Today is Chinese New Year, and we are now into the Year of the Monkey, so to celebrate the cocktail for this month is the Monkey Business.

I discovered the Monkey Business because in a fit of curiosity I bought a bottle of apple balsamic vinegar.

And then I wondered what to do with it. And the answer came with a cup of coffee and a few minutes browsing through the FT Magazine.

An article on the best five ‘cocktail-dessert’ bars in London revealed that Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social served ‘playful’ cocktails, one of which was a whisky and apple balsamic vinegar mix.

I’m always keen on recipes for food or cocktails which use a minimum number of ingredients and this one seemed to incorporate all you need in a good cocktail – strength from the whisky, and both sweet and bitter from the apple balsamic vinegar.

I tried it in proportions of four parts (60ml/¼ cup) whisky to one part (a tablespoon) apple balsamic, and I found the result intriguing, interesting… really rather nice. Don’t waste your best whisky on this drink though.

Below is a trailer for the classic 1952 film Monkey Business with Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe