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.
I’ve kicked myself many times for never participating in the brilliant Mixology Mondays that Paul over at the Cocktail Chronicles put together last year, but my lack of participation has more to do with the fact that Sunday is my one day off – the one day I never seem to have a computer in my lap. But with my sweetie working Mother’s Day brunch today, I’ve got a little time to put together something very special for my first (and hopefully not last) foray into Mixology Monday. Here we go!
Since I manage a Latin-American restaurant bar, I have a special place in my heart for tequila. However, you don’t find too many drinks in the book other than margaritas, El Diablos, Brave Bulls, Dirty Mothers and tequila gimlets. Now, considering half those drinks are nasty, half never get ordered, and the other one is a margarita, I thought I’d come up with something else.
I’ve always liked the flavors that grapefruit contributes to silver tequila, and I had recently been playing with making my own grapefruit bitters. A silver tequila collins is one of my favorite summer coolers, so this seemed like a happy little marriage to me.
Santa Carla
I originally named this drink Santa Cruz after the city near where I grew up, but after checking the CocktailDB, I discovered that a Santa Cruz is a similar drink made with white rum. So I made like the producers of The Lost Boys and renamed it Santa Carla. Try making this one by the pitcher this summer. Sprigs of mint would make for a beautiful (and flavorful) garnish.
2 oz silver tequila (I’ve been using Corzo)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz simple syrup
3 dashes grapefruit bitters
Build drink in a 14-ounce collins glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling water (I like to use San Pellegrino) and garnish with a lemon wheel and mint sprig (optional).
Thanks to the good folks over at My Bar, Your Bar for letting me participate in this, my first ever Mixology Monday!
There is some great recipes from some great bar chefs such as Jacques B. and Charlotte Voisey. I’ve added a few cool ones that I dug up also.
Your grapefruit bitters sounds incredible! Can’t wait to try it!
It could go really well with Hendrick’s Gin and Pama Liqueur for an upcoming online cocktail competition.(hint, hint)
Keep those two products in mind. (Yet another hint)
Really bummed that your not able to go to New Orleans, Lisa and I were really looking forward to seeing you.
I think that you and your readers will find these clips, shall I say, interesting.
I would love to hear comments regarding the cocktails that are made as well as the artisans that are preparing them.
If I were to vote, it would definately have to be for Tammie or Julian who both work at McCormick and Schmicks. You’ll notice them, they are the ones in the white jackets and bow ties as opposed to being nearly topless.
I hope everyone “enjoys” these clips as much as I did.
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 [...]
I’ve kicked myself many times for never participating in the brilliant Mixology Mondays that Paul over at the Cocktail Chronicles put together last year, but my lack of participation has more to do with the fact that Sunday is my one day off – the one day I never seem to have a computer in my lap. But with my sweetie working Mother’s Day brunch today, I’ve got a little time to put together something very special for my first (and hopefully not last) foray into Mixology Monday. Here we go!
14 May 2007 at 2:10 am 1. Sean Bigley
Hi Jeff.
The “Santa Carla” sounds awesome! I’ve posted a few different Tequila cocktails on my site this month. Visit http://www.ultimatebarchef.com/thecocktailmenu
There is some great recipes from some great bar chefs such as Jacques B. and Charlotte Voisey. I’ve added a few cool ones that I dug up also.
Your grapefruit bitters sounds incredible! Can’t wait to try it!
It could go really well with Hendrick’s Gin and Pama Liqueur for an upcoming online cocktail competition.(hint, hint)
Keep those two products in mind. (Yet another hint)
Really bummed that your not able to go to New Orleans, Lisa and I were really looking forward to seeing you.
Cheers!
14 May 2007 at 10:38 pm 2. Jeffrey
Sean, I’ll have to send you a sample of the next batch of bitters, I think the next one is going to be much better. Send me your address, mister!
I’m looking forward to your competition, but Hendricks and Pama sound tough to put together – sounds like a challenge!
15 May 2007 at 2:13 am 3. Sean Bigley
Hendrick’s and Pama will certainly be a challenge, but will hopefully bring out the best of the best!
Getting back to the subject of Tequila cocktails, here’s a little something I ran across, merely by accident.
http://oroazul.drinkstv.com/showdown
I think that you and your readers will find these clips, shall I say, interesting.
I would love to hear comments regarding the cocktails that are made as well as the artisans that are preparing them.
If I were to vote, it would definately have to be for Tammie or Julian who both work at McCormick and Schmicks. You’ll notice them, they are the ones in the white jackets and bow ties as opposed to being nearly topless.
I hope everyone “enjoys” these clips as much as I did.
Cheers!
15 May 2007 at 6:57 am 4. Jeffrey
Well, Sean, you know how much we love the DrinksTV videos around here!
Wow, some of these new ones are incredible, though. Thanks, Sean!