No, really. I’m serious. In case you think I’m joking, or that you read that wrong, let me go on the record right now:
I make the best Amaretto Sour you’ve ever had in your life. No ifs, ands or buts about it, my Amaretto Sour dominates and crushes all others out there. And now, I’m going to share my secrets with you.
There are two things that impede all other Amaretto Sours from challenging mine. First off, the obvious: they’re too sweet. One does not simply use an everyday sour recipe to make a world-class Amaretto Sour, it must be adjusted for this particular liqueur.
Second, and this is a big one: amaretto isn’t strong enough on its own to stand up to a bunch of other ingredients. It’s weak. It needs help. And for this, I enlist the assistance of an old friend. One that knows amaretto’s strengths and weaknesses. Or, mainly, its weaknesses. One that works with amaretto, to complete it like Jerry Maguire completes Rene Zellwiger’s character, whatever her name was. And that, my friends, is cask-proof bourbon.
Behold, the recipe:
Amaretto Sour
Makes 1 Awesome Drink
1½ oz amaretto (I love the Lazzaroni amaretto, but DiSaronno works well here, too)
¾ oz cask-proof bourbon (I use Booker’s, from the Jim Beam distillery)
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp. 2:1 simple syrup
½ oz egg white, beaten
Dry shake ingredients to combine, then shake well with cracked ice. Strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon peel and brandied cherries, if desired. Serve and grin like an idiot as your friends freak out.
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.
My night tonight was the best so far. No strip clubs, no chicken wings, just a big group of real cocktail enthusiasts and three amazing locations.
I started my night at the Wynn hotel in a private suite fifty floors above the city, drinking Sagatiba Pura. It’s a brand-new cachaça here in the States, and I was honored to have received an invite to be one of the first to try it.
It’s a multi-distilled product, so the taste is clean and smooth, without the fire you’ll find in traditional cachaças.
I met up with Sean and Lisa Bigley, and we toured the innovative cocktail menu together. They introduced me to Jacques Bezuidenhout, a mixologist for Partida tequila and his girlfriend Gabrielle, a server at the fabulous Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco.
Once the party was over and the bar was closed, the five of us headed out for tapas at Firefly for some much-needed nourishment.
It was then decided that we all should head over to Sean’s bar, the Fontana at the Bellagio (see last night’s drunken entry) to hassle Darren West for Frenet Branca and Calvados Sidecars.
We were treated to an up-close view of the fountain show from the little patio off the back of Fontana.
Things took a six-degrees-of-separation turn when a couple of kids showed up to meet Sean to talk about the mixology competition tomorrow. The aspiring mixology contestant, named Zole Andahazy, lives in my hometown of Monterey, California and tends bar at the Bernardus Lodge – home of some of my favorite wines. Since I grew up about 5 miles from where they live now, and was there for dinner with my parents not a month ago, we had plenty to talk about.
The six-degree-ism came into play when Zole and I discovered that we had both tended bar at Marché Restaurant in Eugene. Small world, huh?
As the night wore on, Dale DeGroff stopped by to say hello, and I finally had the opportunity to thank him in person for the kind support he lent last December for Repeal Day. I’m going to listen to his keynote address tomorrow morning before the bar show, so look for some coverage of the whole day!
Thanks again for reading, I do appreciate it.
Comments
5 Responses to “Monday Night in Vegas… Not So Bad, Actually!”
I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve been dying to go for quite some time now. And now your trip diary is making me itch to check the airfares!
07 Mar 2007 at 2:31 PM 2. Wendolyn
Being that I was the bar manager at Marche when Zol was there, I was totally amazed to learn that he was bartending at the time…hmmmm He was a great waiter, and his knowelege of wines was amazing, but his expertise in the bar was limited to deciding on what he would have for his after shift drink. Glad to hear he’s one of the “cool kids” now. I always thought he always had the heart, and soul of a bartender.
Well, after a quite intoxicating 4 days I’m finally able to put my fingers on a keyboard again. I’m very happy that we got to meet and become friends this week. Lisa and I had a great time this week with you and I’m glad that we got to hang out together. I’m so glad you got to meet some of the “great ones” (Tony, Dale, Jacques, Julio et.) I’m sure that in the not to distant future it well help Repeal Day become a reality. Look forward to seeing you again soon.
30 Apr 2007 at 1:48 PM 5. Anonymous
ok so this is pretty fun…
we will try drinks at the bellagio next month…
enjoy your day.
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 [...]
06 Mar 2007 at 6:53 AM 1. Dr. Bamboo
I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve been dying to go for quite some time now. And now your trip diary is making me itch to check the airfares!
07 Mar 2007 at 2:31 PM 2. Wendolyn
Being that I was the bar manager at Marche when Zol was there, I was totally amazed to learn that he was bartending at the time…hmmmm He was a great waiter, and his knowelege of wines was amazing, but his expertise in the bar was limited to deciding on what he would have for his after shift drink. Glad to hear he’s one of the “cool kids” now. I always thought he always had the heart, and soul of a bartender.
07 Mar 2007 at 4:54 PM 3. John Gakuru
Jeff, great blog. Thanks a lot! I hope you’ll be back up here again tonight!?
08 Mar 2007 at 9:13 AM 4. Sean Bigley
Hi Jeff.
Well, after a quite intoxicating 4 days I’m finally able to put my fingers on a keyboard again. I’m very happy that we got to meet and become friends this week. Lisa and I had a great time this week with you and I’m glad that we got to hang out together. I’m so glad you got to meet some of the “great ones” (Tony, Dale, Jacques, Julio et.) I’m sure that in the not to distant future it well help Repeal Day become a reality. Look forward to seeing you again soon.
30 Apr 2007 at 1:48 PM 5. Anonymous
ok so this is pretty fun…
we will try drinks at the bellagio next month…
enjoy your day.