6 Killer Drinks for Your Walking Dead Premiere Party

Recipe courtesy Michael R. Anderson, Hawthorn Beverage Group, Louisville, Kentucky

“Much like The Walking Dead encompasses characters somewhere between life and death, this concoction utilizes a mingling of Immature and Craft Brandies from [Louisville’s] Copper & Kings distillery,” says Anderson. “The addition of Italian amaro and rich cane sugar makes for a libation brooding with depth, texture and balance. With the delicate orange oil aromatics, this cocktail will have your guests running back to your bar for another round like there’s a flock of the undead behind them.”

1 ounce Copper & Kings Craft Distilled Brandy
1 ounce Copper & Kings Immature Brandy
¼ teaspoon Tempus Fugit Fernet del Frate Angelico
1 teaspoon Demerara sugar
Orange twist, for garnish

Add brandies, Fernet and sugar to a mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir with a bar spoon until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange twist.

Recipe courtesy Marcos Tello, Selvarey Rum brand ambassador and co-founder of cocktailing consulting company, Liquid Assets, Los Angeles

“Tiki cocktails are experiencing a revival, so what better way to celebrate a zombie show than with this classic?” says Tello. “Originally created in 1934 at legendary bar Don the Beachcomber, the Zombie may very well bring your party guests back to life because of all the fresh tropical fruit juices and three kinds of rum it contains. This is also perfect to serve as a punch for large parties. Just pour it in a glass over crushed ice for each serving.”

¾ ounce Selvarey White Rum
¾ ounce aged rum
¾ ounce 151 Demerara Rum
¾ ounce Demerara syrup
¾ ounce passion fruit syrup
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
¾ ounce fresh pineapple juice
Dash of Angostura bitters
Mint sprig, pineapple spear and passion fruit half, for garnish

In a shaker tin, combine rum, syrups, juices and bitters with ice. Shake and strain into a tiki mug or Pilsner glass over crushed ice. Garnish with mint sprig, pineapple spear and passion fruit.

Recipe courtesy Johnny Ciani, operating partner, The Bricks, Tampa, Florida

“Blood orange liqueur? Seems like an appropriate choice for a zombie-themed cocktail party,” says Ciani. “We get a lot of blank stares at the bar, but not over this Bourbon-based drink, which features refreshing notes of citrus and plum. Also, we don’t serve the undead, so that helps.”

1½ ounces Angel’s Envy Bourbon
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce vanilla-orange simple syrup (recipe below)
1 bar spoon Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
1 tablespoon cut plums
4 mint leaves
Mint sprig and dehydrated plum, for garnish

Combine Bourbon, juices, syrup, liqueur, plums and mint leaves in a cobbler shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe. Garnish with mint sprig and dehydrated plum, if desired.

For the vanilla orange simple syrup:

4 vanilla beans, cut in half
2 oranges, peeled and sliced
2 cups organic unprocessed cane sugar

Simmer 2 cups of water, vanilla beans and oranges in a saucepan for 10 minutes. Bring heat up to medium-high heat and slowly add sugar. Once the sugar is added, simmer for an additional 5 minutes. After sugar dissolves, strain and transfer to a squeeze bottle or other container. Yields about 14 ounces.

Recipe courtesy Rachel Sleek, bartender, Pearl’s Sunset, Los Angeles

“The Full Shane tastes like candy, but it is pretty potent and really sneaks up on you,” says Sleek. “If you have one too many, you risk going ‘full Shane,’ which means losing your cool or going crazy, referring to Shane’s character on the show.”

1½ ounces Reilly’s Rock & Rye Ginger Whiskey
1 ounce cherry liqueur
½ ounce Amaretto
½ ounce lemon juice
Luxardo cherry and mint sprig, for garnish

Combine whiskey, cherry liqueur, Amaretto and lemon juice in a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube.

Recipe courtesy Lu Brow, bar chef, Café Adelaide, New Orleans

This Zombie variation, combining three rums, packs a serious punch. “I recommend only drinking one of these at your premiere party,” says Brow. “If you drink two, you will never be able to outrun the zombies.”

1 ounce Rougaroux Full Moon dark rum
½ ounce Cruzan light aged rum
½ ounce Rougaroux Sugarshine rum (or overproof rum)
½ ounce Cherry Heering
¾ ounce Cointreau
½ ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce passion fruit nectar
¾ ounce light agave nectar
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters
Nutmeg, for dusting
Lime wheel, lemon wheel and cherry, for garnish

Combine rums, Cherry Heering, Cointreau, juices, nectars and bitters in a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour entire contents into a Collins glass. Sprinkle grated nutmeg on top. Garnish with a lime wheel, lemon wheel and cherry.

We couldn’t leave wine lovers out in the cold. Pour a glass of Besieged—a deep, dark Sonoma County red blend of Petite Sirah, Carignane, Zinfandel, Syrah, Barbera, Alicante Bouschet and Mourvèdre—and recount the eerie tale behind the bottling during a commercial break.

“Alone in the vineyard one evening during my first harvest in 1976, I was besieged by an impending thunderstorm and taunted by a circle of ravens as I hurried to bring in my first four tons of fruit,” says Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson. “Weeks later, as I tasted my first wines in barrel, I realized that instead of being harbingers of doom, those ravens had brought me tremendous good fortune and incredible wine.”