In issue 31, we investigate the history of cocktails in all their weird and wonderful glory. Whether you're drinking to remember or to forget this weekend, we thought you'd appreciate a lesson in creating the particularly tropical, highly infectious, Zombie.
Illustrations by Padhraic Mulholland for issue 31 of Oh Comely. The 'Zombie' is third from the left
Cocktails – with their numerous ingredients and complicated preparation techniques – are seen as drinks for special occasions; perhaps if beer came with a little umbrella or a sparkler we might think of it the same way too. Novelty drinking places emphasis on presentation – at its most evocative, cheesy and wonderful in the Tiki Bars of the pre- and postwar period. Serving rum-based drinks like Zombies (also known, thrillingly, as “skull-punchers”) in coconuts and pineapples, these romanticised impressions of Polynesian culture understood that a good cocktail feels like the first day of a holiday.
You can serve a Zombie in a Hurricane glass too, or a tumbler, we're not fussy.
Serves 1
25ml White rum
25ml Golden rum
25ml Dark rum
25ml Apricot brandy
25ml Pineapple juice
A dash of 151-proof rum
Squeeze of lime
Garnished with a cocktail cherry
Mix all ingredients together apart from the 151 in a shaker with ice. Pour into the glass and top with the 151. You can also set this drink on fire if you're feeling particularly exasperated/celebratory.
Find more cocktail inspiration in issue 31 of Oh Comely, out now.