Inspired by a visit to see Tony Conigliaro at the unnamed bar at 69 Colebrooke Row in London last fall, where Manhattans are aged in glass vessels to sublime and subtle effect, the barrel aged cocktails I’ve been serving at Clyde Common this year are a decidedly American curiosity.
The rub of aging cocktails in a glass bottle is that the whole premise is built upon subtlety, as we know that spirits aged in glass or steel do so at an unremarkable pace. Being from the United States, where – as everyone is aware – bigger equals better, I pondered the following question: what if you could prepare a large batch of a single, spirit-driven cocktail and age it in a used oak barrel?
A hundred some-odd dollars in liquor later, I was nervously pouring a gallon of pre-batched rye Manhattans into a small, used oak cask whose previous contents were a gallon Madeira wine. I plugged the barrel and sat back in anxious anticipation; if the experiment was a success I’d have a delicious cocktail to share at the bar – if it was a failure then I’d be pouring the restaurant’s money down the floor drain.
Over the next several weeks I popped open the barrel to test my little concoction until I stumbled upon the magic mark at five-to-six weeks. And there it was, lying beautifully on the the finish: a soft blend of oak, wine, caramel and char. That first batch sold out in a matter of days and I was left with a compelling need to push the process even further.
Now, three gallons of Negroni might not be practical for the home enthusiast, but the average bar or restaurant should be able to afford that sort of quantity quite easily. For those of you trying this at home, try searching the internet for one-gallon charred oak casks (stay away from the fancy lacquered kind meant for display in dens and 1980s wine bars) and be sure to let us know what you find in the comments section below.
We procured a small number of used whiskey casks from the Tuthilltown distillery and proceeded to fill them with a large batch of Negronis; and that’s when the magic of barrel aged cocktails grabbed our attention. After six weeks in the bourbon barrel, our Negroni emerged a rare beauty. The sweet vermouth so slightly oxidized, the color paler and rosier than the original, the mid-palate softly mingled with whiskey, the finish long and lingering with oak tannins. We knew we were on to something unique and immediately made plans to take the cask aging program to the next level.
Negronis are now prepared in five-gallon batches and poured into multiple bourbon barrels. Robert Hess’ ubiquitous Trident cocktail is currently resting inside single-malt barrels. The El Presidente (à laMatt Robold), Deshlers, Remember the Maines, they’re all receiving the oaked treatment in a little storage room in the basement of the restaurant that I refer to as my “office”.
Once the cocktail is aged long enough for my taste, I then drain the bottle, straining out any charred bits of wood, and bottle the contents for use by my bartenders. To order, the cocktail is then measured out and poured over ice in a mixing glass, stirred, strained into a cocktail glass, and then garnished with the appropriate garnish. It’s quick and simple, as all of the real work has already been done by the barrel.
Anyway, on to the recipes. As simple as it seems to do, I figured not everyone is going to want to do the math to get started on some of these recipes, so here are a few I’ve figured out:
Negroni
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) dry gin
128 oz sweet vermouth
128 oz Campari
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel. Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Manhattan
Makes Three Gallons
256 oz (approximately ten 750ml bottles) rye whiskey
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) sweet vermouth
7 oz Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a barrel that has previously stored sherry, Madeira, or port wine). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Trident
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) aquavit
128 oz dry sherry
128 oz Cynar
7 oz peach bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a used single malt barrel). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.
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.
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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.
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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 never really venture too far outside of my comfort zone when it comes to cocktails. Sure, I’ve tried some strange combinations before, but when all is said and done I usually tend to stick to the classics.
Until this evening.
Maybe it was all the late-summer sun I got at the pool this afternoon before work. Maybe it was crawling around inside the keg cooler looking for a leak in the beer gas line.
Or maybe it was the f*cking iSi whipper that I’ve had sitting next to the cash register for several weeks now, staring at me and asking (not literally, at least I hope not) when I was going to actually try something new.
Well, I went out on a limb and tried something I’d wanted to do for a while: a deconstructed cocktail.
Being a Latin-American restaurant, we tend to make a lot of margaritas. Like, a lot of margaritas, so naturally I wanted to start there. I grabbed my iSi whipper, filled it with the ingredients I thought would make for a decent Cadillac foam, and set it to chill while I put together our basic margarita:
2 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 oz lime juice
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
Shake ingredients together over cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Then I grabbed my whipper, which I had already filled with…
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 oz Grand Marnier
4 oz orange juice, finely strained
4 dashes peach bitters
…and double-charged with CO2.
I then laid down a nice, thick foam on top of the margarita I had just made. You can see how well they stay separated.
Running back to the kitchen, I grabbed some black Hawaiian sea salt for contrast and grated it into the foam.
Voila! The sweetness of the foam is wonderfully complemented by a tart, bracing blast of tequila and lime with each sip. And the presentation ain’t half bad, either, if I do say so myself.
Hey, you know what? That was really easy! I’m going to try to venture outside of my comfort zone more often.
Comments
13 Responses to “Margarita with Cadillac Foam and Sea Salt”
I’ve got a bit of foam fear as it seems to be used a lot these days without reason, but you’ve given me a lot of reasons to renew my faith. That looks awesome. I know nothing of foaming, but have you thought of using it to add savory flavors like basil or ginger to a drink?
My lip can practically feel the foam. The salt is a nice touch.
12 Sep 2007 at 10:55 pm 6. Kappa
Wow, for real, is this cooking, or bartending? Looks pretty amazing, thanks for the recipe I’m going to have to try this one out. Do you know any good places to buy the canister to make the foams?
Boozemonkey, now that I’ve done my first successful foam I’ve certainly thought of savory foams. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while is take apart a Bloody Mary into its constituent pieces and tweak them – suspend the vodka in gelatin, turn the Worchestershire into a dust, foam the tomato, etc.
Great to see you deconastructing cocktails. There are a lot of advantages of creating layered effects to hit the palate at differnt times. I have found foams and powders the most practical without comprimising quality. Have you tried using lecithin as a solidifier? It does a great job of staying stable and eliminates the flavor of egg whites. There is a great lady name Fany Setiyo that owns LeSanctuaire in the LA area. She sells quality lecithin as well as a wide aray of stabilizers.
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12 Sep 2007 at 9:10 am 1. Anita
the thought of double-charging foam never occurred to me. cool!
12 Sep 2007 at 10:41 am 2. Jeffrey
I found the consistency to be a lot more… consistent? The foam was richer and thicker than when I used just the one cartridge.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find nitrous oxide cartridges yesterday, but I think that if I could, the texture would have been even silkier.
12 Sep 2007 at 3:15 pm 3. Boozemonkey
I’ve got a bit of foam fear as it seems to be used a lot these days without reason, but you’ve given me a lot of reasons to renew my faith. That looks awesome. I know nothing of foaming, but have you thought of using it to add savory flavors like basil or ginger to a drink?
12 Sep 2007 at 8:13 pm 4. Phil
Very nice.
12 Sep 2007 at 8:23 pm 5. McAuliflower
My lip can practically feel the foam. The salt is a nice touch.
12 Sep 2007 at 10:55 pm 6. Kappa
Wow, for real, is this cooking, or bartending? Looks pretty amazing, thanks for the recipe I’m going to have to try this one out. Do you know any good places to buy the canister to make the foams?
13 Sep 2007 at 8:17 am 7. Jimmy
nice one!
13 Sep 2007 at 8:36 am 8. Jeffrey
Boozemonkey, now that I’ve done my first successful foam I’ve certainly thought of savory foams. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while is take apart a Bloody Mary into its constituent pieces and tweak them – suspend the vodka in gelatin, turn the Worchestershire into a dust, foam the tomato, etc.
I’ll let you know if I come up with anything!
13 Sep 2007 at 3:21 pm 9. Cameron Bogue
Great to see you deconastructing cocktails. There are a lot of advantages of creating layered effects to hit the palate at differnt times. I have found foams and powders the most practical without comprimising quality. Have you tried using lecithin as a solidifier? It does a great job of staying stable and eliminates the flavor of egg whites. There is a great lady name Fany Setiyo that owns LeSanctuaire in the LA area. She sells quality lecithin as well as a wide aray of stabilizers.
2710 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
tel. 310.581.8999
fax. 310.581.8991
13 Sep 2007 at 9:44 pm 10. keith waldbauer
well done brother. i’m not a big fan of foam in drinks, but this looks mighty tasty. gonna have to get down to eugene now.
14 Sep 2007 at 9:45 am 11. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Cameron, I haven’t tried lecithin yet, but it’s now on my to-do list. Thanks for the contact info!
And Keith, it’s only a five-hour sprint down I-5!
14 Sep 2007 at 1:53 pm 12. keith waldbauer
ok, ok, I got you the first time, ha ha.
Oh, and Jeffrey, it’s only a 5 hour sprint UP I-5…. come hang out… maybe you’ll be able to drag Paul out… I’ve never even met the dude.
Maybe we’ll meet halfway, which will put us where. . .somewhere around Kelso or Longview.. ok, bad idea.
Oh yeah, but I gotta try this Margarita.
Allright, twist my arm. I’ll see you soon…
14 Sep 2007 at 2:09 pm 13. pete
if you can show me a video of you taking the blow torch to that thing, i’ll take one!