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.
First of all, my apologies to everyone who asked, “Do you hate my eyes?” this month after having to see my name in print a whopping three times. But for those of you who missed even one, here’s a wrap-up. And no, I don’t hate your eyes.
First up, I was quoted in a Wired piece about laptop etiquette in bars. Wired is one of my favorite magazines, so my inner nerd is beaming with pride that I was asked to contribute my thoughts. I also blushed every time one of my mouth-breathing Trekkie friends called or emailed to congratulate me. It’s good to be accepted by one’s peers.
Next, Playboy Magazine selected the Bourbon Renewal as their Drink of The Month for May. As it’s every heterosexual man’s dream to be flown down to the Playboy Mansion to make drinks for Hef and his fabulous friends, I feel that I’m at least one step closer to getting that invite… right? Also, I was able to justify a purchase of this fine publication by explaining, “I’m just reading it for the article about me.”
Stay tuned for more fun, including a great tutorial on making one of my favorite cocktail mixers at home. It’s so easy, you’ll be cleaning up exploding glass bottles in no time!
Comments
8 Responses to “A Big Month at the Morgenthaler Household”
Thanks guys. Bamboo, be careful what sorts of challenges you place before me that require the skills of a talented illustrator.
You might just get set to work.
23 Apr 2008 at 1:51 PM 5. Kevin Langmack
My bar is lucky enough to be next to a wi-fi hotspot and we get a fair share of people who sit and drink while computing. Biggest tip is to use headphones, Having crappy sounding laptop speakers clearly audible to everyone is kind of a bummer.
23 Apr 2008 at 3:11 PM 6. Brutis
Congratulation’s will have to order a copy of the food & wine, hope your drink makes it to the Australian edition of playboy too.
Thanks, Brutis. Let me know if I’m discovered down under.
Kevin, I share your frustration with audible laptop sounds. I keep my volume muted by default when in public.
26 Apr 2008 at 2:59 PM 8. Lance J. Mayhew
Do you know how awkward it was telling my wife that my good friend has a recipe in Playboy and I need to buy it for “research”? Thanks to you, I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.
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 [...]
First up, I was quoted in a Wired piece about laptop etiquette in bars. Wired is one of my favorite magazines, so my inner nerd is beaming with pride that I was asked to contribute my thoughts. I also blushed every time one of my mouth-breathing Trekkie friends called or emailed to congratulate me. It’s good to be accepted by one’s peers.
Next, Playboy Magazine selected the Bourbon Renewal as their Drink of The Month for May. As it’s every heterosexual man’s dream to be flown down to the Playboy Mansion to make drinks for Hef and his fabulous friends, I feel that I’m at least one step closer to getting that invite… right? Also, I was able to justify a purchase of this fine publication by explaining, “I’m just reading it for the article about me.”
And finally, the Food and Wine Cocktails 2008 has arrived on bookshelves everywhere, and they’ve chosen the Batida Rosa to help represent cachaça. I’m proud to be presented alongside my friends Jimmy Patrick, Charlie Hodge at Clyde Common, Jamie Boudreau, Kevin Ludwig, Daniel and Ted at the Teardrop Lounge, and Greg at Andina Restaurant in Portland.
23 Apr 2008 at 6:52 AM 1. Craig Hermann
Congratulations! I eagerly await exploding glass bottles.
23 Apr 2008 at 8:55 AM 2. Jeff Frane
Dayum! Can I get your autygraph?
Just ordered the cocktail book from Amazon. Damn that Amazon Prime.
23 Apr 2008 at 9:17 AM 3. Dr. Bamboo
Neato!
Also, in light of the Wired piece, I think you need to get a t-shirt made up that says “Veteran Barkeep”.
23 Apr 2008 at 10:39 AM 4. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks guys. Bamboo, be careful what sorts of challenges you place before me that require the skills of a talented illustrator.
You might just get set to work.
23 Apr 2008 at 1:51 PM 5. Kevin Langmack
My bar is lucky enough to be next to a wi-fi hotspot and we get a fair share of people who sit and drink while computing. Biggest tip is to use headphones, Having crappy sounding laptop speakers clearly audible to everyone is kind of a bummer.
23 Apr 2008 at 3:11 PM 6. Brutis
Congratulation’s will have to order a copy of the food & wine, hope your drink makes it to the Australian edition of playboy too.
Brutis
24 Apr 2008 at 2:29 AM 7. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, Brutis. Let me know if I’m discovered down under.
Kevin, I share your frustration with audible laptop sounds. I keep my volume muted by default when in public.
26 Apr 2008 at 2:59 PM 8. Lance J. Mayhew
Do you know how awkward it was telling my wife that my good friend has a recipe in Playboy and I need to buy it for “research”? Thanks to you, I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.