Tag: rum (Page 4 of 14)

Hotel Nacional Special

July 6, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I have had Havana on my mind lately. Riding around in those amazing vintage American cars, often with Russian engines. Hanging out with the artists at El Ojo del Ciclon. Just walking the streets listening to music or having a drink in one of the legendary bars the city offers. Lots of great memories there, I guess that’s why it has been on my mind so much lately. I’ve also been craving a daiquiri and this seems like a great opportunity to kill a couple of birds with one stone, or at least scare them anyway. So, in the spirit of indulging small desires, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Hotel Nacional Special.

Flor de Jerez

July 1, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

In an unlikely move, I am getting ahead of the game. Laying the groundwork for things to come. I don’t always do that. You see, I never really had a plan here. I just started making drinks and writing words. If this were some great endeavor, carefully organized from the beginning, we would not have this trouble. I would have begun with the early cocktails and worked my way down through time, showing how one cocktail builds upon another in a great evolutionary tree of drink. That is what I would have done, if I had a plan. So, in recognition of our collective nearly perfect hindsight, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Flor de Jerez.

Morning Man

June 27, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

They say that if you remain open, life provides. I don’t know if that is true on a large scale, but that’s how things have gone for me, generally. You know how it goes, all hope is lost and suddenly, the thing you need drops in your lap all deus ex machina-y. Or you are sitting thinking about things, all lost in your head when the phone rings and it’s the person you need to hear from, even if you did not know it. Some folks call it kismet, I call it a slingblade. No, that’s wrong. I call it life providing. Anyway, the thing is, it worked out for me today, so please join me now as we stand and make the Morning Man.

Brancolada

June 25, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I’ve come to the bitter side of the cocktail world slowly. I started out with a preference for sweeter or booze forward mixtures, but the more I experiment, the more I appreciate the other side of the coin. I tried lots of things, but the first of these more herbal bitter spirits that really connected for me was Branca Menta, Fernet-Branca’s lighter, sweeter, mintier cousin. It was my launching point and is still a favorite. I often enjoy tossing half an ounce in my morning latte. So, when I saw this tropical Branca drink, I knew I had to try it. So, with a nod to Kevin Smith and appreciating the bitter and the sweet, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Brancolada.

Yardbird

June 15, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

There are moments that touch your heart. You never know when they are going to come, when something is going to slip through our carefully constructed armor to find home. I am often struck by poetry. The way you can read a few lines and be forever changed by their message. I remember having to memorize Longfellow’s “The Tide Rises and the Tide Falls” in school. How those few simple words on a page encapsulated the permanence of nature and our short journey through it. How wonderful to be so fleeting. A moment in time, never to exist again. I kind of love that. How our true beauty as individuals and a species lies in the fact that we are both ephemeral and eternal. Not only that, but we are acutely aware of how small our place in the grand scheme of things may be, how we strut and fret our poor hour upon the stage, knowing that we are only a moment in the larger story of humankind. Yet we strive to make things better, to take the music further, if just for a little while. So, with that in mind, won’t you please join me as we stand and make, the Yardbird.

Leche de Pantera

June 14, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Over the weekend, we passed a pleasant afternoon with friends reminiscing about great days of travel. It was a blast reliving moments on the road and hearing their stories of those amazing little bars or restaurants they stumbled across, the things they saw and, most importantly, the people they met. It seems like every adventure shared a common theme, whenever things got off track, when they left the prescribed schedule or plan, that is when the best stories occur. That has certainly been our experience. Every trip has its own special memories and the more we talked, the more nearly forgotten details came back to us. It was in the middle of an entirely different story that we remembered sampling a staple of the Barcelona drinking scene, a drink so ubiquitous that you don’t even have to find a bar to enjoy it. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make Leche de Pantera, the historic, Panther’s Milk.

Parasol

June 9, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Summer is definitely here. It is stifling outside, when it is not raining, so the humidity is through the roof. This is just the kind of day that Mr. Carrier was thinking about when he decided we needed to get this air into some kind of condition. It seems like it is all rain showers followed by moments of intense sunshine. Pretty sure there is a metaphor in there somewhere, but it is obscured by the steam rising from the pavement. The point is, this is the kind of day when you need some shelter and something to help keep you cool, so why not have both, as we stand and make the Parasol.

Love in the South Pacific

June 7, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

In olden times, heroes walked the earth. These pioneers helped map the digital horizon, measuring the bandheight as they defended Pandora’s Letterbox against the forces of the L33t H4x0rz. Though their exploits are well-documented in the early annals of the vodcast, precious few tangible relics remain. Glasses signifying membership in the Royal League of Bunnies are found from time to time, purple and green Charooba mugs are spoken of in hushed whispers and some say they have actually seen RobotBox shooters and the Drinkbot decanter, but those claims are suspect, at best. So, in the spirit of the ones who came before, won’t you join me now as we stand and make Tiki Bar TV’s “Love in the South Pacific”.

Rainbow Paradise

June 1, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

My bar gear has been terribly neglected of late. It was not intentional, but life conspired against me, or, perhaps, life colluded with fate to force my hand. Either way we went from our mostly distanced, socially and otherwise, lifestyle back into the world with a bang. Suddenly, we were traveling to see family, eating in restaurants, attending events and seeing long lost friends again. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming, at times, considering our last year and a half, but it was good. The downside, I have not been home, or at least home and inclined to make a drink in a bit. Seems like a small trade off for a bit of normalcy, but most everything has a price and my hands were ready for work. So, in the spirit of remembering the things that matter in life, won’t you join me on this first day of June as we stand and make the Rainbow Paradise.

Mundo Perdido

May 14, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It is the boys birthday and rather than spending a bunch of time writing something nice for y’all, I’m gonna phone this one in while they are gone to get pizza. So, without superfluous words or ado of any sort, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Mundo Perdido.