Page 5 of 57

Follow That Black Rabbit

April 25, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am not a huge fan of orthodoxy, at least not according to Webster. The idea of “authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice” seems alright on paper, but in practice it feels a lot more like stagnation and acceptance for acceptance sake. Still, I had a wonderful drink in my back pocket left unused after the Easter holiday, so why not embrace orthodoxy and celebrate Orthodox Easter a week later, which kind of flies in the face of accepted theory, doctrine or practice. Life can be funny that way, so won’t you join me now as we subversively stand and make the surprisingly unorthodox Follow That Black Rabbit.

Conejo Tonto

April 19, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Sometimes you just have to do something on a lark. Have a bit of fun. Toss together a bit of this with a bit of that and see what happens. Whether in your mixing tins or your life, shaking things up and adding a little variety can make all the difference. What have you got to lose, besides a little time and dignity? So, note that I have nothing up my sleeves and please join me now as we stand and make the, definitely not for kids, Conejo Tonto.

Easter Island

April 17, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

It’s gimmicky, I get that. C’mon though. How can you not kind of love a tiki drink in a chocolate bunny? Seriously, who does that? Does it even matter if it is good? On some level all you can do is sort of nod begrudgingly and make the thing, which is what I have done. So won’t you join me now and slip from the sublime to the ridiculous as we stand and make the Easter Island.

Sandfly

April 8, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Just when you think you have seen it all before, life will surprise you. For a moment, anyway. The closer you look though, the more you realize that so many so-called innovations are really just variations on a theme. I guess they are right when they say that the more things change, the more they stay the same and there really is nothing new under the sun. So, with a nod toward Ecclesiastes and evolution, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Sandfly.

Johann Goes to Mexico

April 6, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Cocktails are all about balance. That is what they always say. What does that really mean though? On the one hand it is obvious, you picture some scales and line them up right in the middle, that is balance. In a drink, it means that no one flavor overpowers the others, that each has a counterpoint. The harsh edge of alcohol is softened by sweetness. That sugar wrestles with bitterness, salt partners with citrus to counteract them both. All these disparate elements coming together to work in harmony, seeking that balance we aim for. Sometimes, we throw that formula out the window and lean into the extremes, but mostly, we just want a peaceful existence. Sometimes it is a struggle to find that glorious utopia in a glass, but that quest for balance is always key. With that in mind, won’t you join me now as we stand and make Johann Goes to Mexico.

Final Countdown

March 28, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The more things change the more they stay the same or so they say. It sure feels that way lately. I grew up in a world where the tenuous peace of the cold war depended on the concept of “mutually assured destruction”, as MAD as that sounds. That is how we lived, though. They had enough missiles to destroy us many times over and we had even more than they did. Everyone knew that they could not push the button because no one would survive if it ever came to that. It is a particularly unsettling way to live. Knowing that every little provocation came with the threat that life as you know it can be destroyed completely on the whim of a madman. So with a look back to a way of life I through we had learned better than, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Final Countdown.

Irish Old-Fashioned

March 24, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

There are a lot of arguments that can be made for innovation and ingenuity, after all, that is how we move forward. I am a big supporter of lifelong learning and being adaptable enough to change your opinion when the facts change. That said, a thing should be what it is. I cannot stress this enough. Maybe as I approach the half century mark I am getting bit stodgy, but the older I get the more I find myself turned off by new versions of old things that only loosely resemble the original. So, with that in mind, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Irish Old-Fashioned.

Autumn Ash

March 23, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

O’ you lost and forgotten child,
cup of memory from a time more mild.
When winter’s chill was not yet come,
you were born and placed in the album.
There you waited, your story unwritten,
blind and lost as a newborn kitten.
Will you join us as we explore the past?
Remember the forgotten, their part recast.
While the spring winds blow and thunders clash
Help us mix the Autumn Ash.

Naked and Famous

March 21, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

This is the best drink I have made in quite a while. How’s that for a spoiler? I am not only giving away the hook before it is set, but before I have even made much of a cast. If nothing else, no one can accuse me of burying the lead. I just put this one right out on front street. This drink rocks. Not only does it rock, but it brightened my day and reminded me why I embarked on this voyage of discovery in the first place. You already know that a couple of paragraphs from now, I am going to rave about the taste, but you don’t yet know how I am going to tie it to Encanto and a voyage of self discovery, so won’t you willingly suspend a little disbelief and join me now as we stand and make the Naked and Famous.

Hot Irish Toddy

March 17, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I must have looked like I needed help. Perhaps, I did; most of us usually do. We’d been out walking the hills of County Waterford through the more than mist but less than rain and, perhaps, looked a bit worse for the wear. So when she looked at me kindly and said, “Sit down, while I make you a nice cup of tea.” I sort of shook my head to politely say no. You know that apologetic head shake you give when it sounds nice, but you don’t want to be any trouble? That was the one I used, which she promptly ignored. A few minutes later she returned, a cup of hot Irish Breakfast tea in hand, with lemon and honey. “Take this,” she said, “for the comfort that’s in it.” So, with a nod to the kindness of strangers, many years ago on a foggy day in Ireland, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Hot Irish Toddy.

Inside the Mind of the Monkey