Latest Drink Recipe
I’ve you’ve never made - or enjoyed - a mint julep before, be sure to check out this post, with lots of information from myself, and videos from the real experts.
In the bottom of a 10-12 oz glass (or a silver julep cup, if you’ve got one on hand) gently muddle together:
12 mint leaves
¼-½ oz simple syrup
Add to this mixture:
2 oz bourbon
Stir to combine ingredients, and fill glass with finely crushed ice. Garnish with the prettiest mint sprig you have, and serve.
Most Popular Articles
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.
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.
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 Bel Ami in Eugene, Oregon.
I'm 36, I've been tending bar for 12 years and writing about it for 5. 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.
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!
16 Feb 2007 at 10:08 am 8. Jeffrey
You know, you’re totally right: John’s comment is entirely about G’Vine gin. What up with that? And who would ever say something like this?
“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.”
Yes, his grammar is atrocious, but the fact that he names it by name twice makes me wonder: could the bad grammar be intentional? Could they be paying people to submit comments to the blogosphere in favor of their product?
So I did a little Google search for “g’vine gin comments” and guess what, Cocktailgirl? Everyone’s blog is getting pounded with comments about this product, and they’re all as insipid as the one “John” left.
Take a look at this one and read the comments.
Now look at the comment that “Oscar” left on this post - a post about a drink made with Krogstad Aquavit, no less!
But I knew I was onto something when I saw Rick’s comment on his own article.
I’m sure it’s good gin, but sleazy web marketing makes me sick to my stomach.
Thanks for noticing it, Cocktailgirl!
09 Mar 2007 at 11:40 pm 9. 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?
10 Mar 2007 at 2:05 pm 10. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I don’t think anyone is dissing real authors writing favorably about G’Vine gin, Natalie. My problem is with a marketing tactic that relies on comment spam.
I’m sure it’s more of a problem with their choice of marketing firms, but it’s a cheap method of getting hits that offends my sensibilities as a web developer.
I do still wish to taste the product and will give my opinion here if and when I do!