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The Great Palm Springs Zombie Taste-Off! |
sandiegodan
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 07, 2007
Posts: 57 |  Posted: 2007-11-05 10:00 pm Permalink
http://tikiroom.com/img/7130x472fc87c.jpg
http://tikiroom.com/img/7130x473002dd.jpg
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sandiegodan
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 07, 2007
Posts: 57 | Posted: 2007-11-05 10:03 pm Permalink
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sandiegodan
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 07, 2007
Posts: 57 | Posted: 2007-11-05 10:07 pm Permalink
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sandiegodan
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 07, 2007
Posts: 57 | Posted: 2007-11-05 10:13 pm Permalink
More fun pictures after way too many zombies
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sandiegodan
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 07, 2007
Posts: 57 | Posted: 2007-11-05 10:40 pm Permalink
As proof that the zombies work, a usually reasonable man stated that a well-known conservative woman was really a Satanist.
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TikiLaLe
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 09, 2006
Posts: 891
From: Largo, Floriduh
| Posted: 2007-11-06 09:25 am Permalink
Ain't anybody building Tiki Bars in PS?
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telescopes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 554
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2007-11-06 10:58 pm Permalink
Tiki Bars in Palm Springs - Palm Springs is in essence already a tiki bar in and of itself. An artificial sub-tropical paradise full of beautiful women and ....
_________________
Hola versus the Aloha Monster
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telescopes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 554
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2007-11-08 3:54 pm Permalink
Dear Bum:
Well my friend, the results are in and I have to admit, I am surprised.
We had our Zombie tasting party this last Monday - 5 judges, all initially sober. The four Zombies were in order of drinking and consuming completely;
The 1934 version of the Anonymous Zombie;
Spievak's Zombie;
Santiago's Zombie;
Men's Caberet Zombie;
The ingredients used were as exactly as prescribed except for the first zombie and there we substituted Apricot Brandy for Apple Jack and we rounded off the ingredients to the nearest ounce.
Our conclusion in terms of taste and satisfaction - It was a tie between the first two Zombies.
And while the alcohol might be suspected in explaining why the last two zombies failed to take the lead, I though our judges had some outstanding and thoughtful statements as to why this wasn't the case.
To begin with, we took our time - almost 4.5 hours, and we had lots of food. But most importantly, the first zombie was vibrant, balanced, and very much a well-blended and colorful palate of nicely complimentary flavors. We used quality rums and freshly picked and squeezed juices. More to the point, rounding the parts to the nearest ounce and using 0.5 oz of simple syrup instead of sugar always as well as the apricot brandy instead of AppleJack always seems to make a great drink. I have to admit, I forgot to add 1/2 oz of 151 at the end.
Spievak's Zombie provoked lots of oooo's and aaaaah's from the judges. Everyone was taken with the extreme balance of flavors as well as the gift of flavor provided by the lemon juice. Again, quality rums and juices were used. Personally, the judges seemed to me to be unable or unwilling to prefer either of the first two recipes over each other. Both drinks kicked.
Now here's the surprise. Everyone liked and enjoyed Santiago's Zombie. No complaints, just simply no wow's either. I believe complex is the word that comes to mind.
But the Men's Caberet Zombie simply sucked. And the reason for this was the Maraschino Liqueur. I was very careful to make sure the pours were correctly measured, but for the life of me, the Maraschino liqueur simply ruined the drink. I purchased my Maraschino liqueur from Bristol Farms, the LUXARDO brand. No one cared for what it did to the Zombie. We simply all agreed that it ruined it. Just as we were about to drink the Caberet Zombie, my wife showed up and asked for a drink. Now up to this point she had drunk nothing. I watched her as we all drank the Zombie and she really grimaced as she tried to finish it. I'm telling you, that recipe might need to be thought of as not being canon.
I'm going to make the latter recipe again for myself and give it another try, but after sipping some of the Maraschino liqueur by itself, I don't believe much will change. But I have an open mind.
I want to thank you personally for your support in this project as well as recognizing your efforts to bring awareness and appreciation of the zombie to a new generation.
Who knows what our next project will be? Perhaps the Suffering Bastard or even the Mai Tai.
Until then,
Your Zombiefied Doctor
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telescopes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 554
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2007-11-08 10:05 pm Permalink
Well, well.
I remade the men's caberet zombie, only this time I was fully sober and I carefully, carefully measured the ingredients. I wondered I as remade the zombie, did I use one and a half ounces of maraschino liquerur per drink instead of 3/4ths of and ounce? Hmmmm? Maybe I might have.
The Caberet Zombie at the time tasted way too much of Maraschino liqureur, but after remaking the zombie ever so carefully, I now have noticed that it is indeed pleasant drink. It is indeed a river of wonderful taste. However, the river didn't erode my previous feelings about which of the zombies was indeed the winner. Ultimately, my bet is on the version of the Grog Log Zombie presented here or Spievak's Zombie. While I still am a fan of the Santiago Zombie, when I make one for my friends next time, I won't be using Don's recipe.
And this makes me sad. On so many levels. It's not right.
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Kahuna Kent
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 19, 2007
Posts: 78
From: Woodland Hills, Ca
| Posted: 2007-11-10 12:14 am Permalink
In defense of the "Don" - after assembling all the ingredients for the Santiago recipe (this took awhile - the Falernum and a proper Grenadine were not easy to come by - and I made my "Don's Mix" with Demerara sugar, per the Bum!) - subbing Cruzan for the "Puerto Rican Rum" as the Bum suggests I came up with an okay drink - as the judges attest (I'm using Herbsaint, btw, not absinthe) - but then I tried it again using Pyrate in place of Cruzan and it's a whole different deal! Wow! It was truly a revelation! I'm thinking Puerto Rican Rum back in the day was a much better product than we have today! Next time I wnt to try it with Ron Zacara.
I'm going to try the Spievak recipe as soon as I score some decent Passion Fruit Pulp.
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Otto
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 774
From: NorCal
| Posted: 2007-11-11 10:59 pm Permalink
sounds like you guys will soon need a Voodoo Vacation on Zombie Island!?!?
Tiki Oasis 8, August 14-17, 2008, San Diego is Zombie themed!
You should attend and re-enact your Zombie taste test. Or have a Zombie-off drink making contest where different rooms/groups of guests take different recipes and attempt to win the Zombie taste test contest . . . mmmmm.
Just a thought!
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telescopes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 554
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2007-11-12 6:40 pm Permalink
Otto:
What a fantastic idea!
Although the tiki culture is full of a rich tradition of many fine drinks and traditions, there are some who migh say that the Zombie is our "White Whale!" To me, the Zombie is about "getting it right!"
There are many fine and wonderful Zombie recipes, all of which need to be tested and "drunk". A Zombie bar crawl would give new meaning to the word crawl.
I'll be there with friends in tow.
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telescopes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 554
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2007-11-12 6:45 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-11-10 00:14, Kahuna Kent wrote:
I'm going to try the Spievak recipe as soon as I score some decent Passion Fruit Pulp.
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Kahuna Kent, your right about being particular about the rums you use when working from a Don the Beachcomber recipe. It matters.
I used TV Passion Fruit Syrup in my Spievak and it came out simply great. Of course my bottle was old formula. One thing I do differently, I use fresh Key Lime juice from Key Limes that have ripened to a nice yellow skin. Good luck with the Spievak. I hope you report back your findings.
_________________
Hola versus the Aloha Monster
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Kahuna Kent
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 19, 2007
Posts: 78
From: Woodland Hills, Ca
| Posted: 2007-11-12 7:38 pm Permalink
I love Otto's idea! I'm starting now to perfect the recipe (but these things are dangerous - I'm still recovering from too much "research" I did this weekend - I've gotta pace myself!)
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Kahuna Kent
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 19, 2007
Posts: 78
From: Woodland Hills, Ca
| Posted: 2007-11-12 7:47 pm Permalink
Telescopes: What's the difference between a Lime and a "Key Lime"?
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