Benito vs. the Cocktail: Monkey Gland

I was looking for a new, yet old cocktail. I thumbed through through my lovely wire-bound copy of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them by Ted Haigh, a.k.a. Dr. Cocktail.

My love of classic cocktails and early 1900s science met at the Monkey Gland, a fun cocktail named after a procedure invented by Dr. Serge Voronoff that involved grafting part of a monkey testicle onto a human one. The desired result was increased virility, potency, manliness, etc. I haven't read any of the peer-reviewed journals on this subject, but I've always felt a great first date is taking a dame out to Primate Canyon at the Memphis Zoo to hear a bunch of screaming apes. Your mileage may vary if you don't often date primatologists.

The Monkey Gland
1½ oz. gin
1½ fresh squeezed orange juice (please don't cheat here)
1 tsp. grenadine (I used fresh pomegranate juice)
1 tsp. absinthe or pastis

Throw everything in a shaker with ice, shake to hell, and strain into desired glass. I'm really enjoying these little squat stemless glasses. I thought they would tip over easily, but they're more stable than regular cocktail glasses.

I liked the cocktail--it's got a fun punch-like quality, but even the tiniest bit of anise-flavored liquor can turn off those with an aversion to licorice. While I didn't feel any crazy monkey passion after having one, it was a relaxing way to end the day.