Mad Monkey Baked Apple

Description

When we first introduced the strangely named Mad Monkey Ubhal Bakte it was a HUGE HIT with our members! Well this month we have the upgraded version with a much simpler name – The Mad Monkey Baked Apple!

Now technically it should be called an infused neutral cane spirit. It’s made from the 2-stage distillation of a fermented raw sugar wash – which has various ingredients vapour infused during the second distillation (Cinnamon, Cloves, Orange and Ginger), then some more ingredients (Apple and hazelnut) steeped in the spirit for two weeks after distillation. The final Apple and Hazelnut steep is what gives the Baked Apple it’s brown hue – remember, this has never seen the inside of a wooden barrel.

The result is a spirit that is great on ice, but also shines in any cocktail bar! Try this legendary Mad Monkey cocktail!

The Zombie

• 30ml Baked Apple (Mad Monkey)
• 15ml Saccharum (Mad Monkey) (Sub with white rum or Agricole)
• 15ml Apricot Brandy
• 140ml Pineapple and Orange Juice
• 15ml Lime Juice
• Add all ingredients to shaker over ice, shake and single strain over ice into Collins Glass
• Garnish with Pineapple leaf and drip Grenadine around the edges to sink through the Ice cubes

When we first met the boys from Adelaide, Mad Monkey hadn’t been distilling long enough yet to be able to offer a ‘Rum’. That has all changed now – and we’ll be featuring one of their single cask, aged rums early in the new year! As we know, in Australia, rum must be aged in wood for a minimum of 2 years to earn the title ‘Rum’. Mind you as soon as you take it to just about any other country in the world – it can legally be called a Rum. So if this Members Extra is not, technically, a Rum – what is it?

Whilst we await the clock to count down into 2024 when we’ll feature a Mad Monkey’s barrel aged rum, we thought we’d revisit a Mad Monkey Classic just in time for a facelift. You see, apparently the old name “Ubhal Bakte” was too hard for most people to remember (including myself!) so they’ve changed the product’s name to the Anglicised ‘Baked Apple’.

Our Tasting Notes

Nose: As my 11yo son said on smelling it – ‘its like every apple crumble I’ve ever had on cub camp’ which is a pretty fair summation. Delicious spiced and stewed apple with a lovely clove accent.

Palate: More of the same but with a real ginger heat. Sweet, but not overly so.

Finish : A rolling clove and apple filled finish – quite full and rich too considering its ‘only’ 42%ABV.

Easy to drink strait but it’s designed to be mixed so why not! I love Baked Apple in a number of mixers. It matches very well with ginger beer (oh yeah it so very does!) and I can attest it gives a sparkling apple juice a rather pleasant kick-along. It’s also a great ‘power-up’ to a mulled wine in wintery times! The boys from Mad monkey reckon it’s the go-to for a good Zombie (see above) and I reckon we’ll have a heap of cocktail suggestions from the Tribe once they get into this one.

From Mad Monkey

Think sticky caramelised apple and hazelnut with an underlying hint of smoke and spice.

A mix of steeped and vapour infused botanicals, perfect to draw out the natural sweetness of the apple and cosy depths of spices.

Botanicals: Smoked Hazelnuts, Cinnamon, Pimento, Ginger, Cloves, Orange, French Oak and the “hero” Apples.

About Mad Monkey

Way back in 2018, long before global pandemics and capacity restrictions were a thing, two monkeys were stumbling along their own crooked paths, dwelling on their dreams of bringing a slice of the Caribbean to little old South Australia.

Through sheer serendipity, the two monkeys’ paths crossed deep in the Barossa Valley, at an annual Australian Distiller’s Conference. After bonding over their shared ideals, and comparing their varied skill sets (and with the aid of some of Australia’s finest spirits) two Caribbean fever dreams began to manifest themselves as one.

5 years later, we present to you Mad Monkey – South Australia’s first dedicated rum distillery, nestled deep in the heart of Dudley Park. Using a mix of open fermentations, specialty yeasts and a little black magic, we aim to introduce our world to yours.