Jeffrey Morgenthaler


  • Home
  • Resumé
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Contact Me

Latest Drink Recipe

Egg Nog

Egg Nog

I repost this every year about this time, because I’m a man on a mission. You see, I love egg nog, but I can’t stand the thick, gelatinous goop they sell at the grocery store. Even if you were to cut it with alcohol, it’s still so overly-pasteurized and full of preservatives that it would be anything but enjoyable to slug down at a Christmas party. So I set about concocting the simplest, tastiest Egg Nog recipe I could, and here’s what I came up with.


In terms of cocktail history, Egg Nog is nothing more than a brandy or rum (or both) flip made with the addition of cream or milk. The 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas calls for a nog made up of a tablespoon of bar sugar, a tablespoon of water, a whole egg, cognac, rum and milk, shaken and strained, with some nutmeg grated on top. The problem I have with Thomas’ recipe is all the extra water that comes from the melting of the ice, not to mention that extra half ounce he calls for. Watery egg nog, anyone? Yeah, no thanks.

So I did a lot of research, in cookbooks and on the web, and tried a bunch of different recipes and methods. Some called for cooking the eggs into sort of a custard, but that’s a heck of a lot of work and results in a thick glop. Others required separating the eggs, beating them independently, and folding them together. But again, it’s thick and I’m lazy.

This is the recipe I devised. It can be made in just about any home or bar, since the ingredients are fairly simple. It can be done entirely in a blender, so there are no whisks or beaters or rubber spatulas or stovetops needed. It yields two healthy servings, so you can easily multiply it to serve more. It doesn’t use a ton of heavy cream, so it’s fairly light. In other words, it’s practically perfect.

2 large eggs
3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz brandy
2 oz spiced rum (I use Sailor Jerry’s)
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream

Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled wine glasses or champagne coupes, grating additional nutmeg on top immediately before serving.

One note about blenders. This recipe works great in home blenders, but the commercial models are designed to heat whatever they’re blending, which can result in scrambled eggs by the time you get around to the sugar. If you’re using a Vita-Mix or similar commercial blender, cut that initial blend time down to a quarter minute or so.

More Recipes »

Most Popular Articles

How to Make Your Own Tonic Water »

Cinchona Bark

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.

Ten Books Every Bartender Should Own »

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.

How to Make Your Own Ginger Beer »

Ginger Beer

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.

The Dos and Donts of Mojitos »

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 Richmond Gimlet »

The Richmond Gimlet

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.

How Not to Make a Mint Julep »

How Not to Make a Mint Julep

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.

How to Make Sangrita »

Sangrita

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.

Ten Myths You've Probably Heard in Bars »

Dave and Jeff

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.

Crack or Strain »

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.

How to Make an Angostura-Scorched Pisco Sour »

Angostura-Scorched Pisco Sour

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!

How to Write a Bartending Resume »

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.

A Gallon of Margaritas by the Gallon »

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.

How to Make a Daiquiri - The Bartending School Way »

How Not to Make a Daiquiri

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.

A photo of me behind the bar.

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.

2007

Mixology Monday: Food Pairings

Monday, October 15th, 2007
Permalink

Mixology Monday: Pairings

To be honest with you, I didn’t really have much of a chance to prepare for this month’s Mixology Monday. In fact, when Natalie emailed me a reminder earlier today, my first thought was, “Oh, f*ck!”. And as much as I loves me some Mixology Monday, I’ve been a little out of the loop this week. There are a few reasons for this:

  1. I’ve been very busy with the bar.
  2. I’ve been very busy building websites.
  3. Today is my birthday.

However, I was able to put something together on the fly while making dinner tonight. This might come as a shock to some of you, coming from a lowly barkeep and all, but I’m actually a fairly adept cook. So while I was putting together dinner, I whipped up a cocktail with some of the ingredients I had in my liquor cabinet. And to my surprise it turned out pretty okay. In fact, I think this would be a wonderful first course.

The food:

Butter Leaf Salad

With buttermilk-tarragon dressing, late-summer tomatoes and country bacon

¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp freshly chopped tarragon

Whisk ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl. Cover and chill in a refrigerator for one hour to meld flavors.

Meanwhile, slice ½ pound bacon into thick chunks and cook over medium-high heat until fat is rendered and bacon is near crisp. Drain of fat and pat dry with a towel.

Seed tomatoes and dice. Let drain and set aside.

Toss washed butter leaf lettuce with dressing. Garnish with tomatoes and bacon.

Herbsaint-Scented French 75

With Beefeater gin and organic lemon juice

Herbsaint

3 oz dry sparkling wine
1½ oz gin
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
Herbsaint

Rinse chilled champagne flute with Herbsaint or other anise-flavored liqueur. Combine gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and sparkling wine and stir with cracked ice until chilled. Strain into flute and garnish with lemon twist.

I liked the idea of the lemon juice and sparkling wine cutting the fat of the dressing and the bacon. I went with the Herbsaint because I thought it would pair well with the anise notes of the tarragon, and given that Herbsaint is one of the drier absinthe substitutes out there I think it pairs really well with this particular salad.

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading, and thank you for hosting, Natalie!

16 Comments

Ten Books Every Bartender Should Own

Monday, October 1st, 2007
Permalink

Recently, over at the Epicurious blog they had a post detailing their ten must-read books for cooks and gastronomes. I figured, “What a great idea, I should steal this for my own website!”

So here are my recommendations for the top ten books any bartender or home mixologist should keep within arm’s reach at all times.

1. Cosmopolitan: A Bartender’s Life by Toby Cecchini

Cosmopolitan: A Bartender’s Life by Toby CecchiniCecchini nails the quotidian life of a bartender down with the sort of accuracy that only a true lifer could. A must-read for anyone currently or formerly in the business, or just those with mild flirtations or aspirations.

You can buy this brilliant take on the business here. Better yet, pick up an extra copy and leave it as a tip for your favorite barkeep - if they haven’t read it already.


2. The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan

 The Joy of Mixology by Gary ReganIf Gary’s chapter on drink families were the only chapter in this book, it would still be worth the cover price. This is probably my all-time favorite guide to mixology and bartending, all wrapped up in one place.

You can buy the Joy of Mixology here. Put it someplace handy, use the hell out of it, and then pick up another copy when you can no longer read the first.


3. The Complete Book of Spirits by Anthony Dias Blue

The Complete Book of Spirits by Anthony Dias BlueOnly when you understand the history and process of making the spirits that you work with every day can you truly begin to create things of sublime beauty. Anthony Dias Blue makes that journey a little easier with all of the above, as well as short product reviews of just about every spirit you’ll come across in your travels.

I plan on reading this book once a year to stay in shape. Grab a copy here and do the same.


4. Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century by Paul Harrington

Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century by Paul HarringtonThis is the book that I had at my side for years as I taught myself to make cocktails the right way. Paul’s attitude toward the craft is opinionated and brilliant. I think about the words in this book nearly every night I’m behind the bar.

Sadly, this one’s out of print, so plan on spending a pretty large sum if you want to buy one of your own - but it’s worth it. If you do stumble across a copy in a used bookstore or garage sale, grab it without hesitation.


5. On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

On Food and CookingThis book is subtitled The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, and chapter nine is the most in-depth, scientific analysis of the production of alcohol you’re going to find anywhere. Read it once, slowly, and then give yourself some time to digest. It’s a heavy read but worth the workout.

He’s not as fun as Alton Brown, but he may have taught the man everything he knows. Pick up your own copy here.


6. Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh

Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails by Ted HaighThis book is the bible of cocktail archaeology, which has inspired a new generation of cocktail enthusiasts - just look at the vast proliferation of cocktail blogs for proof.

I’ll pick this one up from time to time, turn to a random page, and whip up one of whichever I find. I’ve never been disappointed yet. You can pick up a copy here.


7. The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock

30 Comments

A Pitcher of Bloody Mary Mix

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Permalink

Bloody Mary Mix

It’s football time here in the university town I call home, so on Saturday mornings my kitchen often becomes the epicenter of pre-game madness. I like to put out a bottle of vodka, a pitcher of my Bloody Mary mix, and a tray of fun garnishes for the fans and let people put together their own drinks.

Now, I understand the benefits of juicing your own tomatoes for the ultimate do-it-yourself Bloody Mary. However, I’ve got to point out that in the middle of winter here in the Pacific Northwest, canned tomato juice tastes a hell of a lot better than the mealy specimens my local grocery store is peddling for $3.99 a pound. So here’s a beefed-up Bloody Mary mix you can make any time, with ingredients you can find just about anywhere.

1 46-oz can tomato juice
1 garlic clove, minced
½ small avocado
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1½ oz lemon juice
1½ tbsp steak sauce
2 tsp cracked pepper
1½ tsp celery salt
1½ tsp hot sauce
1 tsp horseradish

Purée garlic, avocado, and eight ounces of the tomato juice in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add to remaining ingredients in a large pitcher and stir until combined.

As an aside, I’ve found that this recipe works best when it’s allowed to sit overnight to let the flavors combine. So if you have the time, try to make it the night before.

To make a Bloody Mary, fill a 16-ounce glass to the rim with ice and add two ounces (¼ cup) of your favorite vodka. Salting the rim of the glass is optional, but I like to pre-salt a few glasses and set them out. Top with Bloody Mary mix and garnish as you like. Here are some suggestions for your garnish tray:

Celery stalks
Stuffed olives
French cornichons
Pickled white asparagus
Lemon and lime wedges
Pearl onions
Pickled green beans
Cherry tomatoes
Pickled garlic cloves
Pickled pepperoncini peppers
Cooked, peeled shrimp

And for a wonderful treatise on making a single Bloody Mary the right way, check out this video my peeps over at the Small Screen Network have put together.

18 Comments

How to Make Your Own Gin Without a Still

Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Permalink

Measuring out the ingredients for homemade gin.

There aren’t many spirits that inspire such passionate opinions as gin does. I know vodka drinkers who recoil in horror when confronted with a bottle of Tanqueray, and gin drinkers who would rather abstain completely than suffer through a Grey Goose martini.

But what many people don’t realize is that gin and vodka begin life in the exact same way. You could even say that gin is nothing more than infused vodka. In fact, I’ve used this exact line on so many customers trying gin for the first time that I’ve decided to prove it to myself! What a better way to waste a bunch of time and ingredients while getting an opportunity to learn more about my favorite mixable spirit, right?

In his book The Complete Guide to Spirits (HarperCollins, 2004), Anthony Dias Blue describes cold compounding as a legitimate method for producing gin.  He even provides a rough recipe for infusing a monster 2,000 liter batch. Not having access to a tanker truck of vodka or a hundred pounds of juniper, I did a little math and came up with something more workable.

That first batch was a drinkable, yet super-perfumed gin that I felt could be improved with a little trial-and-error. I won’t bore you with the details of my many failures before honing in on the recipe you’re about to see, but I will say that I’ve now got a liquor cabinet full of funky gins that may or may not ever be consumed.

Click here to continue reading »

47 Comments

Margarita with Cadillac Foam and Sea Salt

Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Permalink

foamy.jpg

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.

cadillac.jpg

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.

13 Comments

House Spirits Distillery Tour and Cocktail Tasting

Monday, September 10th, 2007
Permalink

Jeff Morgenthaler and Lee Medoff

I was in Portland again this weekend, taking a tour of House Spirits Distillery and meeting with some West Coast cocktail luminaries. I’ve been a big fan of the House Spirits products for quite some time, so this was quite the excursion for me.

Click here to continue reading »

9 Comments

The Eugene Cocktail Summit

Sunday, September 2nd, 2007
Permalink

bottles.jpg

Sometimes living in Eugene, Oregon means that you have a smaller circle of people who share similar interests as yourself. Driving an hour and a half to Portland is always an option, but sometimes you just wish you could play at home.

A select few of us local cocktail enthusiasts gathered today to experiment with obscure seasonal produce, dabble in an enormous library of rare liquors, and eat some wonderful cocktail-hour-inspired bites. It was a reawakening for me in a sense, as I spent the day remembering things that I had forgotten.

Click here to continue reading »

8 Comments

The Buckthorn Bruise

Sunday, September 2nd, 2007
Permalink

buckthorn.jpg

Earlier today at the Cocktail Summit, we played with seaberries (aka sea berries or sea-buckthorn). If you haven’t tried seaberries before, they’re a small, soft fruit full of a milky, citrusy, tart juice - slightly astringent and very rich. They’re unlike anything I had ever tried.

Click here to continue reading »

5 Comments

« Previous
Next »

Latest Product Review

Old Forester Repeal Bourbon

Things are really starting to ramp up for the 75th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition on December 5th! Today I received a package from the folks at Old Forester bourbon, who are showing their support of my favorite day by releasing a limited edition Repeal Day bottling of their whiskey.
From the press release:
“Repeal [...]

Read full review here »

The Sections

  • Announcements
  • Ask Your Bartender
  • Experiments
  • General
  • Helpful Advice
  • Mixology Monday
  • My Cocktail Recipes
  • Oregon Bartenders Guild
  • Product Reviews
  • Repeal Day
  • Required Reading
  • Stories
  • Tales of the Cocktail
  • Travel

Syndication

By using this link, you may subscribe to this site in your favorite newsreader software.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to my email edition below and have new articles sent to you as they're published.

Offsite

My Twitter Profile
My Amazon Wish List
My MySpace Profile
My Facebook Page
Oregon Design Collective
Tony Figoli

  • Bartenders

      Bar Stories
      Drinks Companion
      Lance Mayhew
      Maxologist
      Miss Charming
      Moving at the Speed of Life
      Neyah White
      Spirits and Cocktails
      Kelsey Crenshaw
      Barbau Blog
      Chris Doig
      Robert Heugel
      Joe Bartender
      Jimmy Patrick
      Stanislav Vadrna
      The Art of Drink
      Shawn Soole
      The Thinking Bartender
      Ultimate Bar Chef
  • Cocktails

      Alcademics
      A Mountain of Crushed Ice
      Bitters Blog
      Cocktailnerd
      Days That End In ‘Y’
      D.C. Drinks
      Drink Boston
      Explore the Pour
      Imbibe Magazine
      Intoxicated Zodiac
      Lamb Martini
      Le Mixeur
      Martini Lounge
      Sloshed!
      My Bar, Your Bar
      Hobson’s Choice
      Off The Presses
      Oh Gosh!
      Rookie Libations
      Slakethirst
      The Spirit World
      Underhill Lounge
      A Dash of Bitters
      Ardent Spirits
      Brilliant Cocktails
      Cocktail Chronicles
      Cocktailians
      Dr. Bamboo
      DrinkBoy
      Drink of the Week
      Felicia’s Speakeasy
      The Gumbo Pages
      Kaiser Penguin
      Bibulous
      Bibulous
      Mixology Magazine
      MotoTails
      Liquid Muse
      Two At The Most
      Yes, Have Some!
  • Events

      RepealDay.org
  • Food

      Accidental Scientist
      Tea and Cookies
      28cooks
      Accidental Hedonist
      Dornenburg/Page
      Brownie Points
      Chow
      Food and Wine
      Married with Dinner
      Megnut
      Portland Food and Drink
      Slashfood
  • Spirits

      Nonjatta
      Scottes Rum
      Whiskeyfun
      Cachaçagora
      Infusions of Grandeur
      Spirits Review
      The Scotch Blog
      Whisky Grotto

    • Archives:
    • 2008
    • 2007
    • 2006
    • 2005
    • 2004
    Creative Commons License
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.