Tag: orgeat (Page 1 of 3)

See No Evil

August 16, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“What I want, I want now,” sang out from the television as I made my way to the bar. It made sense. The right sentiment for the right time. As much as I enjoy respectful patience and longing from afar, today I have a thirst. A particular kind of thirst that requires a particular kind of satiety. This longing is an oddly welcome pain. In some strange way hunger reminds you that you are alive. So much of life slips by in a mundane, grey sort of stumble from one task to the next, that the inner grumblings, those unsatisfied pangs, are like a wake up call. Usually, you keep them quiet, pushed down, under control, not even acknowledging their existence, making a conscious choice to not speak of this, but sometimes, well, sometimes you just need to let go and give in to temptation. So with a nod to the wisdom of Oscar Wilde and his unique self help routine, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the See No Evil.

Rheinberg Sour

January 1, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The turning of the calendar always seems to be about new beginnings, a fresh start and a chance to start over and get it right this time. That never quite sits right with me. In spite of the ingrained self-loathing that is the birthright of my generation, I am actually reasonably happy with myself. Sure, there is room for improvement on almost all levels, but that basic structure is pretty good, so I don’t really want a new start. Who am I kidding? At my age I am happy to be able to keep on keeping on without too many accommodations to the “changing” eyesight, that lifestyle induced arthritis and the increased distinguishedness of my locks. So rather than a restart, I like to focus on making small adjustments, looking for improvement over perfection. So, if you are into a little experimentation, to trying something new in hopes of a better tomorrow, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Rheinberg Sour.

Coco No Coco

March 9, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The truth is things aren’t always going to go the way you planned. It happens all the time. We, mostly, don’t notice when they go better than expected, but when things go downhill, it can shake your faith. When that happens, all you can do is step back, take inventory and find a way to move on from that new starting point; make the best of the situation and see if, maybe, you can salvage some lemonade from all those lemons. So, in the spirit of doing the best you can with what you have, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Coco No Coco.

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.

The Flying Nutsman

June 30, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I’ve made a ton of bad decisions in my life, that’s how you get experience, which they say leads to wisdom, but I’m not sure that is guaranteed. I’d love to believe it, but I know too many folks who messed up at nearly every step and never learned a damned thing along the way. I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s hard to learn from a mistake if you don’t own it and that’s a shame. I figure the only half decent reason for there to be pain in the world is to help us learn to not inflict any more of it than we can help, but what do I know? So, in the spirit of learning from our mistakes, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Flying Nutsman.

PB&J Sour

May 11, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Hunter S. Thompson famously said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” I get it. I am all about the weird in pretty much any variety. I like weird people, weird entertainment and weird flavors. I like doing things other folks think is weird, like being open and honest, but in a kind way. I try to be relatively open-minded and saying yes to life has afforded me the opportunity to experience all kinds of weirdness, I think this is a positive thing, or least it has been mostly positive. So, in the spirit of keeping an open mind and trying new things, even if they seem a bit weird, I finally broke down and bought a bottle of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. How’d that turn out? Well, let’s go on a voyage of discovery as we stand and make the PB&J Sour.

Supreme

March 23, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

It’s a shame that these “Cocktails from Quarantine” are not a well planned expedition into the history of how drinks have evolved over the years. Even a child knows that you should present steps along the evolutionary trail starting at the beginning. That way you get a lovely progression, with incremental improvements, each drink adding a little something that the previous one lacked. I am not that clever, though. I had no real plan when this started beyond making a few drinks to keep myself occupied, maybe learn some new skills, practice the craft and give my self an excuse to throw a bunch of words out there, with at least a tacit connection to the drink being made. To be fair, it has turned out to be more about the thoughts than the drinks, but that happens, when you have such a fine excess of words piling up. One could argue, that when the world closed down and I could no longer go on long-winded tirades in public that the words had to go somewhere, so here we are with them flowing out my fingers. The thing is, I did not have a plan or an exit strategy and I still don’t have one, really. I guess I am counting on the world to tell me when to quit. So, in the interest of doubling back to pick up something I missed, won’t you join me now a we stand and make the Supreme.

Saturn

February 18, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Another snow day, but this time with real snow! Overnight, we got 4-6 additional inches of snow over the top of our existing way too much ice. The upshot is, we could actually play in the snow today. We made a snowman, fought with snowballs, made snow cream, sort of sledded in the kayaks, all the things we could think of. We took midday break to come inside, dry out a bit and watch NASA hit another homerun with the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars. So, in honor of the folks who not only do the impossible, but do it with an audience, won’t you please join me as we stand and make the interplanetary tiki classic, Saturn.

Cameron’s Kick

January 14, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Yesterday, we explored the world of Ferris Bueller and in my ramblings I realized that I had not yet introduced the boy to the film. Today, we rectified that oversight. It holds up, surprisingly well. The kid got it, understood why what he was doing was wrong and how that can be ok sometimes. He also seemed to understand the frustrations of the sidekick, perhaps a little too well. So in that spirit, won’t you please join me as we stand and make Cameron’s Kick.

Scorpion

January 4, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I took a few days off to celebrate the New Year. Did some hiking and exploring with the family, drank a beer and ate a burger in a gloriously empty outdoor biergarten, practiced a little chainsawing and tractoring around the farm, even played some video games and read some books. I did not go to the office, or pay attention to political shenanigans going on or make any cocktails that I felt compelled to write about, though I did make some at the request of my bride. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the bad ones as well. So I was back in the office today, doing some work, catching up on the news and now I am back behind the bottles making a little something to share with you, gentle readers. The sun comes up and the world still spins, as they say. Or at least that is what I said fourish years ago at the beginning of this chapter and it is still true here at the end. Watching folks make some odd decisions I was reminded of an old fable and a drink. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the classic Scorpion.