I had a chance to check out the Monkey Mixer when Monkey Shoulder’s giant cocktail shaker made a stop in New York on July 12. The cocktail making machine, which is more than 27 feet long, 13 ft. tall and 8 ft. wide, holds 2,400 gallons of liquid.
Powered by a 5,000-watt Cummins Onan diesel commercial generator, the Monkey Mixer looks like a cement truck. But we didn’t actually see it mixing in action that night.
Vance Henderson, Monkey Shoulder’s U.S. Ambassador, was pouring the Mixed Up Monkey, a Collins drink made with Monkey Shoulder blended malt Scotch whisky, mint simple syrup, fresh lemon juice and soda, from the mixer—except the drink didn’t have the Scotch in it. New York law prohibited them from including alcohol in the drinks served on the street, Henderson said.
So we had to go inside The Flatiron Room, where the event was held, to get a shot of Monkey Shoulder for the drink. Other cocktails at the event included the Monkey Blood Sour, made with Monkey Shoulder Scotch, Campari orange juice, egg white, lemon juice, lime juice and simple syrup, and the King Kong, with Monkey Shoulder, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters and absinthe.
The Monkey Mixer is making its next stop in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. I suspect serving cocktails on the street won’t be an issue there.
