The Zombie

By David Tisue

The Surveyor

Halloween is the time for spooky cocktails. There are so many out there. Most of them are sickeningly sweet and colored with food coloring. But there are a few classics from days gone by that I think are better than any of the Poisoned Apples or Witches Brews out there. These three are my favorites. Each has an interesting history. I make the Corpse Reviver #2 all year long.

The Green Ghost
The Green Ghost is a spooky name for a fantastic old-fashioned cocktail from the 1930s. Simple yet sophisticated flavors of gin, Green Chartreuse and lime juice are all this cocktail contains. With three ingredients, this cocktail is bright, slightly herby and not sweet. It is simple yet sophisticated and a nice change from the usual overly sweet cocktails served at many Halloween parties or the complicated cocktails that have flooded the craft cocktail resurgence. The subtle pale green color from the herbal liqueur and the lime juice brings a mystical quality to this mysterious cocktail. Served in a Nick and Nora glass, this small sipper is delicious.
The Green Ghost
2 oz Spring44 Gin
½ oz Green Chartreuse
½ oz fresh lime juice
Chill a Nick and Nora glass (you can use a coup glass, too)
To a cocktail shaker, add the gin, Green Chartreuse and fresh lime juice.
Shake for 10-20 seconds until very cold.
Strain into the chilled glass and serve.

The Corpse Reviver #2
Corpse Revivers is a classic cocktail family originating in the late 1800s. The tongue-in-cheek name suggests they are strong enough even to wake a corpse. Many of the earliest versions of Corpse Revivers had brandy as their primary spirit. However, the classic we know today uses gin. All of the versions were on the strong side. Harry Craddock published his famous The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. In his cocktail book From the American Bar in London’s Savoy Hotel, he lists two Corpse Revivers, the #1 and the #2. Yes, there is a #1, but #2 is decidedly the better one. The Absinthe is essential; however, don’t overdo it, a little Absinthe goes a long way.
Corpse Reviver #2
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano (more traditional but hard to find)
1 oz. Cointreau or Curaçao
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 dash absinthe
Lemon peel, for garnish, is optional but adds to the citrus flavor.
Chill a Nick and Nora or martini glass.
Combine the gin, Lillet (or Cocchi Americano,) and Cointreau in a cocktail shaker.
Fill the shaker with ice, cover and shake for several seconds until the cocktail is ice cold.
Coat the chilled cocktail glass with a dash of Absinthe, pour any excess out, or spray several times using an atomizer filled with Absinthe.
Double-strain the cocktail into the prepared glass.
Garnish with the optional lemon peel.

The Zombie
The Zombie is a classic Tiki drink from Donn Beach, whose famous bar, Don’s Beachcomber (or Don the Beachcomber, depending on who you talk to), in Los Angeles, helped bring on the Tiki Craze of the 1930s. These go down smoothly and are very potent. What could be spookier for Halloween than a Zombie? This classic Tiki cocktail is a great thing to serve in one of those Tiki mugs sitting on a shelf from a trip to Hawaii, or you’ve visited one of my favorite bars anywhere, Trader Sam’s in Disneyland or World.
The original cocktail was invented to help a customer deal with a hangover and go to a meeting. He returned to Donn the next day and complained he was like the walking dead at his meeting but wanted to have another anyway and the name Zombie was born. If you don’t have a tiki glass, you could use a tall glass instead.
The Zombie
1 1/2 oz Jamaican or dark rum
1 1/2 oz Gold rum
1 oz Demerara rum
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1 oz grapefruit juice
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz cinnamon syrup
1/4 oz Grenadine
1 bar spoon Absinthe
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 sprig mint
Crushed ice
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with crushed ice.
Add all the ingredients except for the mint.
Seal the shaker and shake until very cold, about 15 seconds.
Pour the Zombie into a Tiki or other tall glass.
Slap the mint sprig onto the palm of your hand to wake up the oils in the leaves and garnish the finished cocktail.
You may add a cocktail cherry and a straw if you desire.