Harry MacElhone named the Monkey Gland cocktail after Serge Voronoff’s controversial monkey-gland surgery experiment.
MacElhone published the drink in his 1927 book Barflies and Cocktails. The classic recipe combines gin, orange juice, grenadine, and absinthe or another anise-flavored spirit. Its name refers to Voronoff’s claimed rejuvenation treatments, which involved grafting monkey tissue onto human testicles; the medical theory was later discredited.
The cocktail is frequently associated with Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, where MacElhone worked and later became proprietor. Some accounts also connect its development with Frank Meier, so the exact creation story is not completely uniform across cocktail histories.
Despite its unusual name, the drink is a fruit-forward gin cocktail. Grenadine provides sweetness and color, while absinthe adds a small but distinctive herbal note. Modern versions may use different proportions from MacElhone’s printed recipe.