Tag: cognac (Page 1 of 2)

Ticonderoga Cup

April 2, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I took a couple of days off with the family to wander around the mountains of North Georgia, do some hiking, pan for some gold, just get away from home and see something new. It had been over a year since we had spent the night in a hotel, which is the first time that has happened, probably in forever. The wife and I are fully vaccinated, as are most of the rest of the family, but we are still taking precautions to keep ourselves and other folks safe. It ws a little strange to be back out in the world, but good to get away from home and spend some time together playing and exploring, safely. On the way home, we made a swing through Atlanta to grab lunch to go from Fred’s Meat & Three in Krog Street Market, which meant we had to walk right past one of my favorite cocktail spots, which inspired me to try one of their signature drinks. Since I happened to have a new julep cup at home just itching for a drink, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Ticonderoga Cup.

Bananarac

March 28, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

One of the greatest difficulties we face today is a growing gap in cultural literacy. In addition to basic history, which we hope against hope will be covered in the kids curriculum, there are also thousands of fandoms, movies and music that a person needs to have at least a working knowledge of, in order to be a clever productive-ish member of society. Nobody told me that helping to educate the next generation would be so daunting. Just today I found myself explaining concepts I barely understand myself as the lad asked “What is a hollaback girl?” That shit was bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s. So, in the spirit of seeming clever by staying one step ahead of the class, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Bananarac.

Ce Soir

March 12, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Sometimes you know things aren’t going to work out. Not to be a pessimist, but I have concerns about tonight’s drink. It won’t be the drink’s fault, I am just not feeling it. I realized halfway through that I had chosen a drink from my big list of possibilities that I wasn’t particularly excited about. It is almost like I instinctively knew to not waste any effort on making something I was looking forward to. Without considering things, I chose a drink that I was less likely to enjoy thereby setting up the conditions to make my prophecy self-fulfilling. It happens. So, in the spirt of unconscious self-sabotage, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Ce Soir.

Chartreuse Toddy

February 13, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It is cold enough out there today for this child of more temperate climes. They are calling for a proper ice and snow storm tonight or tomorrow or the next day or some other indeterminate time in the future. The important thing to remember is that during the challenging times to come, no matter what, you must not be caught without ample supplies of milk and bread. To avoid this fate we ventured out today for supplies. It was 26° with freezing fog and since we were already cold, we decided to hike a couple of miles in a local park and climb the highest hill we could find. Needless to say, we need something to warm us up this evening, so, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Chartreuse Toddy.

Stinger

January 21, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Yesterday I quoted the inimitable Maya Angelou who said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Just to show I am not just writing stuff to hear myself type and to prove that on some level I buy into my own bullshit, I have to rectify an error, really more of an omission, that I made, or in the case of the omission, did not make. I was doing my best, but I did not know any better. Now, I have learned better, so I am going to try to do better. So, in that spirit won’t you join me now as we stand and make the classic Stinger.

Scorpion

January 4, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I took a few days off to celebrate the New Year. Did some hiking and exploring with the family, drank a beer and ate a burger in a gloriously empty outdoor biergarten, practiced a little chainsawing and tractoring around the farm, even played some video games and read some books. I did not go to the office, or pay attention to political shenanigans going on or make any cocktails that I felt compelled to write about, though I did make some at the request of my bride. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the bad ones as well. So I was back in the office today, doing some work, catching up on the news and now I am back behind the bottles making a little something to share with you, gentle readers. The sun comes up and the world still spins, as they say. Or at least that is what I said fourish years ago at the beginning of this chapter and it is still true here at the end. Watching folks make some odd decisions I was reminded of an old fable and a drink. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the classic Scorpion.

Horwich Hall

December 24, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Eleventh Drink

Here we are on Christmas Eve with the penultimate drink on our list for this penultimate day of the Christmas season. I am pretty sure that the only reason people ever work through lists like this is for the opportunity to use penultimate correctly and I am contractual obligated to do so. I hope you will forgive the repetitiveness. I have a lot rituals that go with this day, most of which did not quite work out in Covid world. It is kind of hard to do some good for random strangers while actively avoiding contact with people as much as possible, but we were able to do some good and now it is time to relax and reflect a bit. So in that spirit, please join me for this eleventh of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the eleventh drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, the Horwich Hall”.

Boozy Orange Hot Chocolate

December 20, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Seventh Drink

There are all kinds of treats that we only enjoy during the holiday season. We rarely have candy canes, those awesome chocolate oranges that break apart into wedges or snickerdoodles in May. Then there are those treats we enjoy more often, but are extra special this time of year. What would Christmas be without a big creamy mug of Hot Chocolate? Well, we aren’t going to find out, but we are going to sexy it up a bit and make a more adult version of this decadent treat with a nod to those chocolate oranges. So in that spirit, please join me for the seventh of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the seventh drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, Orange Hot Chocolate”.

Between the Sheets

December 9, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

You play a lot of roles every day, with varying success. Some days you nail the business stuff, but let a friend down. Other days you are a decent husband but drop the ball as a father. Every once in a while you mail it all in and take a zero day. It’s rare that you get it all right. The good news is, it is equally rare that you get it all wrong. Lots of little wins and little losses, hoping that it all balances out in the end and that you get more wins in the things that matter and take your losses in the superfluous stuff. I won some today and lost some and that makes me tired. So, won’t you please join me as we stand and make Between the Sheets.

The Curse of Jean Lafitte

June 20, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Needless to say, I’m a big fan of pirates. All my life, they’ve been there on some level and piracy in its various forms has had a larger influence on who I am than anything else I can think of. I’m also a big film buff and these two worlds collide hard in the amount of my life spent with Yul Brynner, Charlotte Heston and many more in 1958’s The Buccaneer. This semi-accurate classic tells of the Battle of New Orleans and how my favorite pirate, Jean Lafitte, helped to save the fledgling United States. So it’s with a steady eye toward unhealthy anti-hero worship that I ask ask you to join me as we stand and make, The Curse of Jean Lafitte.