Tag: rum (Page 1 of 14)

100 Year Old Cigar

March 6, 2023 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Growing up in Miami I had a real love for Cuban food and culture that made me look longingly toward our nearest neighbor to the south. I always wanted to go to Havana and see those beautiful old hotels and bars with my own eyes. Of course, I am a child of the 70’s and the embargo guaranteed that all I could do was look. So, when we finally got the opportunity to visit legally, we jumped at it. I loved our time there, exploring the city, enjoying the food, culture and the cocktails. One of the things I looked most forward to was visiting the Hotel Nacional to sip on their signature cocktail while enjoying a hand-rolled Cuban cigar. That worked out, mostly, until about 30 seconds in when I remembered that even when it is one of the finest cigars on earth, I really just don’t enjoy actually smoking one. My day was much improved, when I gave up the fine stogie and focused on the cocktails and company. It turns out that some things are better in imagination than reality and that is why we experiment, to find what works for us. So with a nod toward that perpetual voyage of self-discovery, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the 100 Year Old Cigar.

Yabba Dabba Daiquiri

July 29, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

A big part of the enjoyment of drinking is the opportunity to indulge in questionable ideas. Call it the allure of the lowered inhibition or Poe’s masterfully described “imp of the perverse”, but there is something wonderfully seductive about giving in to an idea that you know is bad and just going with your self destructive tendencies. Honestly, I rarely drink to excess, but when I do, I try to make it count and indulge as many of those whims as possible. This drink was inspired by one such evening, when I did not drink to excess, but I definitely enabled many others to dance with that imp. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make, the Yabba Dabba Daiquiri.

Rum Rabbit Rum

June 27, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that we all have our prejudices. Now that you mention it, I suppose we have our prides as well. I am as guilty as anyone of having “preconceived judgments or opinions” especially when it comes to a gimmick. I am a sucker for a good hook, always have been. Whether it’s a cool process or an unusual ingredient, when I read about a drink I always fall for the oddballs. If it has a tincture or a cordial in it, I am all in. So, with a nod toward the complicated characters, won’t you join me as we stand and make the Rum Rabbit Rum.

Barbados Cocktail

May 6, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Serendipity. That is what we are going to call it. After all, today’s little bit of happiness meets the definition of “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a beneficial way.” How is that different from lucky? Well, I am not quite sure, but things certainly worked out and as my father would say, I’d rather be lucky, or is it serendipitous, than smart any day. So, with a nod toward fortune smiling on us, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Barbados Cocktail.

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.

Coco No Coco

March 9, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The truth is things aren’t always going to go the way you planned. It happens all the time. We, mostly, don’t notice when they go better than expected, but when things go downhill, it can shake your faith. When that happens, all you can do is step back, take inventory and find a way to move on from that new starting point; make the best of the situation and see if, maybe, you can salvage some lemonade from all those lemons. So, in the spirit of doing the best you can with what you have, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Coco No Coco.

Eye Opener

March 3, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I dropped my phone this morning and had to crawl under my desk to retrieve it. Huddled there in the dark I was taken back to the school drills of my youth which always seemed to ramp up during tornado season or whenever Comrade Brezhnev, Andropov or Chernenko decided to rattle their sabers. Duck and cover, that was the answer. Do that and you will be just fine; we can worry about the fallout later. We believed in preparedness. In the case of global thermonuclear war, jump under your desk, duck and cover. If it is a tornado, head into the hallway crouch and place your head against the wall in a position similar to, but not branded as ducking and covering. Was it effective? Well…it turns out that there were a lot of lessons that we learned while growing up that were not quite be true or at least not for the reasons advertised. While looking for my phone, I saw through the propaganda of childhood and found a bit of an existential crisis that I was definitely not looking for. I guess that is how it happens some days. So, in the spirit of misplaced nostalgia, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Eye Opener.

First Time Caller

March 1, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The assignment seems fairly easy. Make a drink, write some words, call it a night. I did that everyday for the better part of two years with little difficulty. To be fair, I had a significant amount of spare time to fill and lots of things to say. The world seemed to call out for commentary just a little more often during those unprecedented times. Still, I find myself unable, or unwilling, to just go through the motions lately. Some days you have a thirst; some days you don’t. It is that simple. Well, not quite that simple, so let’s dig a little deeper as we stand and make the First Time Caller.

Charles Dickens Punch

December 25, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 12

It is funny how we think of things in the past. It seems like our pictures of folks in history usually paints them as serious people, dealing with the serious business of just being alive in times less, ummm, civilized than our own. Maybe it is because our forebears tend to look so grave in those early portraits, maybe it is because we lack the imagination to see them as humans, just like ourselves finding their way through their own unprecedented times. I do love how that view sometimes gets turned on its head. For example, later in his life, Sir Isaac Newton, having discovered calculus, sorted gravity and retired from teaching, was appointed Master of the Royal Mint, a mostly ceremonial position. However, frustrated by counterfeiters, he took to disguising himself and hanging around taverns in order to catch and convict these treasonous fellows. Yeah, Sir Isaac Newton, in his later years, would dress up and go drinking in disguise in order to capture hardened criminals, for fun. So, keep your minds open and remember that folks then were much as folks are now as we stand and make Charles Dickens Punch.

Tom & Jerry

December 24, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 11

I have had hot chocolate out of these glasses a hundred times. They used to sit at the back of Grandma’s cupboard just waiting for one of the kids to slip them out for a treat. I had no idea what they were for, or why they had those guys in top hats on them instead of Tom the cat and his rodent nemesis, Jerry. What can I say, we did not grow up in the Midwest where the drink and these glass were everywhere, allegedly. So, let’s take a moment and try to learn a bit as we stand and make the classic Tom & Jerry.