Undead Gentleman
A Zombie in a dinner jacket: two rums, grapefruit, cinnamon and falernum, shaken cold and served up under a ghost of absinthe.
Ingredients
- Dark rum, aged, ideally a Jamaican blend such as Appleton45 ml
- Overproof rum, a black Demerara 151, such as Hamilton or Lemon Hart30 ml
- Lime juice, freshly squeezed15 ml
- Grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed15 ml
- Falernum15 ml
- Cinnamon syrup15 ml
- Aromatic bitters (Angostura)e.g. Angostura1 dash
- Absinthe, ideally a blanche, for the glass (optional)rinse the glass
- Grapefruit, to garnish (optional)1 twist
- Lime, to garnish (optional)1 twist
Method
- Chill a coupe in the freezer, or fill it with iced water while you work.
- Empty the glass, add a few drops of absinthe, swirl to coat the inside and tip out the rest.
- Pour the aged rum, overproof rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, falernum, cinnamon syrup and bitters into a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10–15 seconds, until it is frosty on the outside.
- Double-strain into the rinsed coupe.
- Twist the grapefruit and lime peels over the drink to release their oils, then drop them in together.
Martin Cate, Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco
About this drink
Martin Cate built the Undead Gentleman at Smuggler's Cove, his rum bar in San Francisco, as a riff on Donn Beach's Zombie. The bones are all there: strong rum, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon, falernum, Angostura and a whisper of absinthe. What goes is the tall glass and the mountain of crushed ice. Shaken and strained into a coupe, the drink keeps its menace and gains a collar and tie. Cate and his wife Rebecca published the recipe in Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki (2016). The book sorts rum by how it is made rather than by its colour, which is why the original calls for a blended aged rum and a black blended overproof. In practice that means a rounded aged rum, often Jamaican, and a dark Demerara 151 for depth and heat.
Questions and answers
How is an Undead Gentleman different from a Zombie?
It is smaller, sharper and served up. The Zombie is a long drink over crushed ice with three rums and pineapple; the Undead Gentleman uses two rums and grapefruit, is shaken and strained into a coupe, and moves the absinthe from the shaker to a rinse of the glass.
Can I use a different rum instead of a Demerara 151?
Yes, but keep it dark and strong. Any rich, molasses-heavy overproof rum works. A standard-strength dark rum makes a softer, slightly sweeter drink that is still very good, just less of a monster.
Is the absinthe rinse really necessary?
Not strictly, but it is the ghost in the name. A few drops coat the glass and lift the cinnamon and grapefruit with a faint anise top note. Pastis or Herbsaint do the same job if absinthe is not on your shelf.
