Inside the Mind of the Monkey

Menta Wray

December 3, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Today is brain scan day which I will celebrate in the traditional manner, lying very still on the cold table and keeping my eyes closed, as one does. You may have noted that I have mentioned having a headache a few times in the last month or so. You also may not have noted it. I don’t expect folks to read closely, after all there is no test at the end of the course. Not to worry, gentle reader, you will be graded according to the capricious whims of fortune and the insight of your benevolent instructor. Do not fear this fate, it frees you to focus on learning what you wish, taking some lessons and leaving others without fear of reprimand. Not being in control of things can be comforting, if you lean into it and just accept that some things are not going to make sense or be just. To be fair, my attitude is probably affected by my attempt to maintain a zen-like calm as they take a routine look under the hood to make sure that there is nothing more sinister going on in this already not quite normal collections of impulses that serves as my brain. So, in that spirit, won’t you join me as we stand and make the traditional drink of brain scan day, the Menta Wray.

White Lady

December 2, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

You ever notice just how many references there are to ghosts in Christmas lore? Scrooge is nothing but one ghost story after another, each with a lesson to impart. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” rattles off “scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas long, long ago” as if those were staples of the season. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would love nothing more than to sing to you once again of “The Ghosts of Christmas Past” in an attempt to pay off that over the top stage show. But if I am honest, unless you take a tenuous link to the Holy Ghost, I don’t really think of any spirits outside of those in my glass as part of my yuletide celebration. So, why am I thinking of them tonight? Well, I cried my way through the final episode of Supernatural yesterday and it left me a bit gutted. The Winchester’s have moved on, leaving us with their stories and a not so subtle reminder that things are not always what they seem, so in that spirit, please join me as we make The White Lady.

General Harrison’s Nog

December 1, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Well, we made it to December. That feels like an accomplishment this year, though I don’t hold any hope that on January 1 we will be released from the curse of 2020. I fear it will be more of the same, kicking off with three weeks of wtf, but hopefully I am wrong and the sun will rise on 2021 with a new glimmer for all of us. The good news about making it this far is it is definitely the holiday season now. I always hold that after you clear the turkey from the table you are ready to cue the Christmas music and put up the tree, or set out the menorah or place the Festivus pole or prepare for the Yule or Kwanzaa or whatever your preferred holiday celebration calls for even if that is nothing at all. The point is there is no question that by the top of the 12th month you are free and clear to spread your brand of cheer. So, in that spirit, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make General Harrison’s Nog.

Nuclear Daiquiri

November 30, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I grew up during the closing act of the Cold War. A clear idea of who the bad guys were, no doubt that we wore the white hats and had the shining armor. I remember when the Berlin Wall fell. I remember when the Soviet Union split into 15 republics, before those splintered into even more nation states. I recall people celebrating as that world ended, not with the bang we expected, but with a whimper. It wasn’t even clear that it was really over, just one day they weren’t there anymore. I remember my stoic German teacher shaking his head as he reminded me that the world had just gained 15 new nuclear powers, many with a leadership vacuum and that we lived in a much more dangerous and unsure world. That realization hit me. The previous enemy understood the simple risk and complicated peace promised by the balance of mutually assured destruction. Would the new keepers of the keys respect that balance? Do we understand it yet, nearly thirty years on? I don’t know, but it has me thinking today as the snow falls outside, so won’t you please join me as we stand and make the Nuclear Daiquiri.

Mexican Breakfast Stout

November 29, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We haven’t done a brunch drink in a while. To be fair, we haven’t done brunch in a while, but I felt like a bit of pre lunch day drinking, so here we are. I love the whole concept of brunch. You get to sleep in and then enjoy an extra decadent meal complete with drinks. Well, drinks from the approved list. You can’t have a martini or an old-fashioned without raising eyebrows, but a Mimosa or Gordon’s Breakfast Cup or Bellini or French 75? You can have five of those and no one will care. So, let’s add one to our approved brunch drink list as we stand and make the Mexican Breakfast Stout.

Autumn Sour

November 28, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I’m leaning in to the Thanksgiving weekend drinks with yet another cocktail for the season. I’ll get back to completely random drinks soon, but for now I am enjoying this transition into the holiday season and basically making drinks like I might find featured this week if I were going out and enjoying drinks in bars. So please join me now as we stand and make the Autumn Sour.

Cranberry Spiced Whiskey Sour

November 27, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am staying with the theme on this Black Friday. Don’t worry, you don’t have to stand in line for tonight’s drink and no one has to fight for it, either. Nope, we have been incorporating Thanksgiving ingredients for the last few days, so tonight we are having leftovers, sort of. Won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Cranberry Spiced Whiskey Sour.

Pumpkin Flip

November 26, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Time. That is what it comes down to, There is never enough time. Time to do all the things you had planned, to say the things not yet said. We waste so much of our time, waiting for the right moment, waiting for things to line up, for our money to get right. Waiting for a time that is never to come. Today is Thanksgiving and this is what I have been thinking about all day, how to make the most of the days we have left. Whether it is years or weeks, time is running out for all of us and when those last seconds tick away, what will we have left undone. Let’s ponder using time wisely as we stand and make the Pumpkin Flip.

Peas and Spank You

November 25, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

As Hunter Thompson said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” In honor of the impending Thanksgiving holiday at home, I’m embracing the next level bizarreness of 2020 with a drink to help you get through your meal prep, while repurposing an unusual ingredient. So, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, Peas and Spank You.

Abstract Speed and Sound

November 24, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I’m not well and not feeling up to this tonight so it’s bare bones. I’m not getting any points for style, so hopefully the effort counts for something. I’ll appreciate your forbearance if you’ll join me now as we stand and make the Abstract Speed and Sound.