Tag: creme de cacao (Page 2 of 3)

Groundhog Intervention

February 3, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

OK, campers! Rise and shine and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cold out there today. It’s Groundhog Day, again. It seems like I should do something special in honor of this auspicious occasion. Obviously, by special, I mean a hip and timely reference to a film released 38 years ago. The whole movie is based on a situation that would drive a fella to drink, but there is only one interesting beverage in the whole thing and I feel like I would be ripping you off if I had you carefully craft a cocktail by pouring 2 ounces of sweet vermouth over ice and expressing a lemon peel. To be fair, that is an excellent thing to sip, there just isn’t a lot of craft in it. So, in honor of doing things till you get them right or till you learn a lesson or at least until you can move on, won’t you please join me as we stand and make, the Groundhog Intervention.

Chocolate Orange Martini

February 2, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit; or so they say. A bunch of you nod knowingly, and the rest are all “what’s he on about this time?” It is the first day of a new month so we honor it with this odd tradition of saying rabbit three times, to ensure good luck for the rest of the month. Since this the first day of February and St. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I am going to shoehorn in something sweet and elegant. So, in the spirit of mysterious and unexpected treats, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Chocolate Orange Martini.

La Florida

January 17, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

This morning I was looking through some old photographs of our time in Havana. That sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Way better than “I was scrolling through pictures on my phone looking for something else, when I was distracted by some old vacation pictures.” It’s all in how you set the scene sometimes, how you spin it. Still, it is true and it made me think about this drink. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the classic, La Florida.

El Fiero

January 15, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I said I wasn’t going to do themes, but here we are with our third Ferris Bueller’s Day Off inspired drink in a row. This was not my plan, but the kid really enjoyed the movie and it inspired a bunch more conversation about all kinds of things. One of our realizations is that somehow he has never been to Chicago, which is weird considering how much time I have spent there and the fact that we announced his impending arrival from the Windy City. He was also very curious about the cars in the movie. We do a lot of car stuff together so that made sense. When he asked me about that cool looking car in the movie, I immediately launched into why the ’61 Ferrari 250 California GT was important only to have him stop me. “Not the Ferrari, I know about that, what was that cool car his sister drove?” So, in honor of Jeannie Bueller’s sweet ride, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the El Fiero.

Dirty Banana

January 5, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

A dear friend of mine used to say that “If we all threw all our troubles in a pile, people would fight to get their own back.” She was right. As much as we all want to escape our headaches, when it comes down to it, they are our own. That familiarity and certainty often outweighs our fears of the unknown. Go with what you know, or so they say. That said, the world has troubles enough without you and I adding to them. I see a lot of folks today up in arms about things happening in another place, that they have no control over and that’s fine, good to be engaged and all that, but save some outrage and/or empathy for the things you can affect. Maybe instead of peeking over the fence at our neighbors, we should take a look to see how things are going in our own backyard. Rather than going on a rant, I figure I’ll just join in the oddly specific apathy and ignore the beam in my own eye. So, today I am just gonna make a drink and mind my own business, won’t you please join me know as we stand and make, the Dirty Banana.

Peppermint Martini

December 15, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Second Drink

I started my morning making coffee, looking out the kitchen window at the frost as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played in the background. The lights from the tree were reflected in the frosted glass and it was just a nice quiet moment. I’ve never been a huge fan of that song, it’s a fine thing and I sing along, but it’s just not one of my favorites. It hit me this morning, though, perhaps for the first time. So in that spirit, please join me for the second of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the second drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Peppermint Martini.”

Praying Mantis

December 11, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Keeping with this week’s, apparent, theme of lessons taught and learned, tonight we will look into opinions and one very key, and often overlooked, feature of them. Of course, we could delve into the whole “everyone has one” thing and all of the rhetorical possibilities that lie down that path, but that would be counter to my message. So, I will simply point out that you don’t have to have an opinion on anything that you don’t want to. It is ok to just let things go by without comment. So in that spirit, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Praying Mantis.

White Cloud

November 21, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s like an episode Green Acres here today. I didn’t put on my suit, but I did drive the tractor around a bit and we spent a lot more time farming than I had planned on. What’s this got to do with the drink? Well, very little, but we can get into that after you join me as we stand and make the White Cloud.

Pignoli Alexander

November 16, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It has been a relatively austere day, so I’m feeling a bit of a craving for something smooth and sweet. I’m all for moderation, in moderation, but sometimes you need a little something special for yourself. So, please join me now as we stand and make the Pignoli Alexander.

Wet Congress

October 18, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Truth is, I got so excited planning something for the coming weeks, that I forgot to actually make a drink for today. It happens, apparently. I don’t want to rush through things, but I am also tired and distracted and a poor host anyway. So, let’s skip the formalities as we stand and make the Wet Congress.