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.
Why is it that drinks these days have to taste like some sort of junk food in order to be understood by the average person? Take this little story:
We were at our local dive bar, playing some video golf and having a beer. The bartender, who had obviously been behind the stick for a whole six months, offered us a sample pair of the new shot he had been tirelessly working on all night,
“It’s called a Starburst, because it tastes just like a pink Starburst”
We glanced cautiously at one another and gulped down our pale pink shots. Sure enough, they tasted like pink Starburst candies. At least, I think they did. I haven’t been in a 7-Eleven in a long time, but I’m pretty certain it’s still as brightly-lit and full of miscreants, fake cheese and junk food as it was the last time I was there.
We thanked the barkeep, tipped appropriately, and continued our eighteen holes at Pebble Beach while we discussed the awkward taste in our mouths.
Why is it that cocktails these days have to relate back to junk food? Are we not smart enough to talk about flavors any more, or do drinks just not stand on their own merit any longer? Why, in order to impress a customer or be impressed as a customer, do cocktails have to “taste just like a…”?
Are there people in the world that interact with food like this? “You should try this beef roulade, it taste just like a Big Mac without the bun”
Can you imagine the uproar? Why is this not outrageous when applied to drinks? I gave a sample of Parfait Amour to someone tonight, and she spent a half hour trying to figure out what candy it reminded her of. This is a gorgeous liqueur made from Seville oranges, and she was trying to conjure up the taste of Necco wafers in her mind!
I don’t know. I’d be interested in hearing what you all think.
Liquor is an acquired taste. A lot of people don’t really like the taste of most of them, or think they don’t from memories of doing shots of really really bad Tequila in college. This is probably how they acquired the taste for that crappy beer they’re drinking, through beer pong and other college antics.
Because of this, a lot of people will jump at the idea of a drink that tastes like something yummy(and sweet) and still can get them drunk.
But then who am I to judge? My favorite shot is a Chocolate Cake Shot. Of course, there’s never a bad time for chocolate, and I generally try to appreciate most cocktails as long as they don’t have orange juice.
Ceetar, I will agree with you that liquor is an acquired taste. I just think that a lot of people these days don’t try to acquire that taste – they stop at Chocolate Cake Shots.
I mean, when I see a grown man (and I see this more often than I should) putting down three or four Lemon Drops over the span of a beautiful three-course meal, it makes me really sad.
Because here’s a guy that’s never going to learn the joy of a before-dinner drink, the beauty of a perfect wine pairing, or the sublime finish of a digestif. All he’s going to know is heartburn and stomach aches, and never understand why.
Believe me, when I see this I always try to pull out a new drink or an appropriate glass of wine, but more often than not the customer is set on his Lemon Drops.
It’s just sad to me. Heartburn and stomach aches should never be a part of the dining experience.
29 Mar 2007 at 5:16 PM 3. Smach
Maybe what one is trying to say in comparing a complex flavor, or blend of flavors, with a widely known candy or dessert is “Mmmmm, this is as enjoyable as a …” It’s better than saying “It tastes , um, purple”, right?
29 Mar 2007 at 5:38 PM 4. Dan
I had some friends over the night who are accustomed to cheap beer and ‘mixed drinks’ that consist of a few ounces of Captain Morgans, a whole can of coke, and no ice.
After we ate dinner I asked if anybody else wanted a drink while I was fixing myself up a Manhattan. A few of them asked what it tasted like, trying to compare it to something they had previously had, but all I had to offer was, “It tastes like a Manhattan and it’s god damn delicious.”
29 Mar 2007 at 6:39 PM 5. Lindsey Mitchell
I completely agree with you on the need to acquire a taste for a decent drink, believe me – there is nothing better then a REAL, TRUE dry martini at cocktail hour.
Half the time I don’t even go out to bars anymore because of the ‘tastes just like a…’ phenom going on out there…forgive me if I want my vodka, soda to taste like a vodka with soda.
What happened to the days of Tom Collins’ and Sidecars?
Damn, now I want a Manhatten.
30 Mar 2007 at 6:10 AM 6. Chuck P.
My comment would be that, like with all things in life, some people just don’t get it. There are too many facets in the diamond of life for everyone to properly appreciate the details in each one. I am sure photography buffs can’t understand why most of us pay $700 for a camera, but take all our pictures using the “Auto” setting because we can’t appreciate all the different settings on the damn thing.
The best bet is to appreciate what you appreciate and leave everyone else to their own devices. I learned long ago that when I go to the bar and get shots, its woodford on ice for me, and a plastic shot glass of sugar and cheap vodka for everyone else…
CP
30 Mar 2007 at 6:56 AM 7. Dominik MJ
I think this topic is very controversial!
The extrems are very clear: candy drinks against distinctive classics – but this is just the tip of the iceberg!
I confess that I am a dinosaur in bartending. So I would like, that my drinks taste like the base alcohol! I want that the expression is like the ingredients and I prefer a drink with 2 ingredients over a drink with 5 (and a drink with 7 ingredients is absolute inappropriate for me!).
These adjustments in mixology is giving me headache – this amount of liqueur, plus a dash of syrup, plus a pinch of sugar? That is crappy for me! 2 Liqueurs along with one spirit -> not my direction; 2 spirit in one drink -> Almost impossible (ok, you could use a flavored vodka along with another spirit- but then don’t add an additional syrup).
My controversial attitude: Mixology shouldn’t be related to much to cuisine – as I see mixology more referring to the profile of wines! Wines have distinctive flavors, and you as consumer has to adapt to this flavor (not vice versa) if you want to drink this respective bottle of wine.
So an old fashioned tast like rye, so does the Manhattan, a Martini Cocktail taste like gin and a Singapore Sling taste like gin and cherry brandy and so on!
30 Mar 2007 at 11:03 AM 8. canary
as you say in comment above, there is an opportunity for customers “to learn the joy of a before-dinner drink, the beauty of a perfect wine pairing, or the sublime finish of a digestif.”
why not host (at el vaq) a cocktail-pairing dinner? In the same vein as the currently fashionable wine-pairing dinners.
06 Apr 2007 at 1:35 AM 9. cha-chi
I’ll tell you why we don’t pair cocktails @ dinner… because most of you pussy’s couldn’t handle another.
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 [...]
29 Mar 2007 at 6:45 AM 1. Ceetar
Liquor is an acquired taste. A lot of people don’t really like the taste of most of them, or think they don’t from memories of doing shots of really really bad Tequila in college. This is probably how they acquired the taste for that crappy beer they’re drinking, through beer pong and other college antics.
Because of this, a lot of people will jump at the idea of a drink that tastes like something yummy(and sweet) and still can get them drunk.
But then who am I to judge? My favorite shot is a Chocolate Cake Shot. Of course, there’s never a bad time for chocolate, and I generally try to appreciate most cocktails as long as they don’t have orange juice.
29 Mar 2007 at 7:30 AM 2. Jeffrey
Ceetar, I will agree with you that liquor is an acquired taste. I just think that a lot of people these days don’t try to acquire that taste – they stop at Chocolate Cake Shots.
I mean, when I see a grown man (and I see this more often than I should) putting down three or four Lemon Drops over the span of a beautiful three-course meal, it makes me really sad.
Because here’s a guy that’s never going to learn the joy of a before-dinner drink, the beauty of a perfect wine pairing, or the sublime finish of a digestif. All he’s going to know is heartburn and stomach aches, and never understand why.
Believe me, when I see this I always try to pull out a new drink or an appropriate glass of wine, but more often than not the customer is set on his Lemon Drops.
It’s just sad to me. Heartburn and stomach aches should never be a part of the dining experience.
29 Mar 2007 at 5:16 PM 3. Smach
Maybe what one is trying to say in comparing a complex flavor, or blend of flavors, with a widely known candy or dessert is “Mmmmm, this is as enjoyable as a …” It’s better than saying “It tastes , um, purple”, right?
29 Mar 2007 at 5:38 PM 4. Dan
I had some friends over the night who are accustomed to cheap beer and ‘mixed drinks’ that consist of a few ounces of Captain Morgans, a whole can of coke, and no ice.
After we ate dinner I asked if anybody else wanted a drink while I was fixing myself up a Manhattan. A few of them asked what it tasted like, trying to compare it to something they had previously had, but all I had to offer was, “It tastes like a Manhattan and it’s god damn delicious.”
29 Mar 2007 at 6:39 PM 5. Lindsey Mitchell
I completely agree with you on the need to acquire a taste for a decent drink, believe me – there is nothing better then a REAL, TRUE dry martini at cocktail hour.
Half the time I don’t even go out to bars anymore because of the ‘tastes just like a…’ phenom going on out there…forgive me if I want my vodka, soda to taste like a vodka with soda.
What happened to the days of Tom Collins’ and Sidecars?
Damn, now I want a Manhatten.
30 Mar 2007 at 6:10 AM 6. Chuck P.
My comment would be that, like with all things in life, some people just don’t get it. There are too many facets in the diamond of life for everyone to properly appreciate the details in each one. I am sure photography buffs can’t understand why most of us pay $700 for a camera, but take all our pictures using the “Auto” setting because we can’t appreciate all the different settings on the damn thing.
The best bet is to appreciate what you appreciate and leave everyone else to their own devices. I learned long ago that when I go to the bar and get shots, its woodford on ice for me, and a plastic shot glass of sugar and cheap vodka for everyone else…
CP
30 Mar 2007 at 6:56 AM 7. Dominik MJ
I think this topic is very controversial!
The extrems are very clear: candy drinks against distinctive classics – but this is just the tip of the iceberg!
I confess that I am a dinosaur in bartending. So I would like, that my drinks taste like the base alcohol! I want that the expression is like the ingredients and I prefer a drink with 2 ingredients over a drink with 5 (and a drink with 7 ingredients is absolute inappropriate for me!).
These adjustments in mixology is giving me headache – this amount of liqueur, plus a dash of syrup, plus a pinch of sugar? That is crappy for me! 2 Liqueurs along with one spirit -> not my direction; 2 spirit in one drink -> Almost impossible (ok, you could use a flavored vodka along with another spirit- but then don’t add an additional syrup).
My controversial attitude: Mixology shouldn’t be related to much to cuisine – as I see mixology more referring to the profile of wines! Wines have distinctive flavors, and you as consumer has to adapt to this flavor (not vice versa) if you want to drink this respective bottle of wine.
So an old fashioned tast like rye, so does the Manhattan, a Martini Cocktail taste like gin and a Singapore Sling taste like gin and cherry brandy and so on!
30 Mar 2007 at 11:03 AM 8. canary
as you say in comment above, there is an opportunity for customers “to learn the joy of a before-dinner drink, the beauty of a perfect wine pairing, or the sublime finish of a digestif.”
why not host (at el vaq) a cocktail-pairing dinner? In the same vein as the currently fashionable wine-pairing dinners.
06 Apr 2007 at 1:35 AM 9. cha-chi
I’ll tell you why we don’t pair cocktails @ dinner… because most of you pussy’s couldn’t handle another.