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.

One Man's Trash

Clear Creek Distillery, one of the original of micro-distilleries in the United States, is located here in Portland Oregon. Steve McCarthy, the owner, is a genuinely nice guy and a man with vision. Of course it's taken 25 years for most of the world to appreciate his vision of eau de vie and other products made from locally grown fruit.

I first met Steve in about 1990 when I was making wine commercially in a rented garage in Newburg Oregon. Steve was making grappa from muscat and gewurtztraminer pomace left over from local wine production. Those of us that were willing to set aside the pomace from our production would receive a few rationed bottles of grappa from his minuscule annual production.

For those unfamiliar with the production of wine or it's terminology; pomace is what's left after you squeeze all of the juice out of the grapes. Having someone haul it away for me was a bonus. It meant I didn't have to hall it away and dispose of it or worse yet pay someone to haul it away. Getting some grappa or another one of Steve's brandies for my trash was a screaming deal in my book.

Over the years Steve added to his repertoire of eau de vies and brandies. While his pear brandy is a pure expression of the fruit from his family orchard and a wonderful product, it was never my favorite. I tended to like the aged apple brandy or the fragrant grappas made from muscat and gewurtzraminer. Occasionally when I'd stop by the distillery for a bottle I'd get to sample some of the other products he was working on like a peaty whiskey or a green hued eau de vie made from grape brandy and the tips of the new spring growth on Coastal Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

The first time I tried the evergreen scented brandy he pulled from a barrel, it was to say the least, off putting. It had an evergreen aroma, but it more closely resembled Pinesol than something I'd want sit and sip. A few years later after much experimentation he finally had a product that he was comfortable releasing for sale. The evergreen scented brandy he finally released had been tempered with a bit of pear brandy and the fruit complimented and rounded out the evergreen aromas. We sampled it and I found intriguing enough to get a bottle to take home.

Later, at home, I opened the bottle and found it to be a bit much by itself and set the bottle aside to contemplate later. Later didn't come for several years. I hadn't thought much about that bottle in a long time; it was out of sight and out of mind.

On Friday, Steve had his second Proof Blog entry published in the NY Times. One of the products he highlighted was the Douglas Fir infused spirit. I thought perhaps it was time to revisit that long forgotten bottle. I went looking for it and finally discovered it in the back of a file cabinet in my basement office.

I pulled the cork and took a sniff - it wasn't as powerful in the nose as I remembered. I don't know if it had mellowed as it sat in the file cabinet or if my tastes had changed. This stuff was really interesting. There were hints of the evergreen and pear and even more. It's herbal complexity reminded me a bit of Absinthe but with a bit of mint and citrus instead of anise.

I had one of those "Ahah" moments and decided to make a Sazerac with Douglas Fir spirit substituted for the Absinthe. The Douglas Fir isn't as potent as Absinthe and it takes a bit more of it to make the cocktail reflect the character of the spirit. Several years after the fact I was finally able to appreciate Steve's vision for this bottle.

Pseudotsugarac

2 oz Rye
2 barspoons of Douglas Fir Spirit
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or 1 sugar cube
2 generous dashes of Peychaud Bitters.

Stir all of the ingredients together in a Boston Shaker without the ice. When the agave is dissolved in the rest of the ingredients add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass.

I didn't garnish this with the lemon twist called for in a traditional Sazerac. The Douglas Fir Spirit has a slight citrus quality. I suppose I should have gone out in the yard and picked a sprig off the fir tree for a garnish.

One is the Loneliest Number

Recently I've received some invitations to be a Facebook Friend. Frankly I was a bit uneasy about being asked. I'm not really sure why I was uneasy other than ignorance of what Facebook is or can be at its best. It seems like there are a lot of stupid people out there doing stupid things and in a final stupid act; posting narrations and pictures of the afore mentioned stupid acts on the Online Social Network of their choice - Not something that really made me want to run out and join, I mean I've done my share of stupid things...will I now feel compelled to post about them?

So today I received a third invitation to become a facebook friend. This time there was an explanation of the request that actually made sense and was even a bit intriguing. So I signed up and accepted the friend invitation. Checking back to my Facebook page I see that I now have "1 Friend". Fifty-Four years old and I have "1 Friend". This isn't making me feel all warm and fuzzy, but at least I still have my dogs and cats.

I've contacted the other two folks that asked me be friends and the wife of my first friend has befriended me so I don't feel quite so bad. Definitely not one of the popular kids on campus, but I never was and I can live with that.

Okay, so now I've got four friends and I realize that I don't qualify for the latest Burger King Promotion; Whopper Sacrifice. Defriend ten Facebook Friends and get a free Whopper. I don't think I'd qualify for a free Whopper by going into negative six friends territory and what am I supposed to say? "Hey Chumps" you just asked me to be your friend and I'm throwing you over for a crappy fast food burger" - I've just added you to the other 112,030 people scorned for a free burger coupon!

To add insult to injury, my first Facebook Friend is the person that introduced me to the pleasures of Happy Hour Hamburgers at Clyde Common! Sacrificing a friend like that.....well it just doesn't pencil out.

So thanks Rod for inviting me to be your friend and thanks too to Mike, Robert and Pam. I don't feel quite so lonely now.?

So, Hey Rod, just when are we going back to Clyde Common? I'm curious to see how well they make a Sazerac.

Sazerac for One - Inspired by Chuck Taggart

In your cocktail mixer:

• Mix 1 teaspoon of sugar with 1 teaspoon of water or use a teaspoon of simple syrup
• Add 4 dashes of Peychaud Bitter and 1 dash of Angostura Bitters
• Add a bunch of ice and two oz of Rye - Sazerac Rye if you've got it, but Wild Turkey works just fine
• Stir for thirty seconds

Rub the rim of a chilled cocktail glass with a strip of lemon peel
Add a 1/2 teaspoon of Absinthe into the glass and coat the inside of the glass with it
Strain the cocktail into the glass.
Heretic that I am, I throw the lemon peel into the glass because I really like the aroma

Absinthe is expensive but well worth the price in this cocktail. I bought a miniature for $7.00 and it's made a bunch of cocktails so far and will make many more.