Inside the Mind of the Monkey

Cocktails from Quarantine

April 1, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Let’s get this out of the way right up front, I am not sure this is really a cocktail blog. The drinks info is solid, but I do wander in the narrative, making you read a bunch of extra stuff to get to the recipe. You end up with my thoughts on the events of the day or reminisces looking back on a half century of misspent youth, loosely draped around a drink made on our kitchen counter. Maybe that is your thing, I hope so. It’s got links to bars, ingredients, music and anything else I find interesting. Nobody is making any money off of them, so click if you are into it or don’t. These shouts into the dark helped provide some routine and ritual when the world turned upside down. It is my sincere hope that reading them will help keep you distracted, informed or mildly entertained, depending on your needs.

Angel Face

November 4, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I awoke this morning to discover that over the weekend the jack o’ lanterns that had invaded stately Monkey Manor have been replaced by their smooth-faced cousins. On further inspection I actually found that several of them had merely turned their faces to the wall revealing their unmarred backsides, which gave me some comfort. I just feel better with adaptation and evolution over wholesale replacement. Still, with our devils relegated to the top shelf in my office and our skeletons back in their closets there is no denying that is is indeed fall, y’all. Yes, I know we set a high temperature record here in the sultry Autumn of middle Tennessee today, but the leaves have changed and it was crisp in the early morning, so with a nod toward evenings sitting around the bonfire to come, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Angel Face.

Red Needle

October 15, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am bad about taking things for granted. I know that doesn’t make me special, but it is a fact of life. For someone who can be so impulsive, it is odd how much I tend to delay gratification. While a big part of my life is taking the time to appreciate things and truly savor experiences, there is a down side when you let that exquisite bottle of scotch sit on the shelf untouched, because you are afraid that the actual experience of taking the sip won’t live up to the anticipation of tracking down that elusive bottle. Sometimes, I get so focused on the potential good to come that I forget that the goal wasn’t to get the bottle on the shelf, but to enjoy what it holds inside. That’s what I mean about taking things for granted. Assuming that they will always be there when you summon the courage or energy to finally dive in. I don’t know how many times in life I have missed out on a great restaurant or exhibit that I really wanted to try only to see they are closing before I ever get around to visiting. They say that fortune favors the bold, but who favors the fellow who wants that wonderful moment of anticipation to last just a little bit longer? I wish I knew or, at least, I wish I could better recognize when the time to take the leap comes, rather than that crystal clear 20/20 hindsight of knowing when you have missed your time. So, in the spirit of trying something new, too long delayed, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Red Needle.

The World…Reversed

August 21, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Life is all about learning. Whether you like it or not. In my experience, as important as it is to get yourself a solid basis of knowledge, your education really begins once you are out of a formal school setting, exploring this big, wonderful world and all of its idiosyncrasies. I kind of love that, but then I have always hungered to know more, to understand new concepts and to dig not only into the what, but the how and most importantly, the why of most everything I encounter. The thing is, life is going to teach you lessons, over and over, so you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to learn and turn that experience into a sort of hard won wisdom. So, with a nod to just how much we have left to learn, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, The World…Reversed.

See No Evil

August 16, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“What I want, I want now,” sang out from the television as I made my way to the bar. It made sense. The right sentiment for the right time. As much as I enjoy respectful patience and longing from afar, today I have a thirst. A particular kind of thirst that requires a particular kind of satiety. This longing is an oddly welcome pain. In some strange way hunger reminds you that you are alive. So much of life slips by in a mundane, grey sort of stumble from one task to the next, that the inner grumblings, those unsatisfied pangs, are like a wake up call. Usually, you keep them quiet, pushed down, under control, not even acknowledging their existence, making a conscious choice to not speak of this, but sometimes, well, sometimes you just need to let go and give in to temptation. So with a nod to the wisdom of Oscar Wilde and his unique self help routine, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the See No Evil.

Consensual Objectification

August 15, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The first lesson in Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” is “Share Everything.” There are lots of other bits of wisdom in there like play fair, clean up your own mess, say you’re sorry when you hurt someone or hold hands and stick together when you go out in the world, but the sharing part is what always struck me. Which is funny because, as kids, we know that. From a an early age we are hammered with the message to share and not be selfish, to look out for our fellow humans and remember that we are all in this together. Seriously, this seems to be the super critical message of childhood, which is funny, since kids seem to get the importance of sharing almost instinctively. As we get older, well…maybe we can get into that later, but for now let’s focus on the positives as we stand and make the Consensual Objectification.

End of the Road

August 14, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It has been a while since I took the time to make a drink here at Stately Monkey Manor. This last year, the majority of my mixing has taken place helping out behind other folks bars or while teaching a class or technique, so it was nice to take a break at the end of the evening and play around a little. A lot has changed since the last time I broke out that mixing pitcher, you may have noticed that it is on a new counter in a different place, but we are thriving in the face of these unexpected challenges and rewards. It is kind of funny that I chose this cocktail as the first drink to make in a new bar, but it also makes sense, from a certain point of view. Anyway, I hope that it all works out and that you will you join me now as we stand and make the End of the Road.

The Doctor

August 7, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Fear. That is what keeps most of us from greatness. Being scared of the consequences, what people will think, the possibility of failure, keeps us on the sidelines instead of getting out there and speaking or living our truth. It’s a shame we can’t just start in the middle sometimes, but the journey begins with that scary first step. It is like Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Still, even knowing that eternal truth, how often do we let opportunities pass us by, because, unlike Lin-Manuel, we throw away our shot? I know that I am guilty of this, in so many ways and on so many levels. You could fill the pages of many books with lists of the things I have not done, the chances I let slip by because I was too afraid to seize the moment and carpe that diem. But I am trying to do better, to be more free and to embrace the possibility that a “yes” can bring. So in the spirit of fewer regrets and swallowing some bitter pills, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Doctor.

Ashtray Heart

August 6, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“This is gonna want for words…”, that is what I wrote as a placeholder way back in August of ’23 when I first made this one. Now we find ourselves with the calendar nearly back to where it sat that day when I reminded myself that the work remained unfinished. Clearly, I am a big fan of procrastination, but I do hate leaving a job half done, so in the spirit of Van Halen we’re gonna finish what we’ve started, if you will join me now as we stand and make the Ashtray Heart.

Spirited Oaxacan Hot Chocolate

January 16, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s a snow day in middle Tennessee. One of those rare, single digits, howling wind, bundle up because the snow is deeper than your boots days. We don’t get a lot of those, so I try to appreciate them when they come. When I wore a younger mans clothes, this usually meant putting the plastic bags from loaves of bread over my socks before putting my boots on to go sledding, usually being pulled behind the tractor by my grandfather. What can I say, the hills on our farm are more of the gentle, rolling variety than the exciting toboggan run style. We would usually follow that up with “skating” on one of the ponds before breaking the ice so the cattle could get a drink and making sure all the stock had plenty of hay. Somehow, he would hide the work in the fun in the same way that he would hide life lessons in that work. As cold as it would be out there, we knew that when we got back to the house grandma would have hot chocolate waiting for us on the stove and that still tastes like home to me. So, peel off those wet shoes, being careful to not tear your bread bag liners, as we stand in mostly dry socks and make a mug of Spirited Oaxacan Hot Chocolate.

Chef’s Kiss

January 9, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

After a rainy night with winds rushing through the leafless trees, we have settled into one of those trademark muddy, grey January days. Secretly, I always sort of enjoy this kind of weather, perfect for cuddling up in your cardigan with a good book, while something savory simmers on the stove. Getting lost in a story while the flavors slowly melt together and the scent of comfort floats on the air, full of the promise of a taste of home coming when the grey finally shifts to black. That’s a good way to spend any day, taking the time to do things right. So, if you enjoy that sort of thing, won’t you join me in the kitchen as we stand and make the Chef’s Kiss.