"Night of the Living Dead Cocktail" (BOTB 2022 Day 29) Recipe

 

Bring Out the Boos 2022

Day 29: "Night of the Living Dead"

By: The Film Bartender

    Zombies are a major part of the horror genre today, and it seems like there wasn't a time where zombies haunted both adults and children every Halloween and in shows and films like "The Walking Dead". However, we can credit the major breakthrough of the zombie genre to one George A. Romero, who made the 1968 horror film, "Night of the Living Dead"! This movie brought zombies to the big screen, with a group of survivors holed up in a house with no way out. Even today, it's hard not to feel Romero's presence in every film project that involves zombies or the living dead. Because of that, the drink for Day 29 of my 2022 "Bring Out the Boos" series is inspired by the classic Romero film, adding a modern twist on the black and white genre mixed with a blood red color! Keep reading to find out more about this classic film and for the recipe of today's frightfully delightful drink below!

    "Night of the Living Dead" is a 1968 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero, and stars Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Tony Todd, Judith Riley, Bill Cardille, Kyra Schon, Gary Streiner, Marilyn Eastman, and George Kosana. The movie follows a group of survivors who are all at odds with one another. Many of them don't like one another due to racist and personal reasons, but are forced to remain with one another to stay alive when the undead starts to rise and eat the flesh and suck the blood of living people. 

    This is the first real introduction of zombies we ever had in film history, and it set the trademark of zombies and the undead rising. When the film was released, it did wonders at the box office, becoming the highest grossing horror film of all time at the time, and earned back around 250 times its budget. When the film was first released, it was deemed as insignificant and just another cheesy horror film that is only meant to entertain. 

    However, film critics started to pay attention to this film, which contains numerous social and racial commentary on the society at that time. One included the infamous ending, which showed the African American protagonist get shot by the police in cold blood due to them thinking he is one of the undead due to the color of his skin. Critics then started to see this movie as something more than just to entertain, but as a piece of commentary on the current status of America. Throughout the years since its release, it has won numerous awards and other high accolades. 

    Since this film did wonders in the box office and was shown as a modern masterpiece at the time, it garnered numerous sequels, launching the "Night of the Living Dead" franchise. The film spawned off "Dawn of the Dead" (which is as famous, if not more, than the first film), "Day of the Dead", "Land of the Dead", "Diary of the Dead", "Survival of the Dead", and "Twilight of the Dead" is slated to start production. At the same time, it spawned one film spinoff as well as numerous spinoffs in forms of comic books and novels. 

    Our drink today is inspired by the classic film by implementing the black and white color ratio of the film, mixed with a bloody colorful surprise which represents the blood shed in this film, as well as the numerous sequels that have came out! Keep scrolling to find the full recipe for the "Night of the Living Dead" cocktail! 

Ingredients:

- 1 oz Vodka

- 1 oz White Rum

- 1 oz Lime Juice

- 2 oz Cranberry Juice

- 1/4 oz Simple Syrup

- 1/2 oz Grenadine

- 1/2 oz Chocolate Syrup

- 1/2 oz Caramel Sauce

- Ice

Directions:

1. In a rocks glass, pour some chocolate syrup and caramel sauce around the inside of the glass, and then add ice. 

2. In a cocktail glass, add all of the ingredients together with ice, and shake vigorously until well combined. 

3. Strain the cocktail into the prepared rocks glass. Serve.

Film Fact: When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck in "Night of the Living Dead", they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea-inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies as they ended up looking pale and sick anyways. 

    You have now made your very own cocktail inspired by the George A. Romero classic zombie film! Craft this cocktail to add some bloody spookiness to your next Halloween party or your next rewatch of this classic horror film! This is Day 29 of my Halloween event this year, meaning there are only two more drinks to come! Check out all the previous recipes on my homepage, and check back tomorrow for Day 30 of the "Bring Out the Boos 2022" Halloween event! Until then, happy drinking!