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    DILAY 1949

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    Zombie

    Serves 3 small drinks · 5 minutes · Three small rocks glasses

    Last updated 24 October 2026

    ◆ THE RECIPE ◆
    Amber Zombie cocktail over crushed ice with mint in a small glass

    The Zombie combines three rum styles with lime, falernum, grapefruit, cinnamon and anise. The IBA formula is a substantial rum measure; here we prepare those proportions as a batch and divide it into three small servings, rather than presenting the full blender contents as one modest drink.

    Ingredients

    • — 45ml Jamaican dark rum (40% ABV assumed)
    • — 45ml gold Puerto Rican rum (40% ABV assumed)
    • — 30ml Demerara rum (40% ABV assumed; not overproof)
    • — 20ml fresh lime juice
    • — 15ml John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum (11% ABV; contains almond)
    • — 10ml fresh yellow grapefruit juice
    • — 5ml non-alcoholic cinnamon syrup
    • — 5ml non-alcoholic grenadine
    • — 1ml Angostura aromatic bitters (44.7% ABV assumed)
    • — 0.3ml Pernod anise spirit (40% ABV; not Pernod Absinthe)
    • — 170g cracked ice
    • — Washed mint leaves, to garnish

    Method

    1. Set out three small glasses. Check bottle strengths and allergen labels, and use a graduated small-volume measure for the bitters and Pernod rather than guessing a splash.
    2. Combine the grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup: the measured 10ml and 5ml make 15ml Donn's Mix in the IBA's two-to-one ratio.
    3. Put the three measured rums, lime, falernum, Donn's Mix, grenadine, bitters and Pernod in an ice-rated blender. Add the 170g cracked ice and pulse for a few seconds, as in the cited method. Stop the motor before opening or scraping.
    4. Divide the entire mixture evenly between the three glasses, distributing the ice as well as the liquid. Garnish each with mint and serve promptly. Do not pour the whole batch into one glass or add a rum float.

    Why it works

    Grapefruit and lime supply different citrus notes; cinnamon syrup and falernum add distinct sweetness and spice. Grenadine is additional to Donn's Mix, not its replacement. Anise and bitters are deliberately small measures. We make Dilay; an optional substitution is not a claim that our spiced rum is part of the cited classic.

    The classic vs the spiced version

    The cited IBA recipe specifies 45ml Jamaican dark rum, 45ml gold Puerto Rican rum, 30ml Demerara rum, 20ml lime, 15ml falernum, 15ml Donn's Mix, one teaspoon grenadine, one dash bitters, six drops Pernod and 170g cracked ice. We retain the liquid structure, specify 5ml for the teaspoon and measured house volumes for the dash and drops, then divide the result into three. This is an explicitly portioned house presentation, not a claim that the IBA specifies three servings. For a spiced adaptation, replace only the 45ml gold rum with 45ml Dilay, not an extra addition; it changes the Puerto Rican component.

    Tips for getting it right

    • — This batch contains 120ml rum before falernum, bitters and Pernod are counted. Its three-serving yield matters: a full batch is about five UK units at the assumed strengths, not the per-serving figure below.
    • — Demerara is the rum style, not an instruction to use a 75.5% bottle. The IBA page does not specify rum strengths; higher-strength substitutions must be recalculated.
    • — Velvet Falernum is an alcoholic liqueur with an almond ingredient, not the same as alcohol-free falernum syrup or orgeat. Check allergies and prevent cross-contact.
    • — Pernod 40% and Pernod Absinthe 68% are different products. Use the stated anise spirit and a graduated measure; no flaming garnish is needed.
    • — Our 1ml bitters and 0.3ml Pernod make the IBA's dash and six drops explicit house measures. Dispensers vary; these are not official IBA volume conversions.
    • — Use the labelled non-alcoholic syrups here. Other syrup products may differ; changing them or a rum strength changes the calculation and balance.

    Related serves

    For almond, orange and lime, make a Mai Tai

    For a shorter ingredient list, try the Hurricane

    Frequently asked questions

    Is this the full IBA Zombie as one serving?

    No. It retains the IBA ingredient proportions with explicit house micro-measures, but the blender batch is divided equally into three small servings. At the assumed strengths the whole batch contains about five UK units.

    Does a Zombie require overproof rum?

    Not in the cited IBA ingredient list: it names Demerara rum without specifying strength. This house calculation assumes 40% for all three rums.

    What is Donn's Mix?

    The IBA defines it as two parts fresh yellow grapefruit juice to one part cinnamon syrup. Our batch uses 10ml juice and 5ml syrup. Grenadine is a separate ingredient.

    Does the unit calculation include the liqueurs and bitters?

    Yes. It counts all three rums, Velvet Falernum, the measured Angostura bitters and Pernod, then divides by three servings. Ice dilution does not remove that alcohol.

    Dilay can replace the measured gold-rum component in a clearly labelled spiced adaptation, not be added as an extra rum measure.

    BUY DILAY 1949 PANJABI SPICED RUM

    Recipe references

    Our method and spiced adaptations are described separately from the referenced classic specifications.

    Approx. 1.67 UK units per serving from the measured alcoholic ingredients. Batch: 5.0217 UK units, divided equally into three servings. Assumes all three rums at 40%, Velvet Falernum at 11%, bitters at 44.7% and Pernod at 40%; syrup and juice are non-alcoholic. Check actual labels. The entire batch is not one 1.67-unit serving.

    Please drink responsibly. 18+. Visit drinkaware.co.uk for the facts.

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