Classic cocktails · Gin · IBA official
Fresh orange and dry gin, then an unexpected flicker of anise and a blush of pomegranate. It is a breakfast-juice color in a cocktail glass, with far more going on than first appears.
1¾ oz
London dry gine.g. Tanqueray · Gordon's · Beefeater · Bombay Sapphire · Sipsmith
1 oz
orange juice
2 dash
absinthee.g. Pernod · La Clandestine · Kübler · St. George · Lucid
2 dash
grenadine ideally homemade from pomegranate
Garnish: Orange twist · Ice: Served up, no ice
Monkey Gland
Fruity and citrusy with dry gin, a faint anise lift and a hint of pomegranate sweetness. Medium-bodied and moderately strong.
The Monkey Gland was created in the 1920s by Harry MacElhone, owner of Harry's New York Bar in Paris. Its odd name refers to the work of the surgeon Serge Voronoff, who became famous at the time for grafting slices of monkey testicle tissue onto men in the hope of restoring youth and vigor. The treatment was widely discussed in the press and gave MacElhone a provocative name for a new drink.
The cocktail itself is far more respectable than its namesake: a simple gin and orange sour-style drink, given depth by small amounts of absinthe and grenadine. Some recipes replace the absinthe with pastis or Bénédictine. The International Bartenders Association lists the Monkey Gland among its Unforgettables.
The name refers to Serge Voronoff, a surgeon who grafted monkey gland tissue onto patients in the 1920s in an attempt to rejuvenate them.
Yes. Pastis or Bénédictine are traditional alternatives, though the drink loses some of its anise character.
It is credited to Harry MacElhone of Harry's New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s.
The perfect sound
Cheeky glamour in a Montmartre cabaret.
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