Day 75: You've Got Red on You
"Where can I smoke?" Ed had a good point, but then Shaun had a better idea."Take car. Go to mum's. Kill Phil, grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?" Ed look up at Shaun and smiled, with his typical dazed expression, "Yeah Boyyyee!"
Welcome to day 75, my most thirsty of readers. In the world of cocktails, there are certain drinks which have so many versions floating around, it's hard to figure out which is the one you should go with. No cocktail in that land of tropical rum drinks falls into this more than the Zombie, the 1934 brainchild of Donn Beach, considered one of the truest of the tiki classics. When you deem something a classic, people tend to get a bit protective of the originals, but as I always like to say, rules were meant to be broken.
I mentioned back in Day 6, I did a pop-up in London a few years back. Leading up to that, I wasn't sure what to put on my menu for the night, so I decided to kinda pull out some of the hits from over the years. Unfortunately, nothing on the menu was especially British or tiki, and I wanted to make it fun after all. With that in mind, I thought back to one of my favorite zombie-themed movies,which also happened to be set in London, Shaun of the Dead
The 2004 film centers on two friends, Shaun and Ed, who wake up after a night of drinking, only to find the world in a full-on zombie apocalypse. They decide to gather their friends and family, journey to their local pub, and take refuge. Along the way, horror-hilarity ensues, making this one of the funniest movies of it's genre. It feels a little extra appropriate in the middle of a pandemic.
I remember watching this movie, thinking how it would be sitting out life, hiding in a pub. Maybe it's the kid in me, but it's like the ultimate "build a fort" fantasy. I have a feeling it wouldn't be long before cocktails started flowing. In all the craziness, I doubt we'd be very neat, probably spilling a bit, especially those crimson-hued zombies. One of my thirsty friends might look over at me and say "Brian, you've got red on you."
You've Got Red on You
.75oz Aged Barbados Rum
.75oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum
.75oz Overproof Jamaican Rum
1oz Cucumber Pimm's No.1
.5oz Falernum
.5oz Cinnamon Syrup
.75oz Lime Juice
.75oz Grapefruit Juice
5 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
Zombie Glass
Whip shake and pour unstrained.
Top with crushed ice.
Garnish with cucumber rosette, flower, cinnamon stick, parasol, and swizzle.
Cucumber Pimm's
1 large English Cucumber
1 liter Pimm's No. 1
Cut cucumber into small half-inch pieces, and cover with Pimm's.
Allow to macerate overnight, strain, then serve.
*If you're feeling impatient, muddling the cucumber in the Pimm's, then straining out the solids, can work in a pinch. I know you probably don't want to wait until tomorrow for a cocktail.*
Maybe after a few of these, you'll be able to stay put, and let this whole thing blow over. I know I say this often, but we really need to be good to one another. If we aren't in this together, then we won't make it out alive. If we want things to be better, then "we" need to be better. Stay safe out there everyone, and keep shaking.