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.
I’m a senior in high school here in Eugene, and I read about you in the Register Guard today. I’ve been thinking about becoming a bartender for a while, and the article, along with your blog, pretty much sealed the deal. I was wondering if you would tell me how you got into it, what I should expect (the good and the bad of the job), and anything else you think is important. I really appreciate any advice you could give me, thanks for your time.
K
Hey K
Get yourself some really comfortable shoes.
Just kidding. Sort of. I think that if you go back and check out some of my older posts you’ll get a pretty good idea of what I think are the positive and the negative aspects of being a career bartender, so check out the archives. But enough about me, let’s talk about you.
No matter what any high school guidance counselor tells you, most people rarely have any clue what they’ll be doing in ten, fifteen, or twenty years. Just look at me: I went to school to be an architect and now here I am answering bartending questions on the internet. So remember, keep your options open, because you never know where life will take you.
Now, I’m guessing (hoping, actually) that you’ve never set foot in a bar and won’t for several more years, so although I wonder why you want to become a bartender in the first place, I’m going to give you some advice.
1. Get a restaurant job. If you’re don’t already have plans for the summer after graduation, then type up a resume and hit the streets. Most large restaurants (your parents can tell you which ones) need bussers and hosts, so pound the pavement until you get hired bussing or hosting somewhere. You’ll get a good overview of the industry that you won’t be able to get any other way.
2. Go to college. This business we’re in can be real short on intelligent people, so take some classes and get an education. And if you really want to choose a major that will help prepare you to be a modern-age bartender, take this next piece of advice seriously:
3. Learn to cook. The next big phase for bartending is coming out of the kitchen. Bartenders all over the world are starting to explore the culinary side of cocktails, and the next step is going to be universal acceptance. As mixology becomes more widely-regarded as a craft and less associated with alcoholism and binge-drinking (just as winemaking and brewing have done over the past thirty years) bartenders with culinary backgrounds are going to be at the forefront of the industry.
So what I’m saying is that having a head start in the kitchen is going to help you set yourself aside as a leader in the field, rather than just another schlub throwing around rum-and-Cokes all night.
There are cooking schools everywhere these days, Lane Community College in Eugene even has a great culinary arts program. Look into it.
And if you have any doubts about my predictions for the future of bartending, check out any of the links on the right for further reading – my friends can shed a whole lot more light on all of this for you.
Good luck, K, and keep us up-to-date in the comments section below!
Comments
12 Responses to “Ask Your Bartender: Advice for a High School Senior”
Make sure you follow Jeff’s advice! I agreee with all the advice he gave you. From my standpoint, one of the greatest things about bartending, is the people you meet. Of course, this can also be a downside too. Not only have I made great friends across the bar, but behind the stick as well. Bartending has been great to me. I’ve travelled the world and made some really great friends. (Yes, Jeff, that means you)
My advice is if your going to do something, do it right, no matter what it is. Follow your passion. Sounds like you’re on the right track for sure. Learn all you can and remember, you NEVER stop learning.
Cheers to a successful career!
Sean
01 May 2007 at 1:09 PM 2. Sean
Jeffrey,
I’m glad you answered that question because I was just about to ask it myself.
Now to pose a different situation, I have a (short lived) food industry background, I’m a year away from graduating with my bachelors degree in marketing/management and I find myself more and more fascinated with the hospitality industry then anything else.
I’ve been working to obtain a bartending job for the past year (Since I’ve been 21, they rarely hire anyone under here) but I find that because I don’t have the practical bartending experience. Now, I have studied bartending guides, experimented with drinks and read your blog daily for some time now but I still do not get the position.
With all the bartending training sites on the internet, where is a credible bartending school at? or should I explore some proper culinary training?
Thanks, Sean #1! You make a great point when you say that you never stop learning. There’s so much information out there, and I find new articles, blogs and websites every day. The internet is all about the exchange of ideas and information, so always be sure to stop in here and share what you’ve learned with the rest of us!
Sean #2, I feel for you. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon bartending (I literally flipped a coin between two job offers on the same day) and I’ve never really had to pound the pavement since that day. But if you’re serious about getting in there, I might recommend this bit of advice I gave to someone in your predicament a while ago. There’s lots of great advice in the comments, as well.
I dunno about the cooking school advice. While it never hurts to have multiple options when looking for jobs, in my experience, most cooks would make bad bartenders.
Maybe the world has changed since I last worked in food service, but, the skill sets, while slightly complementary, are a bit different.
Mostly, as a cook, you almost never have to talk to customers or handle money. You also are given a much more defined role within the organization of the kitchen. You will be responsible for the grill or salads or expediting during service, not (hopefully) all three, while talking to customers at the same time.
Cooking is very much a team sport, unlike bartending. That is to say, the kitchen staff works as a whole, much like a sports team, to a single objective. This work dynamic is very different from the mostly singular dynamic of tending bar.
Erik, you’re right: the skill sets are a bit different, but I think that should change.
Sure, most cooks would make bad bartenders. Most bartenders would make bad cooks. But is it because the two jobs are that different, or is it really because a sort of chasm has grown between the bar and kitchen?
A lot of cooks I know would have a hard time speaking to a customer. Is that because the nature of cooking is antisocial, or is it because so many antisocial individuals have gravitated to kitchen work?
A lot of bartenders I know couldn’t prepare a meal to save their lives. Is this because bartending is really that different from cooking, or is it because the craft of working with ingredients to create something delicious has been bred out of bartenders through the proliferation of pre-made mixers, flavorless spirits and a binge-drinking mentality?
How could expediting or grill training be bad for a bartender? I know many bartenders that don’t know how to prioritize or multitask or expedite their own tickets.
When there are two or more of us behind my bar, we work together toward a single objective, much like a sports team. I encourage my staff to stay vocal and communicative (much like a good kitchen does), I encourage them not to isolate their station (much like a good kitchen does) and I train them to watch each other’s work and catch any flaws or inconsistencies before the product leaves the bar. Much like a good kitchen does.
In addition to learning these valuable skill sets in cooking school, K will also learn presentation, how to pair flavors, how to create a well-balanced dish, and how to utilize more ingredients than you and I ever thought possible.
I don’t know, but it sounds like a win-win situation to me. Any takers?
Hey Jeff,
You make so many good points… and I especially like that you point out cooking classes. I could not agree more that the Master Mixologists have an understanding of what goes into creating a culinary masterpiece. We will be seeing more of that in the future.
02 May 2007 at 2:30 PM 8. erik_flannestad
Jeffrey,
It is certainly never bad to be able to cook for yourself nor to have additional career options after you graduate.
I know I couldn’t cook before I started working in restaurants.
In addition, being able to cook was the only way I could get a job after my wife and I moved from WI to CA.
I was just trying to think if I knew anyone who had ever made the transition from cook to bartender or bartender to cook.
Not being able to think of any examples, I was trying to think of why that might be.
I will second (or third) the recommendation for cooking training. It’s good for so many different reasons. But I guess it depends on the type of bartender you are aspiring to be. I’ve always wanted to be as well rounded and know about as many different things as possible. Knowledge of how to combine ingredients for cooking has really helped me to think about bartending more as mixology as opposed to slamming drinks.
And as Robert Rodriquez has said: Not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck.
02 May 2007 at 4:34 PM 10. K
Wow, I feel so cool that you posted that!
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for all the help, and have fun this Saturday!
~K
Hey, I have to throw in and echo your praise of the LCC Culinary Arts program — I’m a student there myself. I also agree with your advice that sych experience is good for a bartender — just as experience waiting, bussing, doing dishes, etc. is good for a cook. The dining experience is about more than the food, and even this early in my training, I’m seeing how important it is that every aspect of the guest’s experience be handled with the same care and dedication, and how dependent on each other everyone in this industry is. If the food sucks, great service isn’t going to matter, and conversely, very few cooks are good enough that people will wade through shitty service to eat their food. One of the things that has grated on me, but I’ve come to appreciate, is that they put us through front-of-the-house training in the LCC program.
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01 May 2007 at 1:07 PM 1. Sean Bigley
K-
Make sure you follow Jeff’s advice! I agreee with all the advice he gave you. From my standpoint, one of the greatest things about bartending, is the people you meet. Of course, this can also be a downside too. Not only have I made great friends across the bar, but behind the stick as well. Bartending has been great to me. I’ve travelled the world and made some really great friends. (Yes, Jeff, that means you)
My advice is if your going to do something, do it right, no matter what it is. Follow your passion. Sounds like you’re on the right track for sure. Learn all you can and remember, you NEVER stop learning.
Cheers to a successful career!
Sean
01 May 2007 at 1:09 PM 2. Sean
Jeffrey,
I’m glad you answered that question because I was just about to ask it myself.
Now to pose a different situation, I have a (short lived) food industry background, I’m a year away from graduating with my bachelors degree in marketing/management and I find myself more and more fascinated with the hospitality industry then anything else.
I’ve been working to obtain a bartending job for the past year (Since I’ve been 21, they rarely hire anyone under here) but I find that because I don’t have the practical bartending experience. Now, I have studied bartending guides, experimented with drinks and read your blog daily for some time now but I still do not get the position.
With all the bartending training sites on the internet, where is a credible bartending school at? or should I explore some proper culinary training?
Thanks
01 May 2007 at 1:41 PM 3. Jeffrey
Thanks, Sean #1! You make a great point when you say that you never stop learning. There’s so much information out there, and I find new articles, blogs and websites every day. The internet is all about the exchange of ideas and information, so always be sure to stop in here and share what you’ve learned with the rest of us!
Sean #2, I feel for you. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon bartending (I literally flipped a coin between two job offers on the same day) and I’ve never really had to pound the pavement since that day. But if you’re serious about getting in there, I might recommend this bit of advice I gave to someone in your predicament a while ago. There’s lots of great advice in the comments, as well.
Good luck, and cheers to all!
01 May 2007 at 5:35 PM 4. Lonnie Bruner
Such a sweet letter!
02 May 2007 at 10:56 AM 5. erik_flannestad
I dunno about the cooking school advice. While it never hurts to have multiple options when looking for jobs, in my experience, most cooks would make bad bartenders.
Maybe the world has changed since I last worked in food service, but, the skill sets, while slightly complementary, are a bit different.
Mostly, as a cook, you almost never have to talk to customers or handle money. You also are given a much more defined role within the organization of the kitchen. You will be responsible for the grill or salads or expediting during service, not (hopefully) all three, while talking to customers at the same time.
Cooking is very much a team sport, unlike bartending. That is to say, the kitchen staff works as a whole, much like a sports team, to a single objective. This work dynamic is very different from the mostly singular dynamic of tending bar.
02 May 2007 at 12:36 PM 6. Jeffrey
Erik, you’re right: the skill sets are a bit different, but I think that should change.
Sure, most cooks would make bad bartenders. Most bartenders would make bad cooks. But is it because the two jobs are that different, or is it really because a sort of chasm has grown between the bar and kitchen?
A lot of cooks I know would have a hard time speaking to a customer. Is that because the nature of cooking is antisocial, or is it because so many antisocial individuals have gravitated to kitchen work?
A lot of bartenders I know couldn’t prepare a meal to save their lives. Is this because bartending is really that different from cooking, or is it because the craft of working with ingredients to create something delicious has been bred out of bartenders through the proliferation of pre-made mixers, flavorless spirits and a binge-drinking mentality?
How could expediting or grill training be bad for a bartender? I know many bartenders that don’t know how to prioritize or multitask or expedite their own tickets.
When there are two or more of us behind my bar, we work together toward a single objective, much like a sports team. I encourage my staff to stay vocal and communicative (much like a good kitchen does), I encourage them not to isolate their station (much like a good kitchen does) and I train them to watch each other’s work and catch any flaws or inconsistencies before the product leaves the bar. Much like a good kitchen does.
In addition to learning these valuable skill sets in cooking school, K will also learn presentation, how to pair flavors, how to create a well-balanced dish, and how to utilize more ingredients than you and I ever thought possible.
I don’t know, but it sounds like a win-win situation to me. Any takers?
02 May 2007 at 1:43 PM 7. Natalie
Hey Jeff,
You make so many good points… and I especially like that you point out cooking classes. I could not agree more that the Master Mixologists have an understanding of what goes into creating a culinary masterpiece. We will be seeing more of that in the future.
02 May 2007 at 2:30 PM 8. erik_flannestad
Jeffrey,
It is certainly never bad to be able to cook for yourself nor to have additional career options after you graduate.
I know I couldn’t cook before I started working in restaurants.
In addition, being able to cook was the only way I could get a job after my wife and I moved from WI to CA.
I was just trying to think if I knew anyone who had ever made the transition from cook to bartender or bartender to cook.
Not being able to think of any examples, I was trying to think of why that might be.
02 May 2007 at 3:17 PM 9. Joe Bartender
I will second (or third) the recommendation for cooking training. It’s good for so many different reasons. But I guess it depends on the type of bartender you are aspiring to be. I’ve always wanted to be as well rounded and know about as many different things as possible. Knowledge of how to combine ingredients for cooking has really helped me to think about bartending more as mixology as opposed to slamming drinks.
And as Robert Rodriquez has said: Not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck.
02 May 2007 at 4:34 PM 10. K
Wow, I feel so cool that you posted that!
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for all the help, and have fun this Saturday!
~K
04 May 2007 at 1:49 AM 11. C
Funny you should mention cooking and cocktails, I was just perusing the El Bulli menu (one can dream…) and came across these beauties:
http://www.elbulli.com/catalogo/catalogo/todo_anyo.php?lang=en&id_familia=1&id=1094
I think the latest ones are particularly interesting, wouldn’t mind tasting a couple…
08 May 2007 at 10:42 PM 12. Boy Named Sous
Hey, I have to throw in and echo your praise of the LCC Culinary Arts program — I’m a student there myself. I also agree with your advice that sych experience is good for a bartender — just as experience waiting, bussing, doing dishes, etc. is good for a cook. The dining experience is about more than the food, and even this early in my training, I’m seeing how important it is that every aspect of the guest’s experience be handled with the same care and dedication, and how dependent on each other everyone in this industry is. If the food sucks, great service isn’t going to matter, and conversely, very few cooks are good enough that people will wade through shitty service to eat their food. One of the things that has grated on me, but I’ve come to appreciate, is that they put us through front-of-the-house training in the LCC program.