zombie essence

3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 oz White Grapefruit Juice (Ruby Red)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz 151 Proof Rum (El Dorado 151)
1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)

Shake with cracked ice, pour into a Zombie mug, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Mondays ago, I was flipping through Beachbum Berry's Remixed and spotted Jeff Berry's minimalized version of Don the Beachcomber's 1934 Zombie. This circa 2007 "Zombie (simplified)" adaptation stripped away the spice trio of falernum, Angostura, and absinthe as well as a third rum and the grenadine, and I was curious as to the result.
Once built, this Zombie shared mint and floral notes from the garnishes. Next, lime and grapefruit paired with the rum's caramel on the sip, and the swallow offered funky rum notes from the Coruba and jet fuel ferocity from the El Dorado overproof with a cinnamon finish. Overall, the lack of grenadine changed little but the third rum could have rounded out the spirit aspect. Moreover, the lost spice notes from the trio decreased the complexity, but it still left a rather enjoyable libation.