Tag: gin (Page 4 of 9)

Ramos Gin Fizz

January 23, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

Today we are casting fear aside and making a classic drink, that I have been avoiding for quite some time. The sun is shining and the day is fun of promise, so I am going to give this intimidating brunch classic a shot. Let the chips fall where they may and devil take the hindmost we are going for it. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and shake the Ramos Gin Fizz.

New Dawn

January 20, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I’m a big fan of consistency. Not the “foolish” consistency that Emerson called “the hobgoblin of little minds”, but deep and considered consistency. That certain quality that lets you know people truly believe what they are saying, that they have taken the time to study and reflect and come to a belief on their own, rather than just accepting the ones they were handed. An appreciation of those beliefs formed in knowledge, the kind that is, so often, tempered by loss. You can tell with people, when you look them in the eye, whether they believe what they are saying, whether their words have the weight of conviction behind them. Not passion, that is easy to summon when the situation warrants, but that slow burning conviction that drives a person even when no one is watching. So with depth of character and integrity in mind, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the New Dawn.

Frosted Sugar Plum

December 21, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Eighth Drink

Christmas is a time to reflect on our lives. To look at the year nearly past and how things have changed. For me, even more than New Year’s, this is a time for reflection, to think about what we’ve gained, what we have lost. It’s been a hard year for all of us. So many losses and they just keep coming, as today we found out that yet another friend has passed from Covid. It makes it hard to find the spirit of the season with so many people hurting. We take many things for granted, especially our beliefs. We have to to try to stay positive, though. To look on the brighter side and count the blessings we have, even on this Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, or the last night before things begin to get brighter, depending on your point of view. So in that spirit, please join me for the eighth of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the eighth drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Frosted Sugar Plum”.

Poet’s Dream

December 8, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Tonight, I am thinking of a Christmas gift from long ago. In college, a dear friend gave me a book of poetry inscribed with one of her poems and the most lovely message. I have been carrying it around for nearly thirty years and it is in surprisingly good shape for the miles. Not sure I can say the same for myself. So, in honor of the gift and the impulse that inspires the giver please join me now as we stand and make, the Poet’s Dream.

The Last Menta

December 5, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We walked up a mountain today, and back down again, just for kicks. It wasn’t a huge mountain, but the trip still put about 9 1/2 miles on the boots today and this old chassis is in need of an oil change and some lubrication. So please join me now as we stand, well, lean and make The Last Menta.

Banana Calling

December 4, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s been a bit of a day and I ended up with more to do in the evening than I had anticipated, so please excuse my brevity. To be fair, I am looking forward to a drink tonight, lord knows we all need one. For the folks who are just tired of all this, nearly 3,000 people have died, today, so far, in the US alone. Over 100,000 people in the hospital tonight. Over 100,000 families praying that they get to see and hold and talk to their loved ones again and that they don’t join the over 276,000 families who have lost someone to this disease. So yeah, wear the damned mask. You didn’t come here to get lectured though, you came for the dancing monkey to say something funny. So get up, stand up and join me as we make the Banana Calling.

White Lady

December 2, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

You ever notice just how many references there are to ghosts in Christmas lore? Scrooge is nothing but one ghost story after another, each with a lesson to impart. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” rattles off “scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas long, long ago” as if those were staples of the season. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would love nothing more than to sing to you once again of “The Ghosts of Christmas Past” in an attempt to pay off that over the top stage show. But if I am honest, unless you take a tenuous link to the Holy Ghost, I don’t really think of any spirits outside of those in my glass as part of my yuletide celebration. So, why am I thinking of them tonight? Well, I cried my way through the final episode of Supernatural yesterday and it left me a bit gutted. The Winchester’s have moved on, leaving us with their stories and a not so subtle reminder that things are not always what they seem, so in that spirit, please join me as we make The White Lady.

Pumpkin Flip

November 26, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Time. That is what it comes down to, There is never enough time. Time to do all the things you had planned, to say the things not yet said. We waste so much of our time, waiting for the right moment, waiting for things to line up, for our money to get right. Waiting for a time that is never to come. Today is Thanksgiving and this is what I have been thinking about all day, how to make the most of the days we have left. Whether it is years or weeks, time is running out for all of us and when those last seconds tick away, what will we have left undone. So, let’s ponder using time wisely as we stand and make the Pumpkin Flip.

Peas and Spank You

November 25, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

As Hunter Thompson said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” In honor of the impending Thanksgiving holiday at home, I’m embracing the next level bizarreness of 2020 with a drink to help you get through your meal prep, while repurposing an unusual ingredient. So, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, Peas and Spank You.

Lucien Gaudin

November 11, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We turn to Shakespeare for the text of today’s lesson. Please turn in your hymnals to Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5, Scene 1, where we find Antonio attempting to comfort Leonato, who is having none of it. And he spake, “I pray thee peace, I will be flesh and blood; For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently.” I get it, Leonato was upset and why not, they had just accused his daughter of “knowing the heat of a luxurious bed”. Shocking, I know. The point is, he was angry and when cautioned to not indulge his self pity and fury he told Antonio to step off and let a man have his space. I get that too. That toothache thing always stuck with me, the simple wisdom of it. It is true, no matter how many high platitudes we speak and how detached and above the fray we want to be, when something as simple as a toothache makes things personal, our true colors show. Whether sharp or dull, a toothache can just sort of linger there, a reminder that all is not well. Reminding you that you don’t control much in life, even your own body. So, please join me now and explore the bitter and the sweet, as we stand and make the Lucien Gaudin.