This recipe is part two of my New Orleans Mixology Monday post. For the complete story behind this drink, please click here.
¾ oz Wild Turkey rye
¾ oz Clear Creek apple brandy
¾ oz Carpano Antica Formula vermouth
¼ oz Strega
2 dashes cinnamon tincture*
1 large strip orange peel
Stir ingredients over cracked ice. Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass and garnish with orange peel.
*To make cinnamon tincture, soak 4 ounces whole cinnamon sticks in 16 oz grain alcohol for three weeks. Strain solids and bottle.
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.
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.
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 Bel Ami in Eugene, Oregon.
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.
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.
I had been messing around with some wine syrups this week, and luckily had remembered to bring along a bottle of Verdejo syrup. To make Verdejo syrup, just boil down a bottle of Verdejo wine until reduced by half (should equal 12 ounces). Add a cup and a half of sugar and stir until clear. Let cool and bottle.
Now, on to the drink. Seaberries are also known as buckthorn, hence the name of the drink.
2 oz white rum
20 fresh seaberries
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz Verdejo syrup
2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
Muddle seaberries in a mixing glass until all their liquid is released. Add rum, lemon juice, Verdejo syrup and orange bitters and shake well over cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Comments
5 Responses to “The Buckthorn Bruise”
02 Sep 2007 at 10:42 pm 1. Molly
The seaberry mimosa was ALMOST as good.
OK, no, not quite. But … yum.
Sorry we missed you. We did appreciate the fruits of your labors, though!
Hi Eugene,
this berries are growing here in my region(Northern Germany / Europe)very often. The plant doesn´t need good grounds but a lot of sun. It can live with salty ground and air. We call it Sanddorn which means “Sandthorn”. Here you can get it as juice, liquor, wine, jam, in cosmetics ect…
The berries are very rich in vitamine c and are very healthy.
The taste of the fresh fruits is sour and bitter with an unique flavour. As a child I hate it, but minewhile (I am a bit older) it tastes delicious for me.
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 […]
02 Sep 2007 at 10:42 pm 1. Molly
The seaberry mimosa was ALMOST as good.
OK, no, not quite. But … yum.
Sorry we missed you. We did appreciate the fruits of your labors, though!
03 Sep 2007 at 9:40 am 2. erik_flannestad
Huh, I’ve never seen or heard of that fruit before.
Sounds interesting!
03 Sep 2007 at 10:05 am 3. Jeffrey
Molly - glad I could help! Sorry we missed you.
Erik - neither had I, but it’s worth a look!
12 Sep 2007 at 9:21 am 4. Krissi
Hi Eugene,
this berries are growing here in my region(Northern Germany / Europe)very often. The plant doesn´t need good grounds but a lot of sun. It can live with salty ground and air. We call it Sanddorn which means “Sandthorn”. Here you can get it as juice, liquor, wine, jam, in cosmetics ect…
The berries are very rich in vitamine c and are very healthy.
The taste of the fresh fruits is sour and bitter with an unique flavour. As a child I hate it, but minewhile (I am a bit older) it tastes delicious for me.
Regards from Berlin
Krissi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-buckthorn
12 Sep 2007 at 10:18 am 5. Jeffrey
Thanks for the report from the other side of the globe, Krissi.
I’ll have to see if I can find some jars of Sandthorn jam when I’m in Germany next summer!