One advantage I have in my career – and believe me, I thank my lucky stars every day for my good fortune in this regard – is that I travel a lot. And when I do travel, I get to visit the greatest bars in the world and spend time picking the brains of the world’s greatest bartenders.
The most recent drink to grace our cocktail list is the result of my travels.
Taking inspiration from many sources, my initial interest in bitter, sour and sweet with a distinctly tropical bent was taken directly from the ever-brilliant Giuseppe Gonzalez and his now-famous Trinidad Sour.
While I, and the rest of the world, was taken by the combination of bitter, herbal, sweet flavors, it never really struck me as a an extensible sort of drink style until I came across Andrew Bohrer’s amaro-based Mai Tai variation called the “Elena’s Virtue”. Now here was a drink with legs, and a hint of what was to come in the world of cocktails, in my humble opinion.
But what New York and Seattle do well, San Francisco often does better, and usually with a lot more Fernet Branca, and that’s the conversation I had with Josh Harris while competing in the Domaine de Canton finals in St. Maarten this spring. And after tasting his simple concoction of ginger liqueur, pineapple and Fernet Branca I knew it was time for me to get my feet wet and try my hand at the herbal tropical sour.
The result has been a smash hit at the bar, as it very much follows in the style of our restaurant bar, a reflection of the crafted European style of cooking that emerges from the kitchen on a nightly basis. In other words, earthy, sour, herbal flavors do very, very well where we work.
Put all of this together, throw in a desire to explore the dusty, neglected bottle of Drambuie, and an early morning racking one’s brain to come up with a drink name (the original intent was Brixton Club) and a star was born:
Kingston Club
1½ oz Drambuie
1½ oz pineapple juice
¾ oz lime juice
1 tsp Fernet Branca
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake ingredients with ice and finish with 1 oz soda water. Strain mix over fresh ice into a chilled collins glass and garnish with an orange twist.
A side project, an experiment or just a simple curiosity that turned into a delicious phenomenon that we're still serving to much delight at our bar, barrel aged cocktails explore the gentle manipulation of a drink's flavors over time. This post details the inspiration, the history and the methods behind my barrel aged cocktails.
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.
Turned off by the glop you find in the grocery store, and unable to endure another long egg and cream whipping session, I set out to build an egg nog recipe from the ground up that retained the character of the orginal formula, was easy to make in a few minutes at home or at the bar, and tasted absolutely delicious. See if you agree with the result.
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 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.
So, Oregon is the best, as everyone knows, but here’s another reason why: Oregon whiskey.
The November issue of Food and Wine Magazine has a great story by Nick Fauchald on page 170 about the rise of Oregon whiskeys, and credits our plentiful raw ingredients (grain, water, wood) and do-it-yourself spirit for a new revolution in American whiskey production. Of particular interest to me was this:
With “Whiskey Your Way,” amateur distillers make their own barrel of bespoke whiskey at House Spirits under [Lee] Medoff and [Christian] Krogstad’s tutelage. At the cost of around $5,000 (about $50 a bottle), Whiskey Your Way participants can customize their whiskey in whatever style they fancy: bourbon, rye, Irish, Scotch, or, if Medoff has his way, Oregonian.
So. Anyone wanna go in on a barrel with me?
Comments
14 Responses to “Another Reason Why Oregon Rocks: Oregon Whiskey”
How about you buy a barrel and we’ll make our own? I was hoping to do an unaged rye by Xmas this year. Are there any good coopers in the greater Eugene metro area? $100 for a barrel vs $5k for something you should be doing yourself seems a bit out there.
Sweet idea! Could a Californian get in on the action? I spent the first 23 years of my life there, that’s gotta count for something. I might even be able to get some friends to get on board as well.
I was … mostly … kidding about getting a group together and going in on a barrel, but I do appreciate the enthusiasm, kids! Sadly, the logistics of collecting $5000 and splitting a barrel sounds like a nightmare to me.
However! I do like your idea of finding a barrel and making our own, Lance. I actually have a storage unit that would be perfect for the aging, it’s right next to the Willamette River.
I think those barrels look a little fancy for our needs, and the spigot seems unnecessary. I’ve heard rumors that barrels can be found at homebrew shops, I’m going to look into it this weekend as we have plenty of homebrew options here in Eugene.
All this excitement and I am still having a devil of a time turning up a bottle of Clear Creek Oregon scotch down here. I know someone in SoCal has one for sale!
Marleigh, the McCarthy’s Single Malt is difficult to find in Oregon even, because they do short runs and sell out very quickly. I ended up, no kidding, buying a bottle mailorder from binnys.com in Chicago.
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24 Oct 2007 at 1:07 PM 1. Jeremy Brooks
That’s a great idea. I’m interested in going in on this with you. Sent the link to a few friends as well.
24 Oct 2007 at 2:54 PM 2. Craig Hermann
Why this Christmas!? Don’t they know I’m saving for a house?
Or, Can I get this somehow related to closing costs or a refurbishment loan? Decoration for basement bar refurbishment?
24 Oct 2007 at 2:56 PM 3. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Okay, that’s three of us. Now we just need 997 more friends and we’re there!
Jeff
24 Oct 2007 at 3:08 PM 4. Lance J. Mayhew
Um Jeff,
How about you buy a barrel and we’ll make our own? I was hoping to do an unaged rye by Xmas this year. Are there any good coopers in the greater Eugene metro area? $100 for a barrel vs $5k for something you should be doing yourself seems a bit out there.
24 Oct 2007 at 3:40 PM 5. Boozemonkey
Sweet idea! Could a Californian get in on the action? I spent the first 23 years of my life there, that’s gotta count for something. I might even be able to get some friends to get on board as well.
24 Oct 2007 at 5:55 PM 6. Jason!
I’m in. Count me in for four actually. My desires tend more towards the rye end, but I’m all for supporting my old home state in this endeavor.
24 Oct 2007 at 6:19 PM 7. Steve B
(Friend of Jason! in comment #6)
I’d be down for four bottles worth as well.
24 Oct 2007 at 10:04 PM 8. Heath Hutto
Why don’t you want the whole barrel for yourself, Jeff?
25 Oct 2007 at 7:16 AM 9. Marshall
Jeff, you can put me down for two bottles! I would tend to go for bourbon or rye myself, but will happily go along with the consensus.
Cheers!
25 Oct 2007 at 9:31 AM 10. Craig Hermann
Hey Lance, would something like
http://www.artisanbarrels.info
be something you’re looking for?
25 Oct 2007 at 11:59 AM 11. erik_flannestad
Another Californian here who would also be in on this, if the logistics worked.
25 Oct 2007 at 2:30 PM 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I was … mostly … kidding about getting a group together and going in on a barrel, but I do appreciate the enthusiasm, kids! Sadly, the logistics of collecting $5000 and splitting a barrel sounds like a nightmare to me.
However! I do like your idea of finding a barrel and making our own, Lance. I actually have a storage unit that would be perfect for the aging, it’s right next to the Willamette River.
I think those barrels look a little fancy for our needs, and the spigot seems unnecessary. I’ve heard rumors that barrels can be found at homebrew shops, I’m going to look into it this weekend as we have plenty of homebrew options here in Eugene.
Stay tuned!
25 Oct 2007 at 4:40 PM 13. Marleigh
All this excitement and I am still having a devil of a time turning up a bottle of Clear Creek Oregon scotch down here. I know someone in SoCal has one for sale!
27 Oct 2007 at 3:14 PM 14. Jeff Frane
Marleigh, the McCarthy’s Single Malt is difficult to find in Oregon even, because they do short runs and sell out very quickly. I ended up, no kidding, buying a bottle mailorder from binnys.com in Chicago.