The Monkey Gland - A Peculiar Story

Have you ever had a Monkey Gland? If not, add it to your list. This classic cocktail is a gentle mix of gin, orange juice and grenadine, with just a splash of anise liqueur. Now that absinthe is back in the U.S. the Monkey Gland is even better (although any of the substitutes were excellent as well). Most recipes call for the splash to be added to the shaker with everything else, but I prefer something a little more subtle. So I usually take that splash straight to the glass, give it a good swirl to coat the inside and dump the rest. From there it's just a matter of shaking up everything else and adding it into the glass. This produces a well-balanced, fruity cocktail with the delicious hint of juniper and anise. The aroma is just plain yummy!

The Monkey Gland is not the typical drink name and it's origin is, well, interesting. In his 1922 Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails book, Harry McElhone (owner of Harry's New York Bar in Paris) took credit for the invention of this drink. He also claims that the name Monkey Gland was inspired by the 1920's experiments of one Serge Voronoff. It was well before the time of Viagra and it's many male enhancement counterparts and Voronoff was experimenting with various implants, the most famous of which was the grafting of monkey testicle tissue, or monkey glands, to human testicles. Voronoff was well-known for this rather shocking technique and over time he received a considerable amount of ridicule for it and died in near obscurity in the 50's. The Wikipedia article on Voronoff also states that in the late 90's some accused Voronoff's experiments of introducing AIDS to humans.

So, there's the story behind the drink. If nothing else it's great trivia while your sharing a round of Monkey Glands with friends.