Tag: rum (Page 5 of 14)

Old Jamaican

April 19, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Vizzini once said, “You clearly subscribe to classic adages. The most famous of which is “make hay while the sun is shining,” but only slightly less well-known is this “once the cork is popped, enjoy that champagne””. I am sure it was something like that, though I sometimes misremember quotes as needed for the sake of the narrative, so you’ll have to take that statement with a grain of pepper. The point is, since, I had already cracked a bottle of bubbly, I figured we might as well go again with the sparkling wines. So, if it all feels familiar, there’s a reason. Won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Old Jamaican.

Parisian Daiquiri

April 15, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Some times, you need to do the thing for the sheer beauty of it. Not because it has any value to society. Not because someone is paying you to do it. Not because it would make your fourth grade teacher proud, even though I do hope Mrs. Hall is pleased. Not for duty or honor or any sense of obligation, but simply because you want to see that beauty exist in the world. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Parisian Daiquiri.

White Negroni Piña Colada

April 9, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Here we are, the lilac is blooming in the backyard once more and I am standing in my kitchen making a drink. A lot has changed since this time last year when I poured the first of what would become our daily cocktail from quarantine. In those days you were lucky to get a full paragraph detailing how to make the daily drink, delivered Joe Friday style. I know more and I tend to say more now. It took me awhile to discover that it wasn’t about the drink, it was about the ritual and finding a space for my voice, whenever I had something to say. So, in honor of those lessons learned and so many words along the way, won’t you join me now as we make the White Negroni Piña Colada.

Bywater

April 5, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe we have been doing this for nearly a year now. Who would have known that when I made that first drink for my birthday in 2020, that we would still be here making daily drinks in 2021. There’s something to be said for that, foolish consistencies being what they are and whatnot. I’m gonna take a note from those early drinks and go short on the philosophizing and long on the drink making, so please won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Bywater.

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.

Rescue Team

March 27, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“Man plans and god laughs,” the old saying goes. I believe it. I did not have anything terribly important to do today, but I had a lot of little things I was going to try to knock off the old “if you do it, you can quit worrying about it” list. Nobody told me that as you grow older you’d spend more and more time thinking about the things you still need to do. Hard to believe, after I spent so much time working on being carefree. I guess it comes for us all in the end. When the storm woke me up at 5 AM, I figured my day of farmwork was pretty well shot. I knew it was going to be a “good day for ducks” as my grandpa would say. Still, there is something to be said for taking a zero day and letting the work worry about itself. I reckon it will still be there when things dry out. So, in the spirit of taking it as easy as you can, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Rescue Team.

More Supreme

March 22, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

There are all sorts of things in life you don’t really think about. Things that seem totally ordinary until you take a moment to examine them more closely. That is when the cracks begin to show. Sometimes, it is something big, like for-profit healthcare, tipped wages, short selling into the market or the designated hitter rule. Other times it is less consequential, but still weird, like the fact that there are 8 hot dog buns in a bag, but 10 hot dogs in the package or that candy cigarettes are a thing. So, in the spirit of things that deserve a closer examination, please join me as we stand and make the More Supreme.

Song of the Siren

March 11, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Today marks one year of official pandemic life. It is hard to believe. In some ways it feels like it has been forever since we lived “normal” lives, on the other hand it feels like just a few weeks ago when we were freaking out trying to find masks, hand sanitizer and toilet paper. It is amazing how much life has changed in the last 365 days. How much more we know about the disease that changed all of our lives. How much we have lost over that time, how many friends and family members are no longer with us. How much we have gained in appreciation of each other and the things that really matter in life. How much we have learned in how to be self sufficient or maybe I should say pod sufficient. I know that my zombie apocalypse team requirements and expectations of who would make it have changed significantly. It has been quite a journey and now we can finally see a safe harbor on the horizon, if we can just stay the course a little longer. This is the toughest part, holding on when every part of your fiber longs to be with friends again. When that temptation calls out to you from the shore, beckoning you to come visit, after all you deserve a break, right? So, in the spirit of doing the hard things, especially when you don’t want to, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Song of the Siren.

Rum Walnut Alexander

March 1, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Writer’s block is real, y’all. Somedays the words just won’t come. You won’t even have an idea of where to go with the narrative or even what to make. I find that when this happens, you can best get past it by staring at the blank screen for awhile, quietly bearing the subtle taunt of the flashing cursor, till inspiration strikes. This can take some time. Once upon a time, I’d go outside, have a cigarette and stare off into the distance. That often works. You can almost always have a good idea about a third of the way through the smoke. This gives you enough time to forget that inspiration while you finish and return to your desk. So you find yourself back at the beginning, armed with the knowledge that you actually have ideas, you just can’t access them. Sometimes I just write a starter sentence, something like “Writer’s Block is real.” Then I add a “y’all” to make it feel more personal. A couple more lines describing the difficulty figuring out how to begin writing, maybe a longing look back at a former life and suddenly you are off to the part were you can legitimately say something about the drink you are going to make and get into the more formulaic portion of the text. So in the spirit of telling them exactly what you are doing, while you do it and getting away with it, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Rum Walnut Alexander.

Dark ‘n Stormy

February 27, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

It was a dark and stormy night, that’s how the stories are supposed to begin. It sets up the tone for what is to follow. You know nothing good is coming next. Unless Douglas Adams is doing the writing, he might go anywhere. “It was a dark and stormy night when Joel sent off for the clown school correspondence course…” Of course, that could definitely go ominous pretty quick. I apologize for bringing up the clowns, or at least the specter of a possible future clown. Anyway, tonight is actually a dark and stormy night, so in the spirit of being spot on and totally transparent won’t you please join me as we stand and consider the classic Dark ‘n Stormy.