Tag: maraschino

Brandy Crusta

December 3, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

This is an unusual one. I did not decide to make this drink. Sure, that’s my kitchen, my glass, my alcohol, but not my handiwork. Some of you may have noticed that I have taken more and more days off from writing lately. I knew it was going to happen as the world has opened up. What can I say, I have been busier. That, and, well, sometimes it is hard to find the words or something valuable to say. That is where family comes in. Noticing that I had not been up to my usual hijinks, they stepped in and made a drink for me. A complicated classic that I had avoided, so, won’t you join us now as we stand and make, the Brandy Crusta.

The Mastadon

August 25, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!” That’s why he was there, enduring hardship after hardship, while Mayzie jetted off to Palm Beach, leaving him holding the bag. Horton keeps his promise, despite ridicule, being captured and carried away, because he was being 100% faithful to a lazy bird who abandoned him and the future, embodied in an egg. Tell me that is not a story for the kids to learn from. It’s got it all, that Dr. Seuss was a clever fella. So, with a nod toward the past and an eye on the present, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Mastadon.

Aviation

September 4, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

Managing expectations is hard. I don’t know how often I have gotten all excited for something and then been disappointed. How many times I have not even been able to remember why I wanted something in the first place, when I finally got it. You know how it is, you wait months and months for that movie to come out or for the next season of a show and when it arrives, it is definitely not all that. I kind of feel that way about todays drink. When I see it on a menu I often order it, only to be mildly disappointed and remember that it is always the same, but I persevere, thinking that some day I will finally find the perfect one, even if I have to make it myself. So, please, won’t you join me now as we make the classic Aviation.

Last of the Oaxacans

August 1, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

This morning we went to the farmer’s market, as we do most Saturdays. It is nice to see folks, get some great stuff and support our local economy. Plus the dog gets to go, so it is wins all the way around. This time of the summer is great because of all the fresh produce and our weekly menu is always influenced by what we can find. Today, there were lots of tomatoes and peppers. Such good peppers. I bought several types and could not wait to get home and make something with them. So, join me now as we stand and make the Last of the Oaxacans.

Dublin Minstrel

July 31, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I dreamt last night of the past. Of people I haven’t seen in years. Of watching the world go by, sipping a glass of whiskey or a pint of the black stuff from my customary table in the corner of an Irish pub, a cigarette burning lazily in the ashtray. Wandering into a bar where your drink was sitting at your table by the time you got there. That got me thinking about old friends and Irish whiskey and a drink I have wanted to try, so join me now, as we stand and make, the Dublin Minstrel.

To Hell With Spain

July 15, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

There is not a lot of process here. Sure there is a format, but mostly it is off the cuff and I don’t really have any idea where we are going with these drinks and commentary. Hell, I am often as surprised as you are when we take one of these hard turns halfway through. That is a big part of the fun for me, to do some research, make a cocktail and then just riff for awhile. My intent is to do a bit of a “behind the scenes” thing today, but I often start with good intentions, we will just have to see where we end up. So, join me now as we stand and make, the To Hell With Spain.

Mary Pickford

July 1, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Happy Canada Day to my friends up north and ex-pats living abroad! I am not sure how you celebrate this day when the provinces came together, but I hope it brings you joy and has at least a few quirky, but lovable traditions. Today, I wore my Squirrely Dan’s in solidarity and even had a piece of ham at lunch, but I called it bacon, because Canada. Just kidding, you know I love you guys and gals, seriously. If they’d let me across the border, I would be there with you right now, mildly befuddled by your Canada Day customs or lack thereof. But I am not, so Laura and I will celebrate with a cocktail from home. Join me as we stand and make, the classic Mary Pickford.

The Martinez

June 6, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Part of the fun of being an adult is getting to make your own rules, for the most part. So, if I want to try something new and I have the stuff, I can do that. If I want to go into a full blown cocktail at 10 AM, who is gonna stop me? You? Societal conventions? Propriety? D. None of the above? I’ll tell you that a cocktail before breakfast is terribly efficient, getting that alcohol down your gullet early, pre-coffee, with no annoying foods to get in the way of your weekend buzz. So how do we do that? Easy, you start the day with a classic Martinez.

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.

El Floridita Daiquiri

April 27, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

There’s something about being stuck near home that makes you look back to sunnier times and adventures past. Today’s cocktail is inspired by a great adventure with friends a couple of years ago, walking in Papa Hemingway’s footsteps through the sunny streets of Havana to the air conditioned oasis of El Floridita for their signature Daquiri.