If there’s one thing I hate about living in the Pacific Northwest, it’s the stretch of time from late October until late June, when the sun makes only the most occasional of appearances. I typically pack on an extra 10-15 pounds during those rainy months, party due to over-consumption of wintertime drinks like dark beer, egg nog, hot-buttered-anything and wassail. I wanted a drink for the winter that I could add to my cocktail menu that was more like the light, café-style cocktails I typically gravitate to during the summer.
Jerry Thomas prescribed a drink called “sangaree” that, to the best of our knowledge was a colonial adaptation of the Spanish “sangria”. The recipe, which calls for anywhere from 1½ to 4 ounces of port, Madeira, gin or brandy dolled up with sugar and dusted with nutmeg in a glass sounded less than exciting to me, but the challenge of updating this old chestnut sounded like a fun January task.
We began with ruby and tawny ports but found both way too sweet. White port got us much closer to our target, but it wasn’t until a healthy dose of dry vermouth was applied that we knew we were on to something. To provide additional depth and hint at the drink’s colonial origins we sweetened with a maple-nutmeg syrup and finished the whole thing off with a teaspoon of allspice liqueur and orange oil.
The Dry Vermouth Sangaree
3 oz dry vermouth
½ oz maple-nutmeg syrup*
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1 large strip orange peel
Shake everything – yes, even the orange peel – with ice until well-chilled and strain into a cold cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh strip of orange peel.
*To make maple-nutmeg syrup, combine 8 ounces each of Grade B maple syrup and water, and 1 tbsp freshly-grated nutmeg. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Let cool, strain out solids, bottle and chill.
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.
The good news is that my dear friend (and one hell of a bartender) Sean Bigley over at Ultimate Bar Chef is hosting a cocktail competition this summer and he wants you to participate. And, if you win, you can take home a cool $1,750.
Here’s the bad news: you have to create a cocktail that uses Hendricks gin, Pama pomegranate liqueur and Easy Leaf Products Argento Fino (food-grade silver powder), which is going to make for a very challenging (but exciting) time of it. This should be no easy task for me personally, as Hendricks is one of my favorite gins and I know I’m going to have a hard time settling on just one recipe.
However, there’s more good news: by participating you will be helping raise awareness for the Y-ME Breast Cancer Organization:
Welcome to the competition! This competition will bring the talents and resources of the spririt industry together to raise money for breast cancer. The charity that we have selected is Y-ME Breast Cancer Organization, which is based out of Chicago that helps women and their families help cope with the day to day life of breast cancer. This dedicated group of individuals has a 24 hour hotline manned by breast cancer survivors, has a website that is available in multiple different languages, provides information for anyone touched by this disease, and much, much more. We invite you to visit their site at www.y-me.org to learn more about them and see why we chose this worthy organization.
And, while you’re there entering the contest, take a look at the featured Aspiring Bar Chef of the month!
Comments
7 Responses to “Enter the Ultimate Bar Chef Competition!”
Thanks for the plug! And a big congratulations on being our Aspiring Bar Chef for June. If you have trouble coming up with only one drink, don’t worry too much, you can enter two drinks. I really look forward to seeing your recipes.(Although, I won’t know which recipes are yours until you make the finals)
I hope all your readers take part in this fun event and help with this great cause.
1. Hendricks is my favorite GIN!
2. I just picked up PAMA after going to a bar and experimenting with some drinks…
3. I have no idea how to combine the rosey/cucumber taste of Hendricks with the sweet very sugary taste of pama…
You all have my personal guarantee that any submitted cocktail will follow the rules set forth in the Cocktail for a Cure entry form or be disqualified.
At Ultimate Bar Chef, we are stickler’s for rules and integrity.
Don’t forget to send in your request for a sample of Argento Fino. You’ll need it before you send in your recipe.
You heard it straight from the founder’s mouth, kids, so get cracking on those recipes! I know I’ve been playing around with my Hendricks and Pama already…
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04 Jun 2007 at 1:31 pm 1. Sean Bigley
Hey Jeff.
Thanks for the plug! And a big congratulations on being our Aspiring Bar Chef for June. If you have trouble coming up with only one drink, don’t worry too much, you can enter two drinks. I really look forward to seeing your recipes.(Although, I won’t know which recipes are yours until you make the finals)
I hope all your readers take part in this fun event and help with this great cause.
Cheers!
Sean
04 Jun 2007 at 10:29 pm 2. Jeffrey
Thanks, Sean! I’m going to pick up a bottle of Pama this week and start experimenting.
I’m excited!
11 Jun 2007 at 8:55 pm 3. Sean Boudreau
1. Hendricks is my favorite GIN!
2. I just picked up PAMA after going to a bar and experimenting with some drinks…
3. I have no idea how to combine the rosey/cucumber taste of Hendricks with the sweet very sugary taste of pama…
good luck..
12 Jun 2007 at 12:08 am 4. Jimmy
Do we have to use all the ingredients? I’ve heard that in some of these things, the ingredients lists are just “guidelines.”
12 Jun 2007 at 12:19 am 5. Jeffrey
Ooooh, snap!
I think Jimmy is referring to the last contest we all entered, where the winning cocktail took some liberties with the rules.
My pal Jim is just bitter that I personally didn’t win…
Hopefully the rules will be strictly observed this time? Sean?
12 Jun 2007 at 5:38 am 6. Sean Bigley
Hi All!
You all have my personal guarantee that any submitted cocktail will follow the rules set forth in the Cocktail for a Cure entry form or be disqualified.
At Ultimate Bar Chef, we are stickler’s for rules and integrity.
Don’t forget to send in your request for a sample of Argento Fino. You’ll need it before you send in your recipe.
Good Luck All!
13 Jun 2007 at 9:09 am 7. Jeffrey
I knew we could count on you, Sean!
You heard it straight from the founder’s mouth, kids, so get cracking on those recipes! I know I’ve been playing around with my Hendricks and Pama already…