Author: Monkeybrad (Page 47 of 57)

The Leading Role

June 4, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” has popped up a lot for me lately. I’ve always loved it, a song of questions, reminding us of the trade offs we make along the way. Inviting us to examine how we got here, what we gave up, without really asking if things are better. Are they? I don’t know, it sure doesn’t feel like it, but they say it is always darkest before the storm. I know one thing is for certain, there are a whole lot of folks that I wish were here. So settle in, get a little introspective and join me as we exchange our walk on parts in the war for “The Leading Role” in a cage, so to speak.

Monkey Gland

June 3, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

There is a theory that you can define eras of modern history by examining the advertisements of the day. That society’s perceived needs and their remedies say more about what the people were really thinking than the official record. If that’s true then it is safe to say we are in the age of the limp dick. Seriously, every third commercial asks “Do you struggle with erectile dysfunction?” There are so many that even if you are flying the flag at mostly full mast you begin to wonder, am I ok? When do I get to join the club and try one of the dazzling arrays of male enhancements? Well, this is not a new problem and today we are gonna mix up a drink inspired by one of the 20th century’s more interesting cures, the Monkey Gland.

Rubicon

June 2, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

It is Heidi’s birthday, so I wanted to make something northwesty in her honor. Even though I have had my fair share of drinks up that way I couldn’t think of anything that embodied Seattle, except for Raiiiiinnnnnneeeeerrrrr Beeeeeeerrrrr. Well, that and an amazing gin and tonic I once had in a bar under Pioneer Square where they made their own spruce and lavender infused liqueur as a float. Since I couldn’t infuse my own liqueur or resurrect a 30 year old beer commercial, I turned to the internet. That delivered lots of places to drink and definitely gave me a thirst for travel. “Perdition take thee, thou all-destroying but unconquering 2020; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee” he said with a hearty nod and a bit of paraphrasery to Starbuck’s boss. Sorry, where was I, oh yes, the drink. Over and over, I found references to an intriguing drink, with a flambé middle step, from Jamie Boudreau at the amazing looking Canon. So grab your tins as we make the Rubicon.

South Seas Sling

June 1, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I had other plans for tonight, but when I got home Laura had brought me a big cup of pebble ice with a request for something tiki. I ran through my mental Rolodex (that’s an old school contacts app, for you kids) trying to find something I had all the ingredients to make and sounded appetizing. I settled on a classic Singapore Sling, but after making it, taking pictures and drinking it, I decided to switch and make an infinitely more interesting variation, the South Seas Sling.

Pain Killer

May 31, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

My hetero-life mate, Seth decided to get older today, not sure what he was thinking but who am I to judge. Anyway, another year in the books for my friend, so it is only fitting that I make something fruity and full of rum for the fella who made me appreciate Tiki drinks and bars as the wonderful escape from reality that they are. So in his honor, we’re making the classic Painkiller.

Piña Colada

May 30, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 5 Comments

Today, we celebrated my sister-in-law’s birthday and she had a special, super-soft request. So, make your way past the cupcake decoration station, around the boy band karaoke, and past the unicorn, to the drinks table for a Piña Colada.

Cosmopolitan

May 29, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I can admit it, I make mistakes all the time. I make assumptions from incomplete datasets. I fall victim to confirmation bias. It happens, but I’m trying to be better. I have hated on this drink for many a year, for no real reason. When I was considering cocktails I kinda scoffed as I skipped over this one. But, it is a classic and when I thought about it, I didn’t know why I hated it, I just did. Probably, from it’s 90’s reputation as the go to drink for fashionable ladies about town, I never was a fan of Sex in the City. Today, in the interest of open mindedness I am tossing out my preconceptions and making a Cosmopolitan.

Full Circle…

May 28, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

Eleven years ago, I wrote a story called “The Road Goes Ever On…” about “range extenders”, from my sneakers to my first bike to cars and kayaks and finally back to hiking boots. I thought it was clever for the time. I had just turned 37, was sort of feeling middle age creeping in on me. Oddly enough, I was in the best shape of my adult life, but feeling the strains of a misspent youth. I wasn’t a father, yet. That journey was still just over the horizon. It really is amazing how many things have changed in what seems like such a short time. My son just turned 10, so he has had a whole lifetime since I was reminiscing about Kangaroo’s and Mongoose. There are a lot of friends and family who are no longer with us, having extended their range into Shakespeare’s great “undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns.” A lot of water under the bridge. If you look back to that post in April of ’09, I mention finding my old BMX in the back of a barn and a plan to put her back on the road again. Well, sometimes starting is the hardest part…

Look for the Silver Lining

May 27, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I really did not want to make a cocktail tonight. Driving home from work I heard the sobering news that today the US passed 100,000 deaths from Covid-19. It is hard to imagine. 100,000 people who won’t come home tonight. 100,000 families, many in isolation, mourning the loss of a loved one. I came within a hair’s breadth of photographing an empty glass to honor a football stadium full of people who cannot enjoy a frivolous cocktail tonight. I struggled with what would be appropriate, what could mean anything at times like these, there has to be some good that comes from this. So, tonight we are making an unusual cocktail from Theory Bar in Athens, Greece, the Look for the Silver Lining.

Honey Bee

May 25, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s been super strange being home on Memorial Day weekend, seeing all the memories of great times with friends all around the country. Thinking about those no longer with us, the ones who went before. So, no fire breathing drinks for this Memorial Day, just a quiet, unassuming little sip of heaven, the Honey Bee.