Lucky Monkey

Another 100% original composition, straight from Joe’s own noggin , this drink is simple to mix up and makes an after-dinner treat to rival the sweetest of desserts.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail mixing tumbler of ice, mix equal parts of:

- Bailey’s Irish Cream

- Banana flavored rum

- Creme de Banana

- White Creme de Cacao

Shake well, strain in to a large, chilled martini glass

- Garnish with a fresh strawberry

Recipe by Joe The Bartender, Passage to India Restaurant, Salem, MA

Bartender’s notes:

One Friday evening in the not too distant past, Senior Research Assistant, Kerry, was perched at her regular bar stool. Her hawk-like eyes spotted a bottle of banana rum sitting amongst the highly polished bottles displayed behind the bar.

"Joe" she said, "could you rustle up a little something with that."

After a little tweaking and some supervision from Kerry, I presented her with would come to be called The Lucky Monkey.

"Delicious" she replied. Chris, in his usual manly tones , agreed that it was "Very Good," but a little too sweet for him. "I couldn't drink this all night," he stated.

Sharing my years of experience and knowledge I informed the gathering crowd that as with any dining experience all things had their place. A cocktail (or two) before dinner, a little light wine with appetizer or soup. Water with the salad. A more robust wine or beer with dinner. And a Lucky Monkey or suchlike with dessert. Now upon completion of dinner, the choice of what to drink is completely open. You can start the cycle from the beginning or simply choose to stick to the safe bet.

As some of you may know, I reached what is commonly known as a "milestone birthday " recently. To mark this event my younger, slimmer and slightly more attractive brother decided that it would be a good idea to visit from the U.K.

Bringing with him his wife and four children, they took up lodging in the top floor of my house. A large table was booked within walking distance of my house and we all set off for a fun-packed evening. I was forced to sit with a large, flashing badge, (pin,) announcing my age to everyone in the restaurant. As I watched the badge's reflection mocking me from the mirror opposite , I couldn't decide whether it was through the hand of God, or the delights of medical science that I had managed to cheat death for so long. Sinking back into my Sapphire Martini , (see http://greatestdrink.blogspot.com/2010/02/bombay-sapphire-martini.html,) I listened to my brother as he announced that from now on my idiosyncrasies and rather odd behavior could be seen as an age-related phenomenon.

I think it was at this point, or as soon as the laughter had subsided, that I decided to try and drink my way through the 'Greatest Drink in the World ' library. Now, although this is a good idea, I would recommend that for any one attempting this in the future, that it may be advisable to maybe stretch this feat out over a long weekend.

As for my brother and his family, it looks like they may be trapped here for a while due to erupting volcano 's over Iceland.

Happy birthday to me, Joe the Bartender

Chris’s notes: Before Joe's advanced age caused him to engage in long circuitous explanations and to explore each and every passing and only remotely-related thought that popped into his head, he said to me once, "Mixing drink flavors," he said, quite lucidly, "is a lot like baking or cooking. If the core flavors mix well together, the drink will be a good one." This drink explains exactly what he meant...

Bailey's, chocolate and banana. And well together these tastes go! The Lucky Monkey is tasty as all heck, and one sip provides it’s drinker with a full-body smile.

It is a creamy beverage, though, and sweet. This makes the drink seem more like a full-on dessert than an aperitif, (as Joe noted above.) And like a dessert, more than one could prove to be pretty filling.

One thing that wasn't explained yet, however, is the name. When Joe presented this to Kerry and me, it was a "Try this," scenario. It was not yet an official cocktail, as in, it was nameless.

Spitballing , we knocked a few terms about, "Banana & Bailey's," "Green Banana Sundae," and a few others. We had even decided on making a contest for the blog, "Name this Drink" with first prize being a year's supply of rum, or some other motivating award.

As Joe and I were hammering out the details of the contest, how to do it, what to make as a prize , et cetera, Kerry blurts out, (after just taking another good-sized gulp of the drink,) The Lucky Monkey.

The contest was immediately abandoned. We knew that was the name we were looking for.

Cheers! - Chris

("Uh-oh. Chongo!" Token only-vaguely-related video; 'Here.')