Return of the killer zombie
It took Jeff “the Beachbum” Berry over a decade to find the original recipe for the 1934 cocktail that set off the tiki craze in Los Angeles and beyond. The libation? The Zombie. The inventor of the recipe was the man who introduced Polynesian kitsch culture to the United States, “Don Beach,” born Earnest Raymond Beaumont Gantt. He dabbled in bootlegging toward the end of Prohibition, and then opened a tiki bar in Hollywood in 1933. It was all about rum and escapism. In those days, people couldn’t travel much, so visiting Beach’s bar felt like a getaway to an exotic land with unusual tastes and wild island décor. Same too, with the Tonga Hut, which hasn’t changed much since it opened in 1958. It’s very dark, with the ever-present sound of gurgling water. Lovely topless Polynesian ladies adorn the walls over the squishy vinyl booths.
When the Beachbum finally got his hands on the elusive Zombie recipe, he found one component written essentially in code, labeled simply “Don’s Mix.” Additional sleuthing unearthed the ingredients in Don’s Mix, which included “Spices #4.” Yet more digging revealed that Spices #4 used to be kept by Beach in a safe in Inglewood. What’s up with the hardcore hiding? Back in the days of the tiki explosion, the competition grew to be brutal. Beach only shared his recipes with his most trusted bartenders. But what did Spices #4, the final unknown ingredient, consist of? Eventually, Berry ran into an old bartender of Beach’s who shared the secret. It was … cinnamon syrup.
Info
Address 12808 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91606, +1 818.769.0708, www.tongahut.com, tongahut@gmail.com | Getting there Free on-site lot | Hours Daily 4pm–2am| Tip Dive into Hollywood Cinema history, before you dive into a historical drink, at the Hollywood Museum (1660 Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028), where a giant collection of Tinseltown memorabilia is held.
The current general manager of Tonga Hut learned how to make the original Zombie from Berry. All the ingredients are fresh and unlike the overly sweet bastardized imitations one finds on the menus at “less devoted” bars, the cocktail you’ll get at Tonga Hut is authentic. It’s a muscular drink with big rum flavor, including traces of anise, lime, clove, and, of course, cinnamon.
Back
To the online map