Zombie cocktail

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The Zombie is an exceptionally strong cocktail made of fruit juices, liqueurs, and various rums, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s, invented by Donn Beach (formerly Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt) of Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Beach concocted it one afternoon for a friend who had dropped by his restaurant before flying to San Francisco. The friend left after having consumed three of them. He returned several days later to complain that he had been turned into a zombie for his entire trip. Its smooth, fruity taste works to conceal its extremely high alcoholic content. For many years the Don the Beachcomber restaurants limited their customers to 2 Zombies apiece. According the original recipe, there are the equivalent of 7.5 ounces (2.2 dl) of alcohol in a single Zombie; this is the same as drinking three and a half cocktails made with a fairly generous 2 ounces (0.6 dl) of alcohol per drink. The restaurant limit of 2 Zombies, therefore, would be the equivalent of 7 regular cocktails such as a Manhattan or Scotch on the rocks.

Today there are countless variations on the Zombie; every bar, chain restaurant, and individual seems to have their own version of it. Two recipes, including what purports to be the original Don the Beachcomber one, can be found at: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bartending/Cocktails/Zombie