Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Portland, Oregon is the best, as everyone knows. The city is largely unhindered by the cruel oppression of the sun’s toxic ultraviolet rays, which keep skin cancer and unnecessary happiness at bay. Mount Tabor, a dormant volcanic “cone” lies within the city limits, which is in no way absolutely terrifying. And a large near-sighted Amish population brings their rich cultural heritage to the table and fills the streets with the soothing sounds of emotional music, which nobody ever grows tired of.

But what few people realize is the many contributions that my tiny hometown of Eugene, just a hundred miles to the south, has made to Portland over the years.

One-way streets, which are never super annoying, first made their appearance in Eugene and have since been adopted by Portland for their awesomeness. The Nike swoosh, which nobody has ever gotten tired of looking at, credits Eugene as its birthplace and now calls Portland its home. And now, the vast cadre of antics of one Mr. Jeffrey Morgenthaler, which are impossible to tire of, have been generously donated to the city of Portland by the town of Eugene.

Yes, one month ago I filled up a large truck with a bunch of liquor, cocktail-related reading material – and a small bed – and headed for my new home of Portland. I am in the process of taking over the cocktail program at Clyde Common, from current bar manager extraordinaire Kevin Ludwig. While I’ve been using my time as of late to adjust to the new bar, absorb all I can from Kevin before he leaves to open his own venture Beaker and Flask, and generally make the adjustment to a larger city, I will be slowly implementing, along with the powerhouse staff currently behind the bar at the Clyde, an aggressive cocktail and spirits program of my own.

So stay tuned for updates, new posts, and possibly even a new drink or two – I’m sure you’re all tired of looking at that darn egg nog recipe over there on the left considering it’s February and all.

Thanks to Clyde Common, Portland, and you, dear reader, for all the support. And special thanks to Mr. Thomas Ngo for the above photo of me behind the bar at Clyde Common on my first night.

I might have mentioned this before, but I can hardly wait until this Friday, when I board the plane and head to Berlin to give a presentation at the BCB (Bar Convent Berlin).

I’ll be reunited with my friends Helmut Adam of Mixology Magazine and Stephan Berg of The Bitter Truth, and finally get a chance to spend some time with Joerg Meyer of Le Lion in Hamburg.

In addition, I’ll be meeting with the finest European cocktail bloggers, getting to taste some exciting products, and delivering my presentation on How to Use the Web to Connect to the Global Bar Community.

And, yes, that really is a photograph of me in traditional German lederhosen. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the scans. I’ll be posting more in the coming week. Stay tuned!

Last year, I had the tremendous fortune to stumble upon the Great American Distiller’s Festival in Portland and meet up with some really excellent Portland-area bartenders. That afternoon in August, coming together with so many talented individuals that I hardly knew existed prior to that day, laid the foundation for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.

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For those of you not in-the-know, I’ll be heading to Berlin at the end of September to give a presentation at the BCB (Berlin Bar Conference). It’s an annual event put on by Mixology Magazine, which I’ve been contributing to for several months now.

Anyway, I’ll be delivering my presentation on the topic of “The Web’s Influence on the Global Bar Scene” on Tuesday, September 30th at 1:30 PM alongside the fabulous Helmut Adam.

Mixology.eu has been posting brief presenter bios on their blog all week, and today I’ve been given the spotlight. So if you’d like to know more about what we’ll be discussing, head on over to the site and be sure to see the list of other presenters (I’m in some quite amazing company)

And if you’re anywhere near Berlin at the end of September, be sure to come to the BCB!

…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

Thanks to the recommendation of some good friends this weekend, I’ve added Twitter to my list of preferred web applications.

Their sage advice couldn’t have come at a better time: I’ve been busy readying myself for Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans next week, and have been concerned about how I’ll connect with everyone I want to meet while I’m down there.

In addition to blogging the event both here and on the Tales Blog, I will be posting regular Tweets from my cell phone for those who are following my feed via Twitter or Facebook.

For all you Twitter users out there who would like to follow me around Tales, the address of my Twitter profile is here:

http://twitter.com/jeffmorgen

Here’s to hopefully seeing some of you in New Orleans!

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.”

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.

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!

It’s official! Starting on Monday, January 7th, my co-bartender Scott Butler and I will be officially heading up the bar at Bel Ami, located in the Midtown Marketplace at 1591 Willamette Street here in Eugene, right across the street from the bar where I learned to mix cocktails all those years ago.

This is a great way to start off the new year, and we’re excited to be working with everyone at Bel Ami. In the 3-or-so years they’ve been open, they’ve done a tremendous business and built up a loyal clientele. Now they’ve graciously allowed Scott and me to step in and run their bar and infuse it with our own sort of, uh, charm. We’ll be continuing our education and exploration of classic cocktails, modern flavors and timeless techniques.

Owned by local track hero and businessman Roscoe Devine, Midtown (and Bel Ami) is already at the top of the list in Eugene for their perfect coffee, an incredible selection of wines, the finest food, attentive service, and elegant atmosphere. Here’s to hoping that we can help make the bar an even more enjoyable place than it already is.

The bar at Bel Ami is open at 4:30, Monday-Saturday. Scott and I hope to see you there!