Author: Monkeybrad (Page 10 of 56)

Corpse Reviver #2

August 19, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

Old habits die hard. They just keep coming back, no matter how hard you try to leave them in the past. It’s not like I don’t know better. I have been there before, done that, got the t-shirt and other scars to prove it. I know the score, but like Pacino says, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” To be fair, I am at least partly to blame. I was feeling tired, kinda down, so when I piled up on the sofa and hit Netflix, I was already in a less than ideal state. I guess that is why , when I saw the “new episodes” tag, I clicked on it and, in spite of knowing better, and began watching the most recent season of The Walking Dead. So, with a nod to giving in to guilty pleasures, even when you know better, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Corpse Reviver #2.

Raspberry Donn Day Afternoon

August 18, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

One of the dangers of getting old is the tendency to repeat yourself, allegedly. I like to chalk it up to experience. At some point you have done so much that it all just sort of jumbles together and it’s easy too forget that this has all happened before. The upside is, you get to rediscover new things that you forgot you enjoy or hate , depending on your particular point of view. So, with a nod to a little memory remix, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Raspberry Donn Day Afternoon.

Trinidad Especial

August 17, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Evolution is a funny thing. The idea is that things grow and adapt in order to become better suited to their environment, but that is not always the case. Speaking objectively, some things get better and some things get worse, that’s just the way that it is, the way that it goes. Evolution is defined as “the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.” Of course, that’s just a broad standard that won’t get folks all twisted up. Not to worry, we aren’t going to talk about those great apes gradually developing into our questionably superior form as homo sapiens, nope we are just talking about drinks and how they change. So, in the spirit of getting better, gradually, won’t you join me now as we make the Trinidad Especial.

Tradewinds

August 16, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“‘Tis an ill wind that blows no good.” he said apropos of nothing. I had barely noticed the onshore breeze, so I looked him up and down, trying to decide whether or not it was gonna be worth the trouble to engage him, before shooting back, “You’re gonna need to unpack that fella.” The old man turned to me slowly, clearly surprised to have someone answer his rambles. I didn’t miss a beat, though. “Seriously, What are you trying to say there?” He did not answer immediately. “Is it some sort of warning? Are you saying that this wind is ill because it brings no good to any of us? And, if so, how can you know that?” I was answered with a blank stare. Unabashed, I followed on “Or are you saying that even an ill wind, which this one may or may not be, brings some good to someone somewhere, a la Henry VI? And, if so shouldn’t you thrown an “indeed” in there somewhere? You know, “‘Tis an ill wind, indeed, that blows no good.” I wasn’t messing with him, I was genuinely curious, that phrase had always bothered me. After a moment, he looked down and under his breath answered, “I passed gas, please pardon me.” Well, what the hell was I suppose to do with that? So, in the spirit of asking the question when you know you should just walk away, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the tiki classic, Tradewinds.

Summer Negroni

August 13, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I stepped out on the porch this sultry morning to a cacophonous chorus of cicadas announcing their much vaunted, but overdue, arrival this Summer. Their grating cries were welcome in their own way, since I had casually planned on mowing the lawn this afternoon. It has been exceptionally humid this week, but the moisture has stayed in the air so the ground is dry and the grass doesn’t really need the trim I had planned. No matter, our lately molted insect white noise generators tend to make mowing impractical if not impossible. They home in on any competing monotonous drone with a ferocity and fearlessness seldom seen in these parts. Yard work, postponed, I will have to find something else to pass the time in the oppressive heat. So, with a nod toward avoiding work on a lazy afternoon won’t you join me as we stand and make, something cool and refreshing the Summer Negroni.

Porn Star Martini

August 12, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I’m a little sad today. It’s not Jenn’s fault, mostly. It’s probably not even fair for me to feel this way, but I don’t really care. Today is her birthday and I’m bummed to be celebrating it “virtually” from half a country away. To be fair, we have not celebrated it together in three years, as social media keeps reminding me… relentlessly. Seriously, the last couple of days, my “memories” have been a constantly wonderful inundation of photos of us eating, drinking, laughing and generally causing a commotion in chase of the perfect shenanigan. If I am honest, I am not really sad, I’m just missing the good times we have had sharing our own brand of charm with our occasionally adoring fans. So, with a nod toward the past and the hope of good times to come won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Porn Star Martini.

Fantasticus

August 6, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Mistakes, we all make them. I make so many mistakes that this almost feels like a retread of stuff I have said before. I wanted to quote Maya Angelou and her admonition to, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Then I figured I had probably use that bit before, I am a big fan of quoting her whenever I can. If you’ve read much of her work, you know why. I wasn’t properly prepared for today’s drink, so I missed a trick and I hate that. My whole hook is working tirelessly in the background to be better prepared than the next guy, all so I can try to make it look effortless. I failed at that, but all is not lost, now we have one of those teachable moments, so we are going to go with that. In that spirit, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Fantasticus.

White Witch

August 5, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We all say we hate lies, but then we live with them. I’d say that most of the problems we face stem from dishonesty. The kind of stuff that we all know is not true, or not quite true, but we perpetuate it by not calling it out. I am not sure why we do this, maybe we don’t want to cause trouble and rock the boat or maybe it is because we secretly want those lies to be true. Perhaps, Colonel Jessup was right and we can’t handle the truth, so we choose the lie. I do know this. There are some lies so egregious that we must stand up and speak truth to power whenever they are uttered within earshot and that is why I must say, C.S. Lewis lied to us, Turkish Delight is not at all delightful and certainly not worth betraying your family over. With that universal truth acknowledged, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the White Witch.

The Patriot

August 4, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We are always in transition. It’s the nature of the game, but we don’t always realize it. Sure, we get the graduations and marriages and all of those big days, but lots of life changing moments pass us by without fanfare, only recognizable in hindsight. For most folks, you don’t know when it happen and that’s, mostly, a good thing. As a kid, how long would you hold on if you knew it was the last time your mom was going to pick you up? How tight would you hold your own child if you realized how soon they were going to grow too large for you to carry them in from the car. We wouldn’t be able to function. How would you ever be able to say goodbye and walk away if you knew that this was the last cup of coffee you were ever going to share with a friend? Sometimes, we are blessed by ignorance. We know that all of those things are going to happen, eventually, but that’s off in the future and nothing to worry about today. So, with a nod toward those little moments, the firsts and the lasts that sweep us by, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make The Patriot.

The Brazilian Smuggler

July 29, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s properly hot today. Seriously, searingly hot. The temp is pegged at 100° with the humidity in close pursuit. It’s a stand in the shade as you melt sort of scorcher out there. Which is why I am in here, making a drink. Something cool, refreshing, summery and full of life giving hydration, perfect for replenishing those bodily fluids when you know you should be out there mowing the lawn So, if you prefer being cool to languishing in the sun with the rest of the hotheads, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Brazilian Smuggler.