Inspired by a visit to see Tony Conigliaro at the unnamed bar at 69 Colebrooke Row in London last fall, where Manhattans are aged in glass vessels to sublime and subtle effect, the barrel aged cocktails I’ve been serving at Clyde Common this year are a decidedly American curiosity.
The rub of aging cocktails in a glass bottle is that the whole premise is built upon subtlety, as we know that spirits aged in glass or steel do so at an unremarkable pace. Being from the United States, where – as everyone is aware – bigger equals better, I pondered the following question: what if you could prepare a large batch of a single, spirit-driven cocktail and age it in a used oak barrel?
A hundred some-odd dollars in liquor later, I was nervously pouring a gallon of pre-batched rye Manhattans into a small, used oak cask whose previous contents were a gallon Madeira wine. I plugged the barrel and sat back in anxious anticipation; if the experiment was a success I’d have a delicious cocktail to share at the bar – if it was a failure then I’d be pouring the restaurant’s money down the floor drain.
Over the next several weeks I popped open the barrel to test my little concoction until I stumbled upon the magic mark at five-to-six weeks. And there it was, lying beautifully on the the finish: a soft blend of oak, wine, caramel and char. That first batch sold out in a matter of days and I was left with a compelling need to push the process even further.
Now, three gallons of Negroni might not be practical for the home enthusiast, but the average bar or restaurant should be able to afford that sort of quantity quite easily. For those of you trying this at home, try searching the internet for one-gallon charred oak casks (stay away from the fancy lacquered kind meant for display in dens and 1980s wine bars) and be sure to let us know what you find in the comments section below.
We procured a small number of used whiskey casks from the Tuthilltown distillery and proceeded to fill them with a large batch of Negronis; and that’s when the magic of barrel aged cocktails grabbed our attention. After six weeks in the bourbon barrel, our Negroni emerged a rare beauty. The sweet vermouth so slightly oxidized, the color paler and rosier than the original, the mid-palate softly mingled with whiskey, the finish long and lingering with oak tannins. We knew we were on to something unique and immediately made plans to take the cask aging program to the next level.
Negronis are now prepared in five-gallon batches and poured into multiple bourbon barrels. Robert Hess’ ubiquitous Trident cocktail is currently resting inside single-malt barrels. The El Presidente (à laMatt Robold), Deshlers, Remember the Maines, they’re all receiving the oaked treatment in a little storage room in the basement of the restaurant that I refer to as my “office”.
Once the cocktail is aged long enough for my taste, I then drain the bottle, straining out any charred bits of wood, and bottle the contents for use by my bartenders. To order, the cocktail is then measured out and poured over ice in a mixing glass, stirred, strained into a cocktail glass, and then garnished with the appropriate garnish. It’s quick and simple, as all of the real work has already been done by the barrel.
Anyway, on to the recipes. As simple as it seems to do, I figured not everyone is going to want to do the math to get started on some of these recipes, so here are a few I’ve figured out:
Negroni
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) dry gin
128 oz sweet vermouth
128 oz Campari
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel. Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Manhattan
Makes Three Gallons
256 oz (approximately ten 750ml bottles) rye whiskey
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) sweet vermouth
7 oz Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a barrel that has previously stored sherry, Madeira, or port wine). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Trident
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) aquavit
128 oz dry sherry
128 oz Cynar
7 oz peach bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a used single malt barrel). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.
My problem with homemade tonic water has always been a flavor profile that was too esoteric for the general audience. This recipe takes some of the positive qualities people have come to understand from commercial tonic water and updated them with fresh ingredients.
One question I'm often asked is "Do you have any drink-related book recommendations?" Well, funny you should ask, I've compiled a list of the ten books every professional bartender or home mixologist should own. I keep every one of these close at hand and have read most of them several times. I suggest you do the same.
The problem with living in Oregon is the absence of little wooden shacks by the sea that sell cases of fresh ginger beer stacked on back porches. But with some readily-available ingredients, a recipe I've been revising for several years - and a few free minutes - I can easily transport myself to a little fishing boat on the ocean as I sip a Dark and Stormy made with fresh, house-made ginger beer.
It's always mojito season somewhere, so this advice is timely in your area about half the year. Wether you're making them or simply enjoying them, this advice will help you look like a pro in no time at all.
The flavors of the Richmond Gimlet are imbued with sunshine. Fresh mint mingling with the herbaceousness of gin and the tartness of lime have made this drink a Eugene classic for many years now.
You'll get a lot of snarky advice on this site about how to make a proper drink, but if you ever need to know what not to do, this is the video for you.
Not to be confused with the Spanish wine-and-fruit-based alcoholic beverage sangria, sangrita (meaning "little blood") is a traditional accompaniment to a tequila served completo; a non-alcoholic sipper that cleanses the palate between fiery doses of agave.
The world of booze can be mystifying to people that don't work in bars or around alcohol all the time. I hear a lot of assumptions about the industry I'm in that are - much like 90% of what you hear in bars - completely false. Here are a few you've probably heard yourself.
The debate rages on: Should we try to look cool and crack open the Boston shaker or be tidy professionals and use the Hawthorne strainer the way God intended? Be sure to leave your two cents in the comments section.
The traditional garnish for a Pisco Sour is a couple of drops of bitters in the foam, but I've never been particularly impressed with the way these few paltry drops of bitters sat in their little egg-white mattress and didn't play along with the rest of the drink. I envisioned a Pisco Sour with a uniformly-distributed bitters-scorched foam: slightly crisp as the fire burnt the sugars, and slightly warm as the foam insulated the rest of the frosty cocktail from the heat. A pisco creme brulée in a glass!
I get so many visitors looking for tips on how to write a bartending resume that I thought I should finally post a tutorial on how to write your own. Click the headline to read more.
I always love showing up to a party with a gallon jug of pre-mixed margaritas, so I've decided to share my recipe. This margarita recipe is the perfect blend of strong, sweet, and sour. But be warned: this recipe packs a serious punch.
There isn't much I can say about this video that hasn't been said already. If you've read anything I've written about cocktails, you'll understand why this video symbolizes everything wrong with the state of bartending in America today. Watch and learn, but be warned: this one isn't for the feint of heart.
About Me
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the head bartender at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.
I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. Mixing drinks has become something of a passion for me in recent years, and I strive to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
While minding my own business yesterday, checking out free Dilbert cartoons and looking for sexy Pilates vlogs, I was rudely interrupted by Cate O’Malley of the Well Fed Network with the following announcement:
Just a heads up that your site is officially in the running for the 2007 Food Blog Awards – head on over to www.wellfed.net for the news.
I clicked my mouse or whatever on the blue words to download my trophy when I discovered that I was not alone: apparently there are others out there who write about beverages and such! Teeth gnarled, fists clenched and toes curled, I decided to check out the competition.
First off, there’s the teenage boy who lives in his parents’ basement and blogs to the internet under the alias “Paul Clarke“. Paul is a regular contributor to Imbibe (kind of a magazine about robots and stuff), and during his summer vacations Paul travels to huge geek conventions in New Orleans.
It takes the entire Long Island High School debate team (Go, Chargers!) to make the wine-dork website over at Lenndevours, yet not a single member is old enough to drink alcohol. The comments on the site often break out into flame wars over who would win in a fight: Captain America or Cyclops from X-Men.
Speaking of comic books, high-schooler Tyler Colman posts his wine stuff under the internet handle “Dr. Vino”, a thinly-veiled reference to “Dr. Octopus” from the Spiderman comics. Tyler was nominated for a James Beard award earlier this year. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with James Beard, he played “Scotty” on the television show Star Trek.)
San Francisco is home to two things: computer nerds, and people who smell like garlic. Cameron and Anita from Married… With Dinner are covering both bases with a website about food. When two dorks find each other, it’s a beautiful thing – but when they can get a computer involved, it’s poetry in motion, people. And you know there were lightsabers at that wedding.
So that’s the crowd I’m up against. Should be a no-brainer, but just in case, head on over to the polls and help me crush the competition.
Comments
17 Responses to “All Other Drink Bloggers Must Be Destroyed!”
11 Dec 2007 at 11:02 am 1. PFinn
I just started reading your blog over the weekend, im not even really sure how i found it, never-the-less i love it… just voted, good luck.
Any idea on the rules for voting (once per computer ever, once per computer per day, etc)?
I feel compelled to confess that although there were no lightsabers at our nuptials, our officiant unexpectedly quoted “The Princess Bride”… and -everyone- laughed. :D
But mostly, our dorkiness is pretty well confined to food obsession. I think… [checks pants for too-short cuffs]
Cangrats! Have had your blog on my must read list for some time now.
It’s certainly a tough group to chose from. Given, however, your current resident status in my former home town it’s clear that you are the greatest blogger since Plato. Besides, everybody knows the essential question of our time is who would win in a fight between Superman and Might Mouse.
Thanks, everyone. I figured that with my snowball’s-chance-in-hell of beating out that echelon of competition, I might as well post something completely ridiculous.
But Anita, I’m going to keep the vision of lightsabers at your wedding close to my heart for all time.
Since your blog is the only blog of the blogs mentioned that I read and enjoy, I might as well give you my vote.
On behalf of Refined Vices I give you my support. Godspeed.
- Silvio
14 Dec 2007 at 11:58 am 11. Rob Combs
Howdy-Ho, Jeff. Your Blog has to be one of the best ones on the internet. Love it. I voted for ya…twice. Kick those minors derriers’.
I’m voting for you! And if you read anything over there on that Paul Clarke’s website that says any different, I’m just lying to him to make him feel better.
I absolutely hate it when someone sends me a box full of sex toys in the mail. Sure, it might sound like fun to some of you (you know who you are), but receiving a big box of free sex is much more trouble than it’s worth. Believe me. So I get a [...]
11 Dec 2007 at 11:02 am 1. PFinn
I just started reading your blog over the weekend, im not even really sure how i found it, never-the-less i love it… just voted, good luck.
Any idea on the rules for voting (once per computer ever, once per computer per day, etc)?
11 Dec 2007 at 11:28 am 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, PFinn, it’s nice to know that at least one person reads this crap!
I don’t know the rules for voting, but I’d rather play fair than suggest anything ungentlemanly.
11 Dec 2007 at 12:21 pm 3. Anita
I feel compelled to confess that although there were no lightsabers at our nuptials, our officiant unexpectedly quoted “The Princess Bride”… and -everyone- laughed. :D
But mostly, our dorkiness is pretty well confined to food obsession. I think… [checks pants for too-short cuffs]
11 Dec 2007 at 12:33 pm 4. Cate O'Malley
Thanks for my laugh of the day – too funny! One vote per computer. :)
11 Dec 2007 at 1:08 pm 5. Marleigh
One of the reasons I love coming here is the humble grace with which you imbue each post.
Nevertheless, I will tell you congratulations, and good luck against that Paul kid. He seems like he might be kind of sneaky.
11 Dec 2007 at 1:42 pm 6. Alex
Cangrats! Have had your blog on my must read list for some time now.
It’s certainly a tough group to chose from. Given, however, your current resident status in my former home town it’s clear that you are the greatest blogger since Plato. Besides, everybody knows the essential question of our time is who would win in a fight between Superman and Might Mouse.
11 Dec 2007 at 3:09 pm 7. erik_flannestad
Hey buddy, don’t go picking on my friends like that! And I resent the implication that I am a garlic eating computer nerd.
Oh, wait, I am a garlic eating computer nerd. “One vote per computer,” though, hmmm. I am beginning to see an advantage in being a computer nerd…
12 Dec 2007 at 12:42 am 8. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, everyone. I figured that with my snowball’s-chance-in-hell of beating out that echelon of competition, I might as well post something completely ridiculous.
But Anita, I’m going to keep the vision of lightsabers at your wedding close to my heart for all time.
12 Dec 2007 at 4:46 am 9. Chip and Andy
You made me laugh so hard I lost my morning coffee through my nose
…… you bastard.
12 Dec 2007 at 10:59 am 10. Count Silvio
Since your blog is the only blog of the blogs mentioned that I read and enjoy, I might as well give you my vote.
On behalf of Refined Vices I give you my support. Godspeed.
- Silvio
14 Dec 2007 at 11:58 am 11. Rob Combs
Howdy-Ho, Jeff. Your Blog has to be one of the best ones on the internet. Love it. I voted for ya…twice. Kick those minors derriers’.
Have Fun!
14 Dec 2007 at 4:35 pm 12. jimmy
I’m voting for you! And if you read anything over there on that Paul Clarke’s website that says any different, I’m just lying to him to make him feel better.
15 Dec 2007 at 8:33 am 13. Ouroboros
Congratulations! this finalists list includes four of my ten “go-to” cocktail blogs. I’m completely torn!
16 Dec 2007 at 11:46 pm 14. Adam
Gah, I missed the voting and nothing has been announced. I cannot count the number of recipes of yours I have used with great results – keep it up!
17 Dec 2007 at 10:12 pm 15. Natalie - The Liquid Muse
Check you out – up for awards and trotting around the country drinking cocktails.
Welcome to the Big Leagues sucka.
;-)
(and, let me send you a million congrats and good luck, my friend!)
Though all the contenders are worthy ones, my money is on you.
xoxo
The Liquid Muse
04 Jan 2008 at 6:14 pm 16. Sarah
And the winner is… ???
04 Jan 2008 at 6:27 pm 17. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Oops! The fine folks at Married… With Dinner took it away, and deservedly so:
http://marriedwithdinner.com/2007/12/18/speechless/