Tag: gin (Page 1 of 9)

Angel Face

November 4, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I awoke this morning to discover that over the weekend the jack o’ lanterns that had invaded stately Monkey Manor have been replaced by their smooth-faced cousins. On further inspection I actually found that several of them had merely turned their faces to the wall revealing their unmarred backsides, which gave me some comfort. I just feel better with adaptation and evolution over wholesale replacement. Still, with our devils relegated to the top shelf in my office and our skeletons back in their closets there is no denying that is is indeed fall, y’all. Yes, I know we set a high temperature record here in the sultry Autumn of middle Tennessee today, but the leaves have changed and it was crisp in the early morning, so with a nod toward evenings sitting around the bonfire to come, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Angel Face.

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.

Brace Position

February 3, 2023 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Looking back on a half-century of life well wasted, I am truly shocked at how many of the things that kept me up at night did not amount to a hill of beans. Not that they didn’t matter or weren’t consequential in some way, but in how the things I worried myself sick about seemed to just disappear in recollection. Looking back, there are only a handful of times that stick out as those critical moments when I chose to go left when I could have gone right and ended up on a new path. It’s funny how it all seemed so important at the time only to have those crises fade into obscurity, evaporating like fog in the morning sun of hindsight. I fear I have spent too much time sitting on the end of the runway worrying whether my decisions would help me slip the surly bonds of earth and soar or crash and burn on the symbolic ash heap of my personal history. So with a nod toward that aeronautical metaphor, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Brace Position.

Hard Sell

June 23, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

Chicago is a fine town. I love the place, but I don’t always agree with the citizenry on matters of taste. I enjoy a good Portillo’s Chicago style hot dog or a breaded steak sandwich from Ricobene’s, and I have had some truly incredible dining and drinking experiences in that toddling town, but they get some things wrong. Most of these mistakes are minor, like making a float with Green River or calling that awesome deep dish casserole a pizza. However, there are other transgressions that are far more serious and even dangerous. Chief among these is a staple of the Chicago bar scene, Jeppson’s Malort. If you know, you know. If you don’t, I am not sure I want to encourage you to learn. Some folks swear by the stuff, most folks swear at the stuff, I mostly try to avoid it, but I heard it can be lovely when paired with the right ingredients. I am dubious, but willing to take a chance, so won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Hard Sell.

Umami Martini

June 21, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

There is something to be said for simplicity. Of course, there is also something to be said for complexity, so I am not sure how to balance those two extremes. There are usually at least two sides to every story and often so many more. So let’s take a look at things from both sides now as we stand and make the Umami Martini.

Follow That Black Rabbit

April 25, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am not a huge fan of orthodoxy, at least not according to Webster. The idea of “authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice” seems alright on paper, but in practice it feels a lot more like stagnation and acceptance for acceptance sake. Still, I had a wonderful drink in my back pocket left unused after the Easter holiday, so why not embrace orthodoxy and celebrate Orthodox Easter a week later, which kind of flies in the face of accepted theory, doctrine or practice. Life can be funny that way, so won’t you join me now as we subversively stand and make the surprisingly unorthodox Follow That Black Rabbit.

Juliet & Romeo

February 14, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

A teenage boy sees a thirteen year old girl at a party and develops a crush. I apologize, I meant to say, falls instantly and deeply in love. His crush, I mean love, is requited and three days later six people are dead, including our titular underage lovers. Ah, but then, the course of true love, never did run smooth, did it? So, with a nod toward bad romance, deeply passionate speeches and epic miscommunication, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the modern classic, Juliet & Romeo.

Dark Hedges

December 21, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 7

I used to know a guy who seemed unable to escape the fact that he was born during, “the darkest days of the year,” as he put it. I suppose that was his particular demon to face. I guess we all have our own. I have never really thought of the Winter Solstice as the darkest day of the year, but rather, as a new beginning. From here forward, every day has a little more light, so it is the dawn of a brighter time. A chance to start over, to get things right this time, or perhaps, more right. So, with an eye on those better days to come won’t you join me now as we stand and make Dark Hedges.

Mull Again

November 23, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I said I was gone for the holidays, but clearly, I lied. It happens. I don’t mean to but I get things wrong from time to time. I mean it may not even be a lie, maybe I was just mistaken? I figured I’d be super busy today and not have time to do anything before we headed over the river and through the woods to visit the in-laws for Thanksgiving, but then time to kill happened. Which is how we find ourselves here again, gathered virtually for a drink and the requisite words. So, in the spirit of unexpected moments of leisure and the occasional need for a do over, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the excellent Mull Again.

Bitter Heart

October 28, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Some things stick with you, inexplicably. I have always been curious about that. How I can clearly remember staring at the clouds through the branches of a tree on my great aunt’s farm when I was 6 or 7, but I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. Or how I can remember the smell of the Shogun Warriors mask I wore for Halloween in 1978, but I forget my blood type. I don’t know why some things stick and others fade away. I do know why this drink made my spooky drinks list, when it is not scary in any way. It starts with a poem, an epigraph in a book that kept me awake all night many moons ago. Terrified, I kept turning the pages, pushing through the story, hoping that knowing the end would let me sleep. So, with a nod toward night terrors and carrying on because you can’t go back, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Bitter Heart.