First there was the iSpoon, now comes a reimagining of the classic Konga Shaker.
A couple of months ago we were invited by Monkey Shoulder to attend a top secret filming day at Hops & Glory where we were first introduced to the Konga Shaker. We found ourselves, not for the first time, wondering what the inside of Monkey Shoulder Global Ambassador Dean Callan’s mind must look like.
A couple of years ago Dean’s imagination conceived the iSpoon which instantly became the bartenders must-have toy. This time he turned his attention to his impressive vintage shaker collection and was taken by a long forgotten design from the 1930’s, the Konga Shaker.
It was the iSpoon of its time but has since been resigned to annals of history….. until now.
Dean actually came up with this idea before the iSpoon, but development and production has taken a whole lot longer. As soon as you get one in your hands you will understand why.
The body of the shaker has two rotating handles allowing the shaker to roll rather than shake the liquid inside. The amount of liquid it can hold is not insignificant either, with 4 drinks easily held inside.
Although it is designed to the original specs it has been updated slightly to suit modern bartending, most notably with a new sieve element allowing for easier assembly and pouring.
It was launched to a room full of expectant industry folk last night at Happiness Forgets, along with a typically Monkey Shoulder video. UK Brand Ambassador Grant Neave came out from hiding for the event and made everyones day when he announced we were all going to receive a Konga Shaker.
It was made even more special when we discovered that only 250 have been produced.
We immediately took our shaker down the road to Callooh Callay and NOLA and it took no time at all to see how popular these are going to be by the beaming smiles on the boys faces as they played around.
If you can get your hands on one, either to own or play with, do it. We defy you to make a drink with it without smiling. Dean has once again reminded us that bartending is supposed to be fun.
We will leave the last word to the man with the plan, we give you Dean Callan:
“Whilst William Grant and Sons has been making whisky for generations, Monkey Shoulder aims to take away some of the preconceptions about whisky, making it accessible and enjoyable to all. Cocktail bars should always be fun, but even they are starting to take themselves a little seriously these days. The Konga Shaker is set to change that. It represents all that’s good about cocktail making – theatre, sociability and great tasting drinks – so it made perfect sense for us to bring it back. We created multiple prototypes to perfect the final product and can’t wait to see them back behind the bar once more.”