Tag: campari (Page 1 of 2)

Consensual Objectification

August 15, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The first lesson in Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” is “Share Everything.” There are lots of other bits of wisdom in there like play fair, clean up your own mess, say you’re sorry when you hurt someone or hold hands and stick together when you go out in the world, but the sharing part is what always struck me. Which is funny because, as kids, we know that. From a an early age we are hammered with the message to share and not be selfish, to look out for our fellow humans and remember that we are all in this together. Seriously, this seems to be the super critical message of childhood, which is funny, since kids seem to get the importance of sharing almost instinctively. As we get older, well…maybe we can get into that later, but for now let’s focus on the positives as we stand and make the Consensual Objectification.

End of the Road

August 14, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It has been a while since I took the time to make a drink here at Stately Monkey Manor. This last year, the majority of my mixing has taken place helping out behind other folks bars or while teaching a class or technique, so it was nice to take a break at the end of the evening and play around a little. A lot has changed since the last time I broke out that mixing pitcher, you may have noticed that it is on a new counter in a different place, but we are thriving in the face of these unexpected challenges and rewards. It is kind of funny that I chose this cocktail as the first drink to make in a new bar, but it also makes sense, from a certain point of view. Anyway, I hope that it all works out and that you will you join me now as we stand and make the End of the Road.

Sandfly

April 8, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Just when you think you have seen it all before, life will surprise you. For a moment, anyway. The closer you look though, the more you realize that so many so-called innovations are really just variations on a theme. I guess they are right when they say that the more things change, the more they stay the same and there really is nothing new under the sun. So, with a nod toward Ecclesiastes and evolution, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Sandfly.

Final Countdown

March 28, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The more things change the more they stay the same or so they say. It sure feels that way lately. I grew up in a world where the tenuous peace of the cold war depended on the concept of “mutually assured destruction”, as MAD as that sounds. That is how we lived, though. They had enough missiles to destroy us many times over and we had even more than they did. Everyone knew that they could not push the button because no one would survive if it ever came to that. It is a particularly unsettling way to live. Knowing that every little provocation came with the threat that life as you know it can be destroyed completely on the whim of a madman. So with a look back to a way of life I through we had learned better than, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Final Countdown.

Curveball

November 2, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It seems strange that we are here deep into the fall with a freeze warning tonight, but all the talk is of the boys of summer. Apparently, the major league baseball World Series is going on this week pitting the Houston Astros against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves lead the series 3-2 and one more win will give them their first title since 1995. I don’t follow professional ball that much, but my dad sent me this recipe with a request that I make it, and well, this seems like a pretty good time for it. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Curveball.

Vampire’s Kiss

October 26, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am leaning in to Halloween this year. I don’t know why, but I am ready for all of the holidays and this first is always one of my favorites. So, I have been staring longingly at the leaves, willing them to change, looking to the north for a chill that does not come and waiting for that crisp bite in the air that announces the season of the witch. October took its sweet time about it, but finally here in the waning days that wind picked up and blew those leaves from the trees to announce that, indeed, something wicked this way comes. To kick things off properly, we made some chili, lit some candles and settled in to introduce the wife and child to some old friends from Santa Carla. So, in honor of those lost boys and the girls who love them, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Vampire’s Kiss.

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.

Red Light

January 27, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Once upon a time, that’s how you are supposed to begin a tale, right? I am pretty sure so many stories start with that one sentence because just staring at the black page is one of the hardest parts of writing. The getting started is daunting. In some ways it is even worse in the computer age, instead of a patient piece of paper waiting for ink, you have a little cursor winking on and off, sort of tapping its imaginary foot as you try to figure out how to begin. It reminds me of the old side scroller game “Captain Goodnight” whose title character would take out a yo-you and stand there in all his 8-bit glory playing if you weren’t giving input. I want to talk about a terrifying evening in college but it is really more than we should get into tin the intro and I have already taken up a good bit of space talking about how it is hard to start, which means, we have in effect, already started, so I’ll get to the opening catchphrase and pick up the storytelling after the break. That is, if you will please join me as we stand and make, the Red Light.

Blue Corvette

January 16, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I have forgotten whole chapters of my life. Seriously, I am not sure who to blame, it’s probably me, but it is not that unusual for friends to begin telling stories of things I have, allegedly, done that I have no recollection of, whatsoever. Usually, when some details get dropped in I make the connection and it all comes flying back to me. Digging those memories out and dusting them off is always fun. Kind like meeting an old friend, even if that old friend is just an earlier version of me. So in honor of the people we were, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make, the Blue Corvette.

Set the New Year on Fire

January 13, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Ferris was right, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” This year is flying by and I am pretty sure that I have missed a ton of things already. I took couple of days off from writing at the end of last year and then a few more after we flipped the calendar. I had planned to make this drink on New Year’s Day, but instead I went hiking with the family, without giving the first thought to what you, gentle reader, would do without my musings on the day. I don’t feel a bit bad about that. In fact, I am pretty sure it is going to happen way more in the coming months. Rest assured that when you don’t hear me shouting into the dark it is because I am out living life, rather than reflecting about it. It’s a balance, as they say. I did not want to lose this drink though, so we are going to pick it up and insert it into the rotation this week as if we never missed it. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make, Set the New Year On Fire.