One advantage I have in my career – and believe me, I thank my lucky stars every day for my good fortune in this regard – is that I travel a lot. And when I do travel, I get to visit the greatest bars in the world and spend time picking the brains of the world’s greatest bartenders.
The most recent drink to grace our cocktail list is the result of my travels.
Taking inspiration from many sources, my initial interest in bitter, sour and sweet with a distinctly tropical bent was taken directly from the ever-brilliant Giuseppe Gonzalez and his now-famous Trinidad Sour.
While I, and the rest of the world, was taken by the combination of bitter, herbal, sweet flavors, it never really struck me as a an extensible sort of drink style until I came across Andrew Bohrer’s amaro-based Mai Tai variation called the “Elena’s Virtue”. Now here was a drink with legs, and a hint of what was to come in the world of cocktails, in my humble opinion.
But what New York and Seattle do well, San Francisco often does better, and usually with a lot more Fernet Branca, and that’s the conversation I had with Josh Harris while competing in the Domaine de Canton finals in St. Maarten this spring. And after tasting his simple concoction of ginger liqueur, pineapple and Fernet Branca I knew it was time for me to get my feet wet and try my hand at the herbal tropical sour.
The result has been a smash hit at the bar, as it very much follows in the style of our restaurant bar, a reflection of the crafted European style of cooking that emerges from the kitchen on a nightly basis. In other words, earthy, sour, herbal flavors do very, very well where we work.
Put all of this together, throw in a desire to explore the dusty, neglected bottle of Drambuie, and an early morning racking one’s brain to come up with a drink name (the original intent was Brixton Club) and a star was born:
Kingston Club
1½ oz Drambuie
1½ oz pineapple juice
¾ oz lime juice
1 tsp Fernet Branca
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake ingredients with ice and finish with 1 oz soda water. Strain mix over fresh ice into a chilled collins glass and garnish with an orange twist.
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.
…are coming to Eugene! The authors of one of my favorite books (and many others) are going to be in town for a very special pairing dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (and previous employer: hi, guys!). I just made my reservation after receiving this in my inbox:
Please join us [Wednesday, August 6] for an evening of food, wine and insight at Marché, with two of our favorite writers. Enjoy a tasting menu with wine pairings and discussion with Washington Post wine columnists Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg, winners of the 2007 IACP “Cookbook of the Year” award and the Georges Duboeuf “Wine Book of the Year” award for What To Drink With What You Eat, and James Beard Award-winning authors of Becoming A Chef, Culinary Artistry, and other bestselling titles.
We’ll have a fabulous tasting menu, wine pairings (and some fascinating non-wine pairings) and a copy of the book for you, plus a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Jane Eyre McDonald Voice Scholarship Fund at the Eugene Hearing & Speech Center.
No mention of the wine (or “fascinating non-wine”) pairings, but knowing those involved there will be no disappointments. (See menu below)
If you live in or near Eugene, this is the culinary event of the summer. Dinner is $100 per person, and reservations are not only required but will be moving quickly. Call (541) 342-3612, Extension 2 for reservations. See you there!
Menu
Amuse Bouche
Northwest oyster with cucumber granita
First Course
Albacore crudo with capers, lemon, arugula & olive oil
I’m pairing the drinks. Wines with every course, tentatively as follows: Bubbly with the amuse, pinot blanc with the albacore crudo, a roussanne with the pasta course, pinot noir with the duck, a syrah with the cheese course and a late harvest viognier with dessert. All subject to change (and producers to be confirmed), especially if I can find a way to work a rosé in there.
In addition to the wines, in the wide-ranging and inclusive spirit of the book I plan to pair a saison beer with the pasta course and a whiskey- or brandy-based cocktail (recipe to be devised) with the duck. In the spirit of my self-righteous closed-mindedness I will not be pairing tea or especially particular kinds of water with anything other than the couple aspirin I take the next morning.
This dinner should be really, really great, as should the speakers. Plus, everyone who attends gets a copy of the book. Since it’s a benefit, you might be able to write the dinner off as a tax-deductible donation, too, although you should probably consult someone considerably smarter than me on the particulars of that.
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 [...]
…are coming to Eugene! The authors of one of my favorite books (and many others) are going to be in town for a very special pairing dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (and previous employer: hi, guys!). I just made my reservation after receiving this in my inbox:
25 Jul 2008 at 4:11 PM 1. Chris
Holy smokes that’s awesome! One of my favorite books as well & a really great educational work in general.
Have fun man!
25 Jul 2008 at 4:13 PM 2. Matt Lanning
what’s the date of this one? looked on the Marche site, but no word there, either…
26 Jul 2008 at 4:13 AM 3. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Uh, oops, sorry, Matt. It’s Wednesday, August 6th. 6PM
26 Jul 2008 at 7:38 AM 4. Jeff Frane
Is Ryan involved in the wine choices? I know that Marché has a great wine list, so the decisions are likely to be adventurous.
26 Jul 2008 at 1:18 PM 5. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I’m hoping Ryan and James West are involved in putting something together.
26 Jul 2008 at 2:04 PM 6. Eugenia
Looks wonderful — I’ll be there in spirit!
27 Jul 2008 at 11:20 AM 7. Ryan Dawe-Stotz
I’m pairing the drinks. Wines with every course, tentatively as follows: Bubbly with the amuse, pinot blanc with the albacore crudo, a roussanne with the pasta course, pinot noir with the duck, a syrah with the cheese course and a late harvest viognier with dessert. All subject to change (and producers to be confirmed), especially if I can find a way to work a rosé in there.
In addition to the wines, in the wide-ranging and inclusive spirit of the book I plan to pair a saison beer with the pasta course and a whiskey- or brandy-based cocktail (recipe to be devised) with the duck. In the spirit of my self-righteous closed-mindedness I will not be pairing tea or especially particular kinds of water with anything other than the couple aspirin I take the next morning.
This dinner should be really, really great, as should the speakers. Plus, everyone who attends gets a copy of the book. Since it’s a benefit, you might be able to write the dinner off as a tax-deductible donation, too, although you should probably consult someone considerably smarter than me on the particulars of that.
27 Jul 2008 at 7:20 PM 8. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Ryan, that sounds fantastic. And if you need any help researching whiskey or brandy (wink, wink), just be sure to let me know.
See you then!
31 Jul 2008 at 5:52 PM 9. 6th Floor Bloggers
That sounds like fun, I love that book!