You know that we here at JRSB take our cocktails seriously. There are so many and honestly, unless your job is to create, mix, and drink cocktails all day (like Jack, for instance) who has the time to ferret out the truly good ones and take notes? Worry not, Jack has your back. We have been remiss in covering rum in the past, but today we correct that omission. And boy do we correct it... rum, rum, rum on the bottom, rum on the top, and more rum is the essence of today's cocktail of the week. If you can only have one two? rum drinks, this just might be it - the Zombie!

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Follow up:

While I wish I could just give you one recipe for a proper Zombie, I can't. For as long as Alice has been the cocktail librarian and mixologist here we have had two: The Zombie I and the Zombie II. They look really similar but make 'em side by side and you will be shocked at the difference. You will have a preference, I know I do, but who is to say which one you like better? Try them both!

I have been to bars that actually place limits on the number of Zombies you can order per... session. This is a drink that goes down so smoothly you have a tendency to drink faster and drink more than you intended. When you find yourself just pouring rum into your glass you know it's time to stop - that's not a Zombie, you are. Without further delay, on to the recipes:

Zombie I

• 1/2 oz dark rum
• 1/2 oz light rum
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• 1/2 oz creme d'almond / creme de noyaux / amaretto
• 1 1/4 oz sweet and sour
• 1 1/2 oz orange juice
• 1/2 oz club soda
• 1/4 oz 151 rum

Garnish: orange slice + cherry

Zombie II

• 1/2 oz dark rum
• 1/2 oz light rum
• 1/2 oz amber rum
• 1 oz sweet and sour
• 1 oz orange juice
• 1 oz pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz club soda
• 1/4 oz 151 rum

Garnish: pineapple wedge

Both drinks are prepared identically and just as you might expect. In a shaker with ice, shake all ingredients which are listed before the soda. Add the soda to a collins glass packed with ice. Strain the contents of the shaker into the collins glass, top with a head of 151 rum, garnish and serve.

The Zombie II is the more intoxicating blend with more rum. The pineapple flavor comes through cleanly as do the flavors of the rums. The Zombie I is sweeter and less alcoholic, but drinks much faster and as a result is just as *hic* intoxicating. These are both cocktails to enjoy while the summer lasts. Nothing beats a refreshing rum cocktail on a hot, sunny day. If you can add a beach bar in the Virgin Islands all the better! (We'll cover Billy Bone's 'Painkiller' soon... I promise.)

To rum, rum blends, and rum cocktails - and to Summer itself! Cheers!

Note: There are so many variants of serving suggestions for Zombies that it was genuinely difficult to find a photo of a proper one. A Zombie needs to be served in a collins glass (tall and thin) and with ice. Kiwis and floral arrangements for garnish are optional.