Cooking Lesson #1101: Naked Ape Cocktail

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? Anytime is the peak time for delicious tiki cocktails like the ones we made at my Custom House Restaurants. Full of tropical fruit flavors, laden with rum and crushed ice, tikis are the quintessential refreshment. The Naked Ape embraces this tradition and is ready to provide a fun drinking experience.
 
The base of the cocktail is split 3:1 between black blended rum and lightly aged overproof rum. Black rum brings deep, rich molasses notes supplemented by the hints of vanilla, butterscotch and sweet spice. Overproof rum bolsters the black rum and adds a little sharper spirit making sure that cocktail base cuts through other ingredients with their distinctive flavor profiles.
 
Sweetness comes in the forms of cinnamon syrup, a traditional tiki spice with delicious warmth, and banana liqueur which is clearly present in the drink with those beloved ripe banana notes. A touch of lemon juice freshens the cocktail up with a touch of acid and keeps the sweetness in check.
 
Finally, a dash of Angostura bitters binds the ingredients together and gives the drink a little more complexity by bringing individual notes of rum and liqueur to the forefront.
 
The Naked Ape is a delicious and whimsically named cocktail, which can easily become a conversation piece at your next dinner gathering. So, I highly recommend giving this drink a chance.
 
Ingredients 
1-1⁄2 ounces dark/black/blackstrap rum
1⁄2 ounce aged 4-6 years overproof pot still rum
1⁄2 ounce banana liqueur
1⁄2 ounce cinnamon syrup (I prefer Monin brand)
1⁄2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
ice
cinnamon stick (for garnish)
banana chunk (for garnish)
 
Directions

1. Freeze a double old-fashioned glass.
2. Assemble the garnish of cinnamon stick and a banana chunk.
3. Add all ingredients, except garnish, to a shaker.
4. Shake all ingredients with ice like you mean it.
5. Strain the shaken cocktail into glass filled with crushed ice.
6. Garnish with cinnamon stick and banana chunk on rim.

------------------------------------------
ChefSecret:  Have fun with this drink and play around with different garnishes.
------------------------------------------
Quip of the Day:  Monkey Business on a Bus
This guy has an ape, and he wants to go down to Florida for spring break, so he and his ape get on this Greyhound bus and head down. On the way there's a terrible crash. The bus drives off the road and everyone on board dies. It's a horrible bloodbath with body parts scattered everywhere. Everyone is dead at the scene except the ape.
The police are trying to figure out what went wrong. They have no witnesses. It was a single-vehicle accident. So, they bring the ape in to interrogate him. The detectives figure it's a long shot, but it's the only way they'll ever know.
In the interrogation room, the detective sits down across from this ape. The ape looks back at the detective as if he's waiting for questioning. The detective says, "This is ridiculous, but let's give it a shot. What the hell happened on that bus?" The ape of course, can't talk, so he stands up and mimes dancing.
The detective says, "Dancing on the bus, so the party started a bit early?" The ape nods energetically!
The detective says, "Well, that could certainly be distracting. This stupid ape is actually helping. Can you tell us anything else, ape?". The ape gestures as if he's tipping back a bottle to drink from it.
The detective says, "Drinking, dancing and the highway, that's bad news. Anything else?" The ape puts his thumb and forefinger together to his lips and inhales noisily, then stares at the ceiling.
The detective says, "Marijuana? They were getting high, dancing and drinking?" The monkey nods enthusiastically!
The detective says, "This is really bad, but one hell of a smart ape. Anything else happening on that bus?" The ape bends down to the table, plugs one side of his nose and sniffs.
The detective says, "Holy shit. Cocaine on the highway, that's incredible! It's no wonder they crashed! What were you doing while all this was going on, ape?"
The ape looks over his right shoulder, puts his two hands up in front of him and swings them back and forth, as if handling a steering wheel.
-------------------------------------------
Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food.
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Cocktail#NakedApeCocktail #Rum #OverproofRum #BlackstrapRum #BananaLiqueur #CinnamonSyrup #AngosturaBitters #HappyHour2025 #Cheers #Recipes2025 #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #SamaritansPurse #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                                                                   ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2025

---