Inspired by a visit to see Tony Conigliaro at the unnamed bar at 69 Colebrooke Row in London last fall, where Manhattans are aged in glass vessels to sublime and subtle effect, the barrel aged cocktails I’ve been serving at Clyde Common this year are a decidedly American curiosity.
The rub of aging cocktails in a glass bottle is that the whole premise is built upon subtlety, as we know that spirits aged in glass or steel do so at an unremarkable pace. Being from the United States, where – as everyone is aware – bigger equals better, I pondered the following question: what if you could prepare a large batch of a single, spirit-driven cocktail and age it in a used oak barrel?
A hundred some-odd dollars in liquor later, I was nervously pouring a gallon of pre-batched rye Manhattans into a small, used oak cask whose previous contents were a gallon Madeira wine. I plugged the barrel and sat back in anxious anticipation; if the experiment was a success I’d have a delicious cocktail to share at the bar – if it was a failure then I’d be pouring the restaurant’s money down the floor drain.
Over the next several weeks I popped open the barrel to test my little concoction until I stumbled upon the magic mark at five-to-six weeks. And there it was, lying beautifully on the the finish: a soft blend of oak, wine, caramel and char. That first batch sold out in a matter of days and I was left with a compelling need to push the process even further.
Now, three gallons of Negroni might not be practical for the home enthusiast, but the average bar or restaurant should be able to afford that sort of quantity quite easily. For those of you trying this at home, try searching the internet for one-gallon charred oak casks (stay away from the fancy lacquered kind meant for display in dens and 1980s wine bars) and be sure to let us know what you find in the comments section below.
We procured a small number of used whiskey casks from the Tuthilltown distillery and proceeded to fill them with a large batch of Negronis; and that’s when the magic of barrel aged cocktails grabbed our attention. After six weeks in the bourbon barrel, our Negroni emerged a rare beauty. The sweet vermouth so slightly oxidized, the color paler and rosier than the original, the mid-palate softly mingled with whiskey, the finish long and lingering with oak tannins. We knew we were on to something unique and immediately made plans to take the cask aging program to the next level.
Negronis are now prepared in five-gallon batches and poured into multiple bourbon barrels. Robert Hess’ ubiquitous Trident cocktail is currently resting inside single-malt barrels. The El Presidente (à laMatt Robold), Deshlers, Remember the Maines, they’re all receiving the oaked treatment in a little storage room in the basement of the restaurant that I refer to as my “office”.
Once the cocktail is aged long enough for my taste, I then drain the bottle, straining out any charred bits of wood, and bottle the contents for use by my bartenders. To order, the cocktail is then measured out and poured over ice in a mixing glass, stirred, strained into a cocktail glass, and then garnished with the appropriate garnish. It’s quick and simple, as all of the real work has already been done by the barrel.
Anyway, on to the recipes. As simple as it seems to do, I figured not everyone is going to want to do the math to get started on some of these recipes, so here are a few I’ve figured out:
Negroni
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) dry gin
128 oz sweet vermouth
128 oz Campari
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel. Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Manhattan
Makes Three Gallons
256 oz (approximately ten 750ml bottles) rye whiskey
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) sweet vermouth
7 oz Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a barrel that has previously stored sherry, Madeira, or port wine). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Trident
Makes Three Gallons
128 oz (approximately five 750ml bottles) aquavit
128 oz dry sherry
128 oz Cynar
7 oz peach bitters
Stir ingredients together (without ice) and pour into a three-gallon oak barrel (I prefer a used single malt barrel). Let rest for five to seven weeks and pour into glass bottles until ready to serve.
Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.
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.
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 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 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.
Hey folks, if you’re reading this post, then you’re officially a reader of this website. And that means that I could really use your help. In order to lure potential advertisers over to the dark side that is my, uh, sidebar, I need to prove to them that my website is mainly frequented by consenting adults.
So, whether or not you’re of legal drinking age, would you mind doing me a favor and filling out this quick survey? I’m not going to even ask for your name or email address, so rest assured that it’s completely confidential. Because more advertising means more money, more money means more liquor, and more liquor means more late-night booze-fueled ramblings both here and on my regularly-updated Twitter feed.
Thanks, folks. Stay tuned for more drinks and stories.
Maybe (and I say this in a completely non-smarmy way) if you posted more frequently you would get more visits and crank up your advertiser appeal that much more.
I know that you’ve been busy now that you’re in a real city (cough cough) and making videos and traveling the globe on someone else’s dime . . . but MORE POSTS!
Thanks for posting the tonic water recipe. I have been trying to explain to my customers exactly what you are saying for a very long time. The masses are being turned one by one. Great job!
19 May 2009 at 8:28 am 9. Garretto
I got kind of excited when I saw a new post, but then it turned out to be a request —oh well, no problem. DONE! The least we can do! Hope it helps and looking forward to your next post and Imbibe video.
!Salud!
20 May 2009 at 4:34 am 10. Jean-Luc D
Long time lurker here, and I quite like the idea of a little survey, however with the rather large age brackets it makes me think that the survey doesn’t really take into accout people who visit your site who are not from the States. I’m 19, thus had to tick the 14-20 bracket, and where I live (New Zealand) I’m above the legal drinking age however your survey would probably put me into the ‘underage’ box due to your higher age limit. Admittedly I’m most probably in the minority here (being both young and from the other side of the world) but thought I’d just mention it. On the flipside I suppose now that I think about it, the advertisers probably don’t care so much about us internationals anyways. XD Btw I’m loving the videos too, I must agree with previous commenters on how good you are in front of the camera.
Good one mate.
No thanks for making me really think about how much I spend on libations.
24 Jul 2009 at 10:01 pm 13. izzy
I came here for the ginger beer article and decided to have a longer look. I really like the website, especially the how to kind of stuff. Keep it up, dude.
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15 May 2009 at 12:49 pm 1. Blair, aka Trader Tiki
don’t forget to get signed up for Quantcast too.
That way you can find out that your audience is made mostly of upper income college educated latino males with 2 or less dependents.
seriously.
15 May 2009 at 3:16 pm 2. liesel
done. Thanks for not asking how many cocktails I have on average per week, like my Dr. does.
15 May 2009 at 3:29 pm 3. Chris W.
Done and done.
Don’t know why I posted to say only that, but there you go.
Now to figure out what drink to make tonight… hmmm…
16 May 2009 at 7:39 am 4. Jeff Frane
Maybe (and I say this in a completely non-smarmy way) if you posted more frequently you would get more visits and crank up your advertiser appeal that much more.
I know that you’ve been busy now that you’re in a real city (cough cough) and making videos and traveling the globe on someone else’s dime . . . but MORE POSTS!
16 May 2009 at 1:29 pm 5. Cuco
Amigo Jeffrey is done.
best Cuco
17 May 2009 at 3:32 am 6. Tiare
I second Blair on Quantcast.
18 May 2009 at 8:58 am 7. francisco Saa avellaneda
i am friend of cuco, and i like fernet branca, do you know something about this delicious cocktail??
18 May 2009 at 3:05 pm 8. caskproof
Thanks for posting the tonic water recipe. I have been trying to explain to my customers exactly what you are saying for a very long time. The masses are being turned one by one. Great job!
19 May 2009 at 8:28 am 9. Garretto
I got kind of excited when I saw a new post, but then it turned out to be a request —oh well, no problem. DONE! The least we can do! Hope it helps and looking forward to your next post and Imbibe video.
!Salud!
20 May 2009 at 4:34 am 10. Jean-Luc D
Long time lurker here, and I quite like the idea of a little survey, however with the rather large age brackets it makes me think that the survey doesn’t really take into accout people who visit your site who are not from the States. I’m 19, thus had to tick the 14-20 bracket, and where I live (New Zealand) I’m above the legal drinking age however your survey would probably put me into the ‘underage’ box due to your higher age limit. Admittedly I’m most probably in the minority here (being both young and from the other side of the world) but thought I’d just mention it. On the flipside I suppose now that I think about it, the advertisers probably don’t care so much about us internationals anyways. XD Btw I’m loving the videos too, I must agree with previous commenters on how good you are in front of the camera.
Good one mate.
21 May 2009 at 5:30 pm 11. Ben from GarnishBar
Nice short and sweet survey.
04 Jun 2009 at 12:04 pm 12. jjm
No thanks for making me really think about how much I spend on libations.
24 Jul 2009 at 10:01 pm 13. izzy
I came here for the ginger beer article and decided to have a longer look. I really like the website, especially the how to kind of stuff. Keep it up, dude.
26 Jul 2009 at 1:41 am 14. Mata
Done it – just for you…