Before the story, a practical note: I've assembled the ready-made list of every ingredient you'll need to try this one at home. Onto the tale.
The Monkey Gland was created by the unstoppable Harry MacElhone at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s. The name is one of the most bizarre in bartending history and refers to the highly controversial experiments of the Russo-French surgeon Serge Voronoff, who in the early 20th century claimed to rejuvenate men by transplanting monkey testicle tissue into their bodies.
The gruesome novelty was the talk of Parisian tabloids, and MacElhone, with his usual irony, named a fresh and stimulating cocktail based on gin, orange and absinthe after the scandal. The operation promised eternal youth, the cocktail promised a second wind at the aperitif hour. Today, Voronoff's theories are discredited, but the Monkey Gland survives as a sharp and slightly provocative classic.
The best way to honor these historical cocktails is to serve them with the right attention. A complete barman kit on Amazon is the fastest way to get started and make a good impression from day one. And if you want to go deeper and give your house the proper bar vibe, a professional cocktail bar station is the final, definitive touch.