For decades, anyone trying to recreate the legendary cocktails of Don the Beachcomber ran into the same dead end: the mysterious numbered ingredients. Jeff “Beachbum” Berry uncovered the recipes, but not the secrets behind cryptic labels like “#4” or “Don’s Spices.” Even Donn’s own bartenders could only guess, using substitutes to approximate the originals.

Those secrets stayed buried for nearly 90 years.

That changed when I discovered that Donn sourced these ingredients from the Lancaster Company in Fontana, California—sold under the name Astra Flavors. The numbers weren’t codes at all; they were simply item numbers from a bakery supply catalog. This insight came from Bob Van Dorpe, the former purchasing agent for Don the Beachcomber Chicago and later the man who helped open the Mai‑Kai in 1956. He had quietly cracked the system and used it to supply Mariano Licudine, Donn’s famed mixologist.

When I received Donn’s personal archive from his widow Phoebe, the final pieces fell into place. Inside were notes, clues, and order sheets detailing the Lancaster Company flavorings. No full recipes—just enough breadcrumbs to follow. Using those documents and the Mai‑Kai’s surviving versions as benchmarks, I rebuilt what I believe are the lost mixers of Don the Beachcomber.

The greatest mystery of all was #4, the essential ingredient in the original 1934 Zombie. Jeff Berry had been told to substitute white grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup, but Donn’s archive revealed that cinnamon was actually #8—a completely different Astra Flavor. With this new information, I recreated #4 as faithfully as possible.

Now, for the first time since the golden age of tiki, you can taste the Zombie the way Donn intended.

These mixers aren’t approximations. They’re the closest you can get to the real thing without stepping into a Don the Beachcomber before it closed in 1989.

Bring the lost flavors of tiki history back to your glass.

Coming in Spring via BG Reynolds

Three Dots and a Dash

  • .5 oz. lime juice
  • .5 oz. Orange juice
  • .5 oz. Honey Syrup
  • .25 oz. Falernum
  • .25 oz. Allspice Liqueur
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters
  • 5 dashes Swanky’s #7
  • 8 dashes Swanky’s #4
  • 1.5 oz. Pontalba rum
  • .5 oz. Demerara 96

Swizzle with crushed ice. Circa 1942

Nui Nui

  • .5 oz. lime juice
  • .5 oz. Orange juice
  • .25 oz. Swanky’s #4
  • .25 oz. Swanky ‘s #2
  • 3 oz. St. Croix rum
  • Dash Angostura bitters

Swizzle with crushed ice. Circa 1941

Don’s Swizzle

  • .5 oz. lime
  • 1 oz. orange juice
  • .25 oz. Swanky’s #4
  • .25 oz. Swanky’s #7
  • 1 oz. gold rum
  • .5 oz. demerara 86
  • 3 dashes bitters

Shake with crushed ice and strain over ice cubes. Ciraca 1941

Mai-Kai Swizzle tribute

Mai-Kai Swizzle tribute by The Atomic Grog

  • 1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • .5 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • .5 ounce mango juice
  • .5 ounce rich sugar syrup
    (2 parts sugar to 1 part water, heated and cooled)
  • .25 ounce orgeat (almond) syrup or amaretto
  • Dash falernum
  • 2 ounces gold Jamaican rum (Appleton Estate Signature recommended)

Swizzle in a metal cocktail shaker with 1 cup crushed ice. (Or pulse blend with ice for for 4-6 seconds.) Pour into a stemmed cocktail glass and garnish with a speared pineapple chunk, plus red and green cherries.

Zombie Lite*

  •  .75 oz. Lime Juice
  • .5 oz. White Grapefruit Juice
  • .5 oz. Swanky’s #4
  • .5 oz. Falernum
  • 1 oz. Dagger Rum (Mix 50/50 Smith & Cross and El Dorado 12 Year)
  • 1 oz. 151-proof Demerara Rum
  • Or use 2 oz. Hamilton Zombie Rum
  • Dashes: Angostura Bitters, Grenadine, Absinthe

Flash blend with crushed ice. In Collins glass, pour over ice cubes with mint leaves, and mint garnish. Created 1934.

* reduced rum for less Zombification

The above is the 1934 Zombie except the rums are changed.

Swanky’s Black Magic

  •  .75 oz Lime Juice
  • 1 oz Orange Juice
  • 1 oz White Grapefruit Juice
  • .75 oz Swanky’s #7
  • 1 oz. Smith & Cross Rum
  • 1 oz. El Dorado 12 Year Rum
  • 2 oz. Myers’s Dark Rum
  • 2 oz Strong Coffee
  • 3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Flash blend with crushed ice and pour into snifter garnished with grapefruit or orange peel

Donga Punch

  • .75 oz. lime juice
  • 1.5 oz. Don’s mix
  • 1.5 oz. Aged Martinique rum
  • Dash Angostura bitters

Swizzle with crushed ice. Circe 1939

Don’s Mix

  • 2 parts white grapefruit juice
  • 1 part Swanky’s #4

The Hukilau tribute by The Atomic Grog

  • 2 ounces fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • 1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
  • .5 ounce rich honey mix
  • 1.5 ounces passion fruit syrup
  • 1.5 ounces light Puerto Rican or Virgin Islands rum
  • 2 ounces Appleton rum
  • .5 ounce Swanky’s #7

 Blend with up to 1 .5 cups of crushed ice in a top-down mixer for at least 8 seconds, or until frothy. Pour into a large snifter glass or goblet with more crushed ice to fill.

Mutiny tribute by The Atomic Grog

  • 1 ounce fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • 1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
  • .5 ounce rich honey mix
  • .75 ounce passion fruit syrup
  • 1 ounce chilled Colombian coffee
  • 1 ounce light Puerto Rican or Virgin Islands rum
  • 1 ounce gold Puerto Rican or Virgin Islands rum
  • 2 ounces dark Jamaican rum (Kohala Bay blend or similar)
  • .75 ounce Swanky’s #7
  • 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 3 drops Pernod

 Blend with up to 2 cups of crushed ice in a top-down mixer for at least 8 seconds, or until frothy. Pour into a large snifter glass or goblet with more crushed ice to fill.