The Red Hot Chili Peppers-inspired Funky Monks cocktail created by Tippling Club in Singapore is made with a variety of peppers, ginger, lime, crème de cassis, rhum agricole, Scotch, and soda water
While it was recently announced that Singapore’s Tippling Club will be closing at the end of the year, the bar will always be remembered as one of the world’s finest cocktail havens. Earlier this year, we got the opportunity to speak with Arathorn Grey, Head Bartender of Tippling Club, about one of his most fascinating cocktails, Funky Monks, a rhum and Scotch concoction that no one should miss a chance to sip.
We’ll let Arathorn Grey tell you the rest…
Name the cocktail.
Funky Monks – Red Hot Chili Peppers
What inspired the name? What’s this drink’s origin story?
The name of the drink is also the name of a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Our current cocktail menu features music from the 1940s to 1990s. We change our menu concept every year.
For the cocktails, I spent most of the time selecting songs first that could inspire me to create a drink. For Funky Monks, when I think of “funky”, I immediately think of a rhum agricole. Often described as “funky”, it was an obvious choice for it to be the base for this cocktail.
Red Hot Chili Peppers is presented in the form of a garnish. Sitting proudly, temptingly like the apple of Eden, is a freshly sliced lime wedge dipped in Togarashi spice. We challenge our guests to have a bite of the lime, and wash it down with the cocktail afterwards.
What other drinks belong in its family?
This cocktail is based on the El Diablo cocktail. Like it, there are many more cocktails that are served in the similar fashion, think Dark N Stormy, Mamie Taylor, even the Lynchburg Lemonade.
if you like ________ and ________ you should try this drink.
“a flavour experience” “ginger(s)”
What food is this cocktail best served with?
Think tacos, burger and fries, fun-fair style fried and meaty foods. Stay away from steaks though, I recommend a beautiful glass of red wine instead.
Ingredients
- 30ml Renegade Pre Cask Pearls rum
- 20ml Habanero distillate, blended with Monkey Shoulder
- 10ml Homemade ginger syrup
- 10ml Merlet Crème de Cassis
- 20ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Soda water
Directions
Habenro distillate: 1 part fresh red American habanero rotovap-ed with 2 parts vodka
Blend habanero distillate with Monkey Shoulder
Put all ingredients except soda into shaker tin, shake and strain into chilled highball glass. Top with splash of soda and a long ice spear. Garnish with a togarashi-dipped lime wedge.
Habenero distillate:
Slice fresh habaneros into strips and remove seeds. Our habanero to vodka ratio is 1:2. Rotovap at 56deg, and we don’t do any cuts. Then blend the distillate with the Monkey Shoulder at 10% of the whisky (so 70ml Habanero distillate with 700ml whisky).
Ginger syrup:
Equal parts of young and old ginger, washed and juiced with a Robot-coupe. Weigh out the juice and add equal parts of caster sugar. Whisk and dissolve fully before storing in the freezer until ready for use.
