Zombie

Seventy-five milliliters of rum go into one glass, fifteen of it overproof at 57 percent or higher. That lands near two and a half standard drinks before any dilution. Crushed ice waters it down as you drink, which is the only thing keeping it civil. The old two-per-customer limit was not a gag.

Not strictly, but the layering is the point. White rum brings sharpness, gold brings body, and the overproof sits on top of both and carries the aroma. If you only have one bottle, use seventy-five milliliters of a decent gold rum and accept a flatter drink. Measure the overproof carefully.

Don the Beachcomber guarded his recipes, labeling bottles with codes so his own staff couldn't copy them. Every version printed for decades was a guess. Jeff Berry eventually tracked down a former barman's notebook and published a reconstruction, which is why the modern build looks nothing like the 1950s ones.

Any tall glass that takes sixteen ounces works, a pint glass included. Volume matters more than shape because the crushed ice needs room. Pack it to the rim and mound more on top. If your glass is small, cut the recipe by a third rather than skimping on the ice.

A classic Zombie calls for 30 ml (1 oz) White rum, 30 ml (1 oz) Gold rum, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Overproof rum, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Fresh lime juice, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Grenadine, 2 dashes Angostura Angostura bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Zombie is roughly 32% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Zombie is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.