The only variant he mentions is replacing one of the three jiggers of cognac with rum. It probably is a horrible idea and I confess that I didn’t try one today. Although the heat has finally broken, I worked out after work, and, being hot and sweaty, made a mojito instead.

Pernod quite simply is horrifically assertive. I think my big bottle of Absente is going to last me nearly forever, becuse I simply can’t use more than a dash or two in anything. Unless I come over all Baudelaire and drink the whole bottle in one immensely regrettable sitting.

Adam

Sorry it’s not right for St. Louis in the dog days… the citrus doesn’t hit me quite the way you describe it, but perhaps mine are sweeter. I’ve not tried Fee’s grenadine — don’t believe I’ve seen it in these parts — but am instead using some of my own making, a 1:1 of pomegranate juice and sugar, a la Wondrich, via Paul of the Cocktail Chronicles.

Funny you should mention the Zombie… I’ve been intending to probe a bit deeper into the realm of tropical bevvies while the weather insists on oppressing, and picked up some 151 this afternoon for that very purpose. Vic’s Zombie is nice — the Pernod makes a remarkably assertive contribution for its volume — but one Zombie a night is probably enough, and Ms. Thirsty was wanting Coladas, so the full examination must be postponed.

Don’t know which edition of Baker you have, but in my 1946 2nd ed., he footnotes his Cap Haitien Zombie with:

It may be of some mild interest to our Lodge of the Amiable Amateur Mixers that the Zombie formula set on this page was put to paper in the fall of ‘35; whereas the high-proof so-called Zombie known to most bar men did not raise its dizzy head until two years later.
Author.

And indeed, Baker’s bears no resemblance to what we know of as the Zombie today… coconut, cognac, maraschino and angostura … there’s nothing in the CocktailDB that vaguely resembles it. I’m tempted to conclude from this that it’s a horrible idea, but there’s only one way to find out…

I must say that my initial suspicions were justified: it’s not quaffable. However, that has less to do with the preponderance of rum than it does with the amount of lime and lemon juice, which make this a very sour drink. I’m using Fee Brothers’ American Beauty grenadine, which is, in this concentration, quite pomegranitey, but weirdly not all that sweet. Not a bad drink, but on a day like today, I prefer DeGroff’s concoction.

Adam

With Trader Vic’s recipe, I think you wouldn’t be very happy if you quaffed rather than sipped it, and in my book, punches are for quaffing. That, however, seems to be a staple of Trader Vic’s recipes (I really need to get an authoritative collection of ‘em): the real Mai Tai is something that leaves you a bit breathless, rather than the fruit punch you usually get someplace if you order one (for example, P.F. Chang’s, an upscale Chinese restaurant chain with (I presume) a common mxing guide at its various locations–the Mai Tai I had there was very, very pineappley (and this in a drink that in its original incarnation had no pineapple at all), although it did contain a hell of a lot of rum for a $7 drink at a somewhat overpriced restaurant).

But in DeGroff’s book he points out that there are, indeed, a great variety of drinks that can travel under the name “Planeter’s Punch”; basically, throw some sweet fruit juice (and Vic omits even this) in with some sweet, some citrus, some rum, and some orange liqueur, shake, and serve, and it’s a planter’s punch.

While I’m going on about tropical drinks: I think there’s a great need, hint hint, for a comparative series of Zombies, ranging from Baker’s recipe, which is cognac-based rather than rum, and in no way recognizable as the modern Zombie, through Trader Vic’s deadly passionfruit-containing concoction, to Regan’s Zombie #2, about which I don’t remember much except that it would have been lethal even without the float of 151 on top of it.

Adam

I do like what DeGroff has done. It’s particularly nice when shaken extra-vigorously and strained to the last drop, as it produces a lovely layer of froth that will persist to the final dram, tickling the nose with its bouquet at every sip. Indeed, I’d have to say that the nose was my favorite part of DeGroff’s recipe. I used freshly squeezed Valencia orange juice, and don’t believe that any good can come from attempting this drink with anything less. Nothing in a carton can match the aroma of fresh-squeezed, but if you simply must, a few drops of orange flower water set into the foam after pouring might not be a bad idea.

I’d make one again, no doubt. I just wish there were another name for it.

I think I’ll be picking up some pineapple juice and fresh citrus this evening