unforgettable · shaken
Monkey Gland recipe
Gin and orange juice with absinthe and grenadine.
A Monkey Gland is 50 ml (47 g) Gin, 30 ml (31.2 g) Orange Juice, 5 ml (5.9 g) Grenadine and 1 ml (0.9 g) Absinthe, shaken and served in a coupe. It pours to about 86 ml before ice, at roughly 24% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasscoupe
- Methodshaken
- Pour volume86 ml
- Strength (est.)24% ABV
- Time4 min
Monkey Gland ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gin | 50 ml | 47 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Orange Juice | 30 ml | 31.2 g | 1.04 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Grenadine | 5 ml | 5.9 g | 1.18 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Absinthe | 1 ml | — | 0.88 | A few drops |
How to make a Monkey Gland
- Set your coupe on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Add Gin, Orange Juice, Grenadine and Absinthe to a shaker, weighing each ingredient rather than eyeballing a jigger.
- Fill with ice and shake hard for 12–15 seconds.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
Monkey Gland: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Monkey Gland?
Roughly 24% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Spirit-forward. Sip it, do not sink it.
What glass should a Monkey Gland be served in?
A coupe. Chill it first — a room-temperature stemmed glass will undo half the work you just did in the mixing tin.
Can I make a Monkey Gland without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this Monkey Gland is weighed.
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