torino zombie

2 1/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Maurin)
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Funky, High Ester Jamaican Rum (Wray & Nephew)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Absinthe (10 drop St. George)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with Tiki intent.

Two Saturdays ago, I stopped into Russell House Tavern after work, so by the time I got home, it was rather late. On the walk home, I started brainstorming on a vermouth Zombie idea based off how well the classic Fig Leaf works, but I decided that since it was such a late of an hour that it might make for a better brunch drink concept the next morning. On Sunday, I touched up the recipe that I had scratched down to make it less of a pure 1934 Zombie by incorporating the apricot brandy element that started appearing in Zombie recipes around 1941 (which I described in the Bath Salts Zombie riff). Since Tiki is usually based on a mix of rums, so why not a mix of vermouths here? To add some depth, I included Punt e Mes which would work well with the apricot liqueur, and while I considered keeping this drink rum-free, I did spike in a small amount of high-impact rum to add some funky complexity to the swallow. Moreover, I kept the cinnamon syrup (after dropping the grapefruit in the Don's Mix) when I recalled how well cinnamon syrup worked with apricot liqueur in the Southern Belle. For a name, I dubbed it the Torino Zombie after Turin, one of the centers of sweet vermouth production.
The Torino Zombie gave forth a grape and spice aroma akin to an anise-y mulled wine. Next, the sip shared grape and lime flavors akin to the Fig Leaf cocktail, and the swallow followed up with more grape leading into bitter apricot and spice notes. In the end, it was less like mulled wine and closer to a Tiki Sangria.