What's in a name? That which we call a rose

The Monkey Gland is a most unfortunately named cocktail. Frankly it bothers me more than just a little that I like this cocktail as much as I do.

I don't know if there is another drink that I like that has a name with such an "Ick!" factor. I suppose that this is one of those "a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet" things.

I like Manhattans - the name sounds like a sophisticated cocktail from a sophisticated city - I can imagine drinking them at a cocktail party in a Manhattan Loft with Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond playing a soft version of Take Five in the background - not on a cd or vinyl - the two of them together again - I know Desmond is dead, but I saw him playing with Brubeck once; front row, center. Amazing - pretty vivid imagination in play here don't you think, but I really was front row, center.

A Sazerac conjures up images of a smoky joint in New Orlean's or bottles of Rye Whiskey, Absinthe and Peychaud's Bitters. Max Rebennack; Dr. John the Night Tripper playing "Right Place, Wrong Time"

Martinis make me think of riding the Green Tortoise to San Francisco - My cousin Mark picked me up - several hours late and I was irritated . We stopped and had a pint of Anchor Steam with a couple of Martini backs to calm me down. It was some funky place that served barbecue turkey legs. I guess I should have some Grateful Dead song rolling as I write this bit, but frankly I'm drawing a blank - Truckin' doesn't really seem like appropriate martini music - but then again, barbecue turkey legs don't seem like the kind of finger food that would go with martinis either. Canapes and Julie London would be more like it.

I don't have any positive imagery with the Monkey Gland cocktail. Somehow what comes to mind is a doctor doing physicals on a bunch of naked guys lined up at the old military induction center near SW 5th and Taylor in my aborted attempt to join the Navy in 1972 - maybe Country Joe McDonald got through to me. Sorry, it's not a pretty picture - more "Ick Factor"

Maybe there is hope though as noted below it was also known as the McCormick - which somehow reminds me more of little tins of herbs at the grocery store. Then again, the story also includes the real origin behind the name of the cocktail.

From the Washington Post – Washington, D.C., Apr 29, 1923:

“Preparing for a busy tourist season, Frank, the noted concocter behind the bar of the Ritz, has devised a new series of powerful cocktails, the favorite of which is known as the “monkey gland”, or , as it is popularly called, the “McCormick.”
Like Frank’s “poixxito quinte” [?] gloomer raiser, the monkey gland requires absinthe to be perfect, but its amateurs have found anise a substitute with a sufficient kick.
For the benefit of friends over in America who have not exhausted their cellars, here is the recipe: half and half gin and orange juice, a dash of absinthe, and a dash of raspberry or other sweet juice. Mix well with ice and serve only with a doctor handy. Inside half an hour the other day Frank purveyed forty of these, to the exclusion of Manhattans and Martinis.”

 Monkey Gland or McCormick

1 1/2 oz. London dry gin  (I use Cascade Mountain Gin)
1 1/2 oz. orange juice
1 tsp. grenadine - make your own - it's so much better
1/2 tsp. Absinthe

Stir with cracked ice and strain.