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 was hoping you could settle a debate that has begun in my office. The men say that most women drink for free (men buy their drinks) and expect to drink free. The women (myself included) believe this is an old wives tale as we have not the experience of walking into a bar and having random men pick up our tabs. Not that it has never happened but it is an exception not the rule. In your experience as a bartender are we women just going to the wrong places or is this free drink experience really the exception? I know it is silly question but it really is an intense debate!
Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Amy
Hey Amy
When I was in college, I knew a group of girls that would make a game out of leaving the house at night with no money. They would see how drunk they could get for free, schmoozing horny old men into buying them as many drinks as they could drink before moving on to the next bar. Although they had a lot of fun, I could never shake the feeling that this was a really dangerous game they were playing: although they have no right, some men think they’re owed a thing or two after buying a vodka and tonic for a lady.
I’ve tended bar in all sorts of places, from college partyhouses and over-the-tracks dive bars to upscale restaurants and lounges. I can honestly tell you that you’re not missing out on anything. Sure, there’s the occasional woman who doesn’t pay for a thing (I fail to see how this is vastly different from prostitution), but it’s not the rule, it’s an exception.
Comments
8 Responses to “Ask Your Bartender: Free Drinks!”
08 Feb 2007 at 11:20 AM 1. Jewish mom
Today it’s an exception. When my generation was in their 20’s, men would send unsolicited drinks to trigger that ‘nice girl’ response we were all brainwashed with as children.
“Oh, we can’t turn down the drink. It would be rude!”
“Oh, we have to let him sit down. He bought us a drink and refusing to talk to him would be rude!”
It was a socially acceptable way for a man to force his company upon women. And it was socially UNacceptable for a woman to refuse. Luckily, times have changed.
08 Feb 2007 at 1:48 PM 2. John
This article is right in some and wrong in others aspect. I would have to agree that most women do drink for free when they go to a bar. Most men are willing to pay for them because for some odd reason. I went to Barolo in Manhattan and every woman wanted this drink called G’vine. There were women that were trying to get a free drink, but there were also plenty of women that were actually willing to pay for this G’vine (gin). I had it and I couldn’t stop drinking it. This is one of the only drinks that I have actually seen women running up to the bartender willing to pay for there own drinks.
09 Feb 2007 at 11:23 AM 3. Del Fuego
In my experience, I always avoided the girls who expected drinks bought for them.
One time, I was travelling on business in North Carolina, and stopped into a local pub for a drink. I watched one young lady accept drinks from 3 gentlemen, and she was approaching the end of her 3rd when I stepped to the bar to order my next drink. She turned to me, and asked if was going to buy her a drink, and I calmly looked her in the eye and said “No, you’re buying me this one” and grabbed my beer and walked away.
There’s another side to that, JM (hey, we’ve got the same initials!). I was taught to tend bar at a VERY old-school neighborhood tavern that was run by a little old lady, Mrs. Lucille Johnson.
Lucille had some very strict rules for the men that visited the bar:
1. If you didn’t arrive with the woman, you weren’t to talk to the woman.
2. If you wanted to buy a lady a drink, you had to have her permission to do so.
As a result, it was always a comfortable place for women to patronize.
These days, Sasha Petraske’s bar Milk and Honey in New York enforces similar rules. Kudos to Sasha for bringing some class back to the bar world.
09 Feb 2007 at 3:16 PM 5. Amy
Thanks for the response Jeffrey. It is a relief to hear that in your opinion it is indeed an exception. I have always tried to be conscientious when drinking at the bar. If someone buys me a round I return the favor. If I were to run up an expensive bar tab I would feel guilty if I allowed a stranger to pick up the tab and a bit obligated. If a women goes to the bar to get free drinks she is most certainly going to have to flirt and put herself on display. The men are essentially paying for the time and attention of a good looking woman and that essentially is to me no different than what goes on a strip club when the strippers start making their rounds and the men buy them drinks. And besides it gives women a bad name.
It is also nice to hear that there are bars where a woman can enjoy a drink in peace because while I don’t drink for free I still have to deal with more than my fair share of lame pick up lines and drunk men that just won’t go away!
14 Feb 2007 at 7:42 PM 6. Leonesse
I was just discussing this the other day with my husband and some friends. They found it utterly amazing that I have never been bought a drink. Of course, I went out to clubs for a total of one year and I am fairly oblivious to flirting, but still… Made me feel abit less than! He then informed me that it would have taken me flirting to get the attention to get the drink, so there went that one. I am horrible at flirting with anyone I don’t know. Just not into it. He said I was probably too intimidating. Not sure what to think of that. :-)
16 Feb 2007 at 5:42 AM 7. Cocktailgirl
I was going to suggest that John is part of the G’vine publicity machine, but then I realised that no one with such terrible grammar would be trusted to write a press release!
Anyhoo, a guy once sent a drink over to where I was sitting in a bar and i have to admit it kind of gave me the creeps. Why not approach and chat? It made me immediately suspect he had a full on james bond complex, while simultaneously making me feel obliged to smile lamely as if I were suddenly in some cheesy 70s disco movie. Took the drink though. Writing this I feel as if this could be perceived as rather curmudgeonly of me – but for god’s sake we’re talking the price of a drink here, he didn’t arrange to pay off my mortgage after noticing the turn of my ankle. If men think they always get landed with the bill: 1. i am amazed as this has never happened to me before or since 2. who’s holding the gun to your head? you’re an autonomous individual, free to pay or not pay like all the rest of us!
Hi all,
I just posted favorably about G’Vine on my blog. I am not part of a sleazy online marketing campaign. I’m a freelance journalist who is not bought off with a bottle of booze.
I have no idea what John’s story is – but I do like the product. Not sure if I’d run up to a bar for it, but I do enjoy sipping it at home…
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 [...]
08 Feb 2007 at 11:20 AM 1. Jewish mom
Today it’s an exception. When my generation was in their 20’s, men would send unsolicited drinks to trigger that ‘nice girl’ response we were all brainwashed with as children.
“Oh, we can’t turn down the drink. It would be rude!”
“Oh, we have to let him sit down. He bought us a drink and refusing to talk to him would be rude!”
It was a socially acceptable way for a man to force his company upon women. And it was socially UNacceptable for a woman to refuse. Luckily, times have changed.
08 Feb 2007 at 1:48 PM 2. John
This article is right in some and wrong in others aspect. I would have to agree that most women do drink for free when they go to a bar. Most men are willing to pay for them because for some odd reason. I went to Barolo in Manhattan and every woman wanted this drink called G’vine. There were women that were trying to get a free drink, but there were also plenty of women that were actually willing to pay for this G’vine (gin). I had it and I couldn’t stop drinking it. This is one of the only drinks that I have actually seen women running up to the bartender willing to pay for there own drinks.
09 Feb 2007 at 11:23 AM 3. Del Fuego
In my experience, I always avoided the girls who expected drinks bought for them.
One time, I was travelling on business in North Carolina, and stopped into a local pub for a drink. I watched one young lady accept drinks from 3 gentlemen, and she was approaching the end of her 3rd when I stepped to the bar to order my next drink. She turned to me, and asked if was going to buy her a drink, and I calmly looked her in the eye and said “No, you’re buying me this one” and grabbed my beer and walked away.
09 Feb 2007 at 1:03 PM 4. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
There’s another side to that, JM (hey, we’ve got the same initials!). I was taught to tend bar at a VERY old-school neighborhood tavern that was run by a little old lady, Mrs. Lucille Johnson.
Lucille had some very strict rules for the men that visited the bar:
1. If you didn’t arrive with the woman, you weren’t to talk to the woman.
2. If you wanted to buy a lady a drink, you had to have her permission to do so.
As a result, it was always a comfortable place for women to patronize.
These days, Sasha Petraske’s bar Milk and Honey in New York enforces similar rules. Kudos to Sasha for bringing some class back to the bar world.
09 Feb 2007 at 3:16 PM 5. Amy
Thanks for the response Jeffrey. It is a relief to hear that in your opinion it is indeed an exception. I have always tried to be conscientious when drinking at the bar. If someone buys me a round I return the favor. If I were to run up an expensive bar tab I would feel guilty if I allowed a stranger to pick up the tab and a bit obligated. If a women goes to the bar to get free drinks she is most certainly going to have to flirt and put herself on display. The men are essentially paying for the time and attention of a good looking woman and that essentially is to me no different than what goes on a strip club when the strippers start making their rounds and the men buy them drinks. And besides it gives women a bad name.
It is also nice to hear that there are bars where a woman can enjoy a drink in peace because while I don’t drink for free I still have to deal with more than my fair share of lame pick up lines and drunk men that just won’t go away!
14 Feb 2007 at 7:42 PM 6. Leonesse
I was just discussing this the other day with my husband and some friends. They found it utterly amazing that I have never been bought a drink. Of course, I went out to clubs for a total of one year and I am fairly oblivious to flirting, but still… Made me feel abit less than! He then informed me that it would have taken me flirting to get the attention to get the drink, so there went that one. I am horrible at flirting with anyone I don’t know. Just not into it. He said I was probably too intimidating. Not sure what to think of that. :-)
16 Feb 2007 at 5:42 AM 7. Cocktailgirl
I was going to suggest that John is part of the G’vine publicity machine, but then I realised that no one with such terrible grammar would be trusted to write a press release!
Anyhoo, a guy once sent a drink over to where I was sitting in a bar and i have to admit it kind of gave me the creeps. Why not approach and chat? It made me immediately suspect he had a full on james bond complex, while simultaneously making me feel obliged to smile lamely as if I were suddenly in some cheesy 70s disco movie. Took the drink though. Writing this I feel as if this could be perceived as rather curmudgeonly of me – but for god’s sake we’re talking the price of a drink here, he didn’t arrange to pay off my mortgage after noticing the turn of my ankle. If men think they always get landed with the bill: 1. i am amazed as this has never happened to me before or since 2. who’s holding the gun to your head? you’re an autonomous individual, free to pay or not pay like all the rest of us!
09 Mar 2007 at 11:40 PM 8. Natalie Bovis-Nelsen (aka: The Liquid Muse)
Hi all,
I just posted favorably about G’Vine on my blog. I am not part of a sleazy online marketing campaign. I’m a freelance journalist who is not bought off with a bottle of booze.
I have no idea what John’s story is – but I do like the product. Not sure if I’d run up to a bar for it, but I do enjoy sipping it at home…
Maybe he is just an over-enthusiastic fan?