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.
The Great American Distiller’s Festival was this past weekend, and I was there on Sunday to witness some of the action with my crusty sidekick, Scott.
The first event was a seminar titled “The History of the Cocktail“, led by Robert Hess. Robert jumped right in there with a crash course on spirits, theories about the origins of mixed drinks in general, and some basic drink etymology. The team from the Teardrop Lounge mixed Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktails while Robert demonstrated the simplicity involved in creating this, the original cocktail and a surprisingly complex little number considering its spartan ingredient list.
Robert then jumped into a brief history of aromatized wines such as vermouth, and their popularity in cocktails in the late nineteenth century. The team whipped up a batch of very large Manhattans while the crowd braced themselves for a 1PM rye whoopin‘.
And in a perfectly logical move, Robert demonstrated how the Martini grew out of the Manhattan and proved it by passing around his interpretation of the original Martini, made with Dry Fly gin, Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, and Angostura orange bitters. The crowd swooned as they took another brunch-sized blast of 80 proof liquor.
Comments
13 Responses to “The Great American Distiller’s Festival: History of the Cocktail with Robert Hess”
The Munat Bros. is in the house! Nice photo of Ted’s right ear. If you’d taken that shot twenty minutes later, you could have gotten one of Ted slumped over a table littered with cocktail glasses.
(OK, he didn’t really slump over the table, but surely we’re allowed a bit of poetic license in the comments section?)
Frankly, I didn’t think the Dry Fly held up very well in the martini. Dry Fly is a very mild gin with a gentle juniper flavor. The Carpano Antica just crushed it, in my not-very-humble opinion. I’d like to try the drink again with something more potent, like Junipero. Can you arrange another distiller’s festival for next weekend so we can test that? Thanks.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to try the Martini, as Daniel skipped me as the samples were going around. But if memory serves, the Dry Fly is 80 proof, which tends to get lost in a big vermouth like Antica Formula. I’ve tried this particular drink with some London monsters like Sapphire and Westbourne Strength, and also with the muscly Junipero from California, and they all stand up well to the vermouth.
Hmm. Westbourne Strength Martin Miller sounds like a good match, especially now that I’m infatuated with the lovely and charming Emma Davis. (Doesn’t hurt that she gave me a bottle last week.)
Damn. I knew I shoulda stayed in Portland on Sunday, but I … yeah, excuses don’t cut it.
(Did you just call Scott crusty? [I wanted to italicize that but didn't know if your comments would let me.] There’s something almost creepy about that…)
25 Aug 2008 at 5:16 PM 5. dshenaut
Historically, wouldn’t a sweeter more mellow gin be more appropriate in the Martinez. Of course, the desision to serve Dry Fly may have had something to do with Kent buying me brunch.
25 Aug 2008 at 6:49 PM 6. Jo3sh
Even if the Dry Fly did not hold up well, I’d love to see the recipe Mr. Hess used for his Martinis. Even more interesting would be a post from him about it.
I don’t remember what proportions Robert used (I thought it was equal parts, but I wasn’t really very sober at that point), but CocktailDB has a recipe for a Rex Cocktail with those ingredients:
For some reason, the Savoy’s recipe for a Martinez is for six people! But it has equal parts gin and French vermouth, with orange bitters and Maraschino or Curaçao.
Equal parts gin and Antica Formula (ack! bottle is now empty!) is definitely preferred by 100% of the test subject(s). About 1/4 oz of Maraschino & 1 dash of Angostura Orange Bitters is mighty good. Further research will follow.
Chas, the (s) was a clue. Or a joke. One subject, but several tests in the evening. Gin used was Bombay Sapphire, based on comments about milder gins not standing up to the Carpano — and I would agree, based on this tiny sample.
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25 Aug 2008 at 1:53 PM 1. Chas. Munat
The Munat Bros. is in the house! Nice photo of Ted’s right ear. If you’d taken that shot twenty minutes later, you could have gotten one of Ted slumped over a table littered with cocktail glasses.
(OK, he didn’t really slump over the table, but surely we’re allowed a bit of poetic license in the comments section?)
Frankly, I didn’t think the Dry Fly held up very well in the martini. Dry Fly is a very mild gin with a gentle juniper flavor. The Carpano Antica just crushed it, in my not-very-humble opinion. I’d like to try the drink again with something more potent, like Junipero. Can you arrange another distiller’s festival for next weekend so we can test that? Thanks.
25 Aug 2008 at 2:12 PM 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Sadly, I wasn’t able to try the Martini, as Daniel skipped me as the samples were going around. But if memory serves, the Dry Fly is 80 proof, which tends to get lost in a big vermouth like Antica Formula. I’ve tried this particular drink with some London monsters like Sapphire and Westbourne Strength, and also with the muscly Junipero from California, and they all stand up well to the vermouth.
25 Aug 2008 at 2:27 PM 3. Chas. Munat
Hmm. Westbourne Strength Martin Miller sounds like a good match, especially now that I’m infatuated with the lovely and charming Emma Davis. (Doesn’t hurt that she gave me a bottle last week.)
25 Aug 2008 at 3:55 PM 4. Molly
Damn. I knew I shoulda stayed in Portland on Sunday, but I … yeah, excuses don’t cut it.
(Did you just call Scott crusty? [I wanted to italicize that but didn't know if your comments would let me.] There’s something almost creepy about that…)
25 Aug 2008 at 5:16 PM 5. dshenaut
Historically, wouldn’t a sweeter more mellow gin be more appropriate in the Martinez. Of course, the desision to serve Dry Fly may have had something to do with Kent buying me brunch.
25 Aug 2008 at 6:49 PM 6. Jo3sh
Even if the Dry Fly did not hold up well, I’d love to see the recipe Mr. Hess used for his Martinis. Even more interesting would be a post from him about it.
25 Aug 2008 at 7:04 PM 7. heckler
sazerac manhattan? what’s that/
25 Aug 2008 at 9:42 PM 8. dshenaut
Sazerac Rye
25 Aug 2008 at 11:32 PM 9. Chas. Munat
I don’t remember what proportions Robert used (I thought it was equal parts, but I wasn’t really very sober at that point), but CocktailDB has a recipe for a Rex Cocktail with those ingredients:
http://cocktaildb.com/recipe_detail?id=1906
Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain
1 3/4 oz gin (5 cl, 7/16 gills)
3/4 oz sweet vermouth (2 cl, 3/16 gills)
1 dash orange bitters
Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)
26 Aug 2008 at 6:52 PM 10. Jeff Frane
For some reason, the Savoy’s recipe for a Martinez is for six people! But it has equal parts gin and French vermouth, with orange bitters and Maraschino or Curaçao.
Clearly, some research is required.
26 Aug 2008 at 10:01 PM 11. Jeff Frane
Results from the small database research file:
Equal parts gin and Antica Formula (ack! bottle is now empty!) is definitely preferred by 100% of the test subject(s). About 1/4 oz of Maraschino & 1 dash of Angostura Orange Bitters is mighty good. Further research will follow.
26 Aug 2008 at 10:15 PM 12. Chas. Munat
Mr. Frane:
What gin are you using? And how many test subject(s) do you have?
27 Aug 2008 at 5:58 AM 13. Jeff Frane
Chas, the (s) was a clue. Or a joke. One subject, but several tests in the evening. Gin used was Bombay Sapphire, based on comments about milder gins not standing up to the Carpano — and I would agree, based on this tiny sample.