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.
I’ve been ordering my used whiskey barrels from Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner, New York. They sell a three-gallon charred oak barrel that previously held their lovely whiskey, for around only $75.
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 la Matt 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:
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
Just when I think I’ve run out of things to say, my friends over at Imbibe Magazine drop me a note telling me that there’s a new video up, and it’s almost like the content writes itself.
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 [...]
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23 Apr 2009 at 3:02 pm 1. Jeff Frane
Yay! I think I asked for this a year ago.
24 Apr 2009 at 7:03 am 2. Jared
Jeff! Whenever I try to flame an orange, all I get is two pieces of zest where I originally had one, because I broke the piece I was trying to flame. How do you get the oils to come out so nicely? Do you have a special technique?
24 Apr 2009 at 3:52 pm 3. Mark
You know, now you’re in Portland, you’ll have to update that resume of yours.
24 Apr 2009 at 3:56 pm 4. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Jared – I think your oranges are possibly not so fresh. I have this happen on occasion, but it’s not an every time kind of thing.
Mark – Thanks for the reminder.
26 Apr 2009 at 6:09 pm 5. Rick
Jeff,
Really digging these videos – great to see your mug on a regular basis :)
Couple of questions for you:
1. You get a lot of pith with those channel knives. A little bit is nice to help the twist hold its shape, but the knife I have looks like yours. It leaves a good 1/8-1/4″ of pith. Good / bad?
2. You drop the peels into the drink after expelling the oils. I’ve heard lots of back and forth on this. Some say it adds bitterness to the drink (and they are most finicky and wrong), but I don’t like how it gets in the way of sipping sometimes. Any reason you do this rather than just chucking them? A twist can look nice, but a floating circle of lemon or orange is less exciting.
3. Nice, passionate effort on rubbing the rim of the glass.
Cheers!
26 Apr 2009 at 7:26 pm 6. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks for saying that, anyway, Rick ;)
To answer your questions:
1. Yeah, you get a lot of white pith with those channel knives. But while most people will tell you to avoid the pith, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think it matters a whole hell of a lot as the bitterness is only going to find its way into your mouth if you eat the twist. My answer: don’t eat the garnish.
2. Again, I haven’t had too many issues with bitterness on those wide zests (Hey, you: don’t eat that) and I find that they don’t really get in the way too much with a wide-mouthed cocktail glass like the one I use in the video. My exception here is when drinking a Sazerac, as I think the small rocks glass that drink should be served in will shove the twist into your face every time you take a sip. I discard the twist on that particular drink for that reason.
3. Thanks. I’m sure someone can find a joke in there, but I’m gonna skip it.
Cheers!
26 Apr 2009 at 8:44 pm 7. Eugenia
Weird, my thoughts were exactly like Rick’s: 1) pith issue, and 2) wow, there’s something really sexy about the oil around the rim. Of course, I was going to keep #2 to myself (and all obvious jokes), but since someone else mentioned it…
Ahem. Regarding #1, I think the pith would actually *add* something to the drink profile, just a little hint of bitter in a good way.
Love these videos, Jeff, thanks!
11 May 2009 at 2:22 am 8. ND
The zest can be delicious to eat, weird as it sounds—especially if you’ve got nice organic fruit. The zest at the end of an Old Fashioned is particularly good; it almost tastes like a candied orange peel for grown-ups (more so if you’ve flamed it).
14 May 2009 at 7:12 pm 9. Sambo
Bravo!!!! You are my hero!!! Whassup JM???
26 May 2009 at 8:02 pm 10. Nathan
Loves it.
http://chocomeat.blogspot.com/2009/05/buvare-imbibe-sips-with-jeffrey.html
18 Jun 2009 at 8:52 pm 11. AlchemistGeorge
Thanks for making this – so helpful – like many amateurs, garnishes are a weak spot for me and being able to see what you are doing is very helpful.
Encore?
26 Jul 2009 at 1:46 am 12. Mata
Loved that! I learned something useful!!!