aged Rum – We used Appleton Signature to add to the funk, but feel free to use something like El Dorado 3 or Plantation 3 Star in it’s place.
• Aged Rum – We focused on Bacardi 8 for our Navy Grog, but Kirk and Sweeney 12 or Don Q Anejo would work well depending on the flavors you’re looking to impart.
• Demerara Syrup – Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Rich Honey Syrup – Combine 85 g water and 200 g honey in an 8 oz mason jar and seal. Sous vide at 145 degrees for 2 hr. Remove from the water bath and allow to cool. Once cool, bottle.  If desired, add 15 g of 150+ Proof Neutral Grain Spirit or vodka if desired. Shake gently to combine.  Refrigerate.
• St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram – Other alternatives here include Pimento Dram – which also has the strong allspice flavor required.  If you can’t find it, feel free to omit it as this is not a prototypical element of a Navy Grog.
• Lime Juice & Grapefruit Juice – Use fresh squeezed for best results.
• Club Soda – Your local grocery store generic will work just fine here.

Not named for its actual funky flavor (that it does have), the Dr. Funk is actually named for the German doctor Bernard Funk.  Supposedly the Funk, physician for Robert Louis Stevenson, was one of the original creators of the drink.  Seemingly originating in Tahiti, the cocktail was originally a combination of absinthe, lime, and seltzer.  Like many libations from this era, the intention was somewhere between relaxation and remedy, supposedly helping to provide courage to live to those who were worn out from doing nothing.    The drink eventually migrated across the pacific and was improved by Donn and Trader Vic through the addition of rum.   Despite the change, absinthe is a primary flavor here, and the cocktail is definitely, delightfully funky.

Dr. Funk

Dr. Funk

2 ¼ oz

Black Pot Still Rum

¼ oz

Absinthe

¼ oz

Grenadine

½ oz

Demerara Syrup

½ oz

Lemon Juice

½ oz

Lime Juice

1 oz

Seltzer

2

Pineapple Fronds (Optional)

Combine all ingredients except seltzer in a shaker. Add crushed ice and shake. Separate the shaker tin and add seltzer. Open pour into a double rocks glass. Garnish with fresh pineapple fronds if desired.

Dr. Funk pulls in the full flavor of the black Jamaican rum, lending molasses and fermented fruit flavors to the drink.  The light effervescent of the seltzer adds a nice textural zippiness, and the minerality plays well off the citrus and herbal notes of the absinthe.  There’s a treacle and spice that runs throughout as well, and helps give a bittersweet flavor to the full drink.

Drink Notes and Recommendations

In order to stand up to the absinthe, a rum with a funky character is a requirement for this drink (and a large part of the reason it calls for a black pot still).  While you can tone down the funk by limiting the absinthe, you’ll want to consider replacing some of the flavor with another dark or overproof rum.

• Black Pot Still Rum – This might seem like an overtly specific suggestion, but to truly get the balance of the drink right, it’s required.  We used Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black for our example.
• Absinthe – For our absinthe, we used St. George Absinthe Verte.  It is one of several acceptable alternatives here, and we recommend you choose the absinthe you enjoy most.
  • There are also multiple variations of making a Dr. Funk including pastis (such as Pernod) and Herbsaint.
• Grenadine – To make grenadine, combine equal parts by weight pomegranate juice and white sugar in a sauce pot.  Heat until almost simmering and all the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Add  ½ oz of neutral spirits (vodka / overproof such as Everclear) if desired for preservation. Place in a clean bottle and store in the fridge for up to several weeks.  Dispose of if any mold or haze develops.
• Demerara Syrup – Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Lemon & Lime Juice – Use fresh squeezed for best results.

Originating toward the end tiki cocktails (and most craft cocktails in general), the Jungle Bird was created around 1978 at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton.  Modeled after a Negroni, the Jungle Bird adds pineapple and lime juice to cover the acidity added by vermouth, and trades out gin for black blended rum.  The result is a tropical spin on a Negroni that presents the bitterness of Campari with the softer tropical notes of pineapple and brown sugar.

Jungle Bird

Jungle Bird

1 ½ oz

Black Blended Rum

2 oz

Pineapple Juice

½ oz

Lime Juice

½ oz

Demerara Syrup

¾ oz

Campari

2

Pineapple Fronds (Optional)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Strain into a collins glass filled with fresh cubed ice. Garnish with fresh pineapple fronds if desired.

A beautifully balanced cocktail with a gentle bitterness mixed with tropical pineapple and a hint of brown sugar and spice. The subtle herbalness of the Campari shines against the caramelized sugars. The brightness is just right for sipping over the course of a hot day. The pineapple also gives it a luxuriously smooth texture, and the dilution keeps it evolving.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Jungle Bird is fairly straight forward, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t minor tweaks you can make.  Due to the straightforward mixture of ingredients, there’s a lot of room to play, specifically around the base liquor and ratios.  You can also make tweaks to the flavor by changing the syrup used.  Cinnamon syrup can add a nice warmth to compliment the rum spices.

• Rum –  The recommended rum here is a black blended, such as Gosling’s.  You can also substitute an aged rum of your choosing, such as Appleton Reserve, or Doorly’s X.O.  What the rum provides is additional tropical fruit notes, caramelized sugars, and funk.
  • Some recipes will increase the rum by ½ oz  and decrease the amount of pineapple juice by ½ oz to accentuate this.
• Pineapple Juice – We recommend dole (in the smaller cans to reduce waste), but feel free to juice your own.
• Lime Juice – Use fresh squeezed for the best results.
• Demerara Syrup – Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Campari – There’s no direct substitute for Campari here, but you can play with the outcome of this recipe using a different amaro – such as Aperol.

According to Pusser’s, The Painkiller originated at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke Island.  The bar looks amazing, and features not only the Painkiller, but also amazing white sand beaches.  The setting is quintessentially Caribbean, and screams out for Tiki drinks.  Featuring Pusser’s British navy aged blended rum, orange, pineapple, and cream of coconut – this cocktail can soothe what ails you, or help you sink deeper in waves of paradise.

The Painkiller

The Painkiller

2 oz

Pusser’s Rum

4 oz

Pineapple Juice

1 oz

Orange Juice

1 oz

Cream of Coconut

1

Cherry & Orange Flag

Combine all ingredients in a shaking tin vessel. Add ice and shake. Strain into a tiki mug or goblet filled with fresh ice. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg a slice of orange and a cherry.

[Recipe by Pusser’s Rum]

The painkiller is delightfully creamy, with a nice punch of tropical fruit and brightness citrus.    The Pusser’s adds this wonderfully molasses notes and spice.  The spice accentuates with the addition of nutmeg.  With the creaminess of the coconut, painkillers pack a punch, but go down easy.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith do a great overview of the elements that are required for a Tiki drinks in Minimalist Tiki.  Among the requirements are that a Tiki drink must have a sour element to help balance the sweetness.  Based on this argument, the Pina Colada is a very nice tropical drink, but not necessarily Tiki drink.  In fact, they go so far as to call it “a Pina Colada with the addition of orange juice and a heavier rum.”

While the argument is probably valid, the need for a classification split here is not super important.  If you happen to like a Pina Colada, it probably doesn’t matter whether it’s Tiki or Tropical, but mostly that you enjoy it*.

Finally, the Painkiller is technically trademarked by Pusser’s Rum, and is only supposed to be made with Pusser’s – but availability is what it is.

• Rum – The official rum for a Painkiller is Pusser’s Rum.  From a style perspective, if you are unable to obtain Pusser’s, consider a darker, demerara based rum.
• Pineapple Juice – We use dole small cans for small batching.  You can juice your own, but it’s not needed.
• Orange Juice –  Unlike pineapple, we recommend using fresh squeezed only.
• Cream of Coconut –  The best coconut cream in our experience is Coco Lopez.  That said, Coco Lopez can require some extra processing to prepare (cream of coconut is solid in the can, and needs to be loosened with heat).  As a substitute, Coco Real is very effective and can be stored easily in the fridge if you desire it on the fly.

The Pusser’s Story

* – Unless of course you happen to be starting your own Tiki Bar, or hosting a gathering of tikiphiles – the you’ll probably want to avoid calling this a “tiki drink”