I repost this every year about this time, because I’m a man on a mission. You see, I love egg nog, but I can’t stand the thick, gelatinous goop they sell at the grocery store. Even if you were to cut it with alcohol, it’s still so overly-pasteurized and full of preservatives that it would be anything but enjoyable to slug down at a Christmas party. So I set about concocting the simplest, tastiest Egg Nog recipe I could, and here’s what I came up with.
In terms of cocktail history, Egg Nog is nothing more than a brandy or rum (or both) flip made with the addition of cream or milk. The 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas calls for a nog made up of a tablespoon of bar sugar, a tablespoon of water, a whole egg, cognac, rum and milk, shaken and strained, with some nutmeg grated on top. The problem I have with Thomas’ recipe is all the extra water that comes from the melting of the ice, not to mention that extra half ounce he calls for. Watery egg nog, anyone? Yeah, no thanks.
So I did a lot of research, in cookbooks and on the web, and tried a bunch of different recipes and methods. Some called for cooking the eggs into sort of a custard, but that’s a heck of a lot of work and results in a thick glop. Others required separating the eggs, beating them independently, and folding them together. But again, it’s thick and I’m lazy.
This is the recipe I devised. It can be made in just about any home or bar, since the ingredients are fairly simple. It can be done entirely in a blender, so there are no whisks or beaters or rubber spatulas or stovetops needed. It yields two healthy servings, so you can easily multiply it to serve more. It doesn’t use a ton of heavy cream, so it’s fairly light. In other words, it’s practically perfect.
2 large eggs
3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz brandy
2 oz spiced rum (I use Sailor Jerry’s)
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream
Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled wine glasses or champagne coupes, grating additional nutmeg on top immediately before serving.
One note about blenders. This recipe works great in home blenders, but the commercial models are designed to heat whatever they’re blending, which can result in scrambled eggs by the time you get around to the sugar. If you’re using a Vita-Mix or similar commercial blender, cut that initial blend time down to a quarter minute or so.
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 Bel Ami in Eugene, Oregon.
I'm 36, I've been tending bar for 12 years and writing about it for 5. 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.
You all know how I feel about vodka martinis, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time. Well, Darcy over at The Art of Drink put it better than I ever could:
People seem to fear the vermouth, when in reality vermouth is your friend. It is the vermouth that adds the flavour to a martini and not the vodka. But the “monkey see, monkey do” principal applies. Ordering a plain old martini was boring, so it became a dry martini, which sounded better and made the purchaser look more “in the know.” Then the extra dry vodka martini became all the rage because it seemed sophisticated. The reality is that if you give an alcoholic a bottle of vodka and jar of olives this is about the same level of sophistication.
The luck of some people. I suppose congratulations are in order, but wow!
“I’ve been waiting on him for about three years,” Kienow said. “We’d just talk across the bar he’s a really nice guy. I hope he comes back in so I can tell him thank you, because the other day I was kind of dumbfounded.”
Fun bar blog Make Money Bartending has this post giving advice to people looking to get started in the bar biz. And I quote:
It’s much easier to get a job as a busser than it is as a bartender, this is obvious. A busser’s job is an entry level position where a bartender’s job is generally not.
Something to remember is, there are a lot of bars out there that only hire bussers, while recruiting all bartenders within.
With that said, if you’re wanting to bartend it’s not a bad idea to look at those kinds of places for work. Getting a job as busser, with the intention and ambition to work your way up to bartending is an excellent strategy.
I’ve gotten tons and tons of feedback from bartenders all over the globe about my Eight Things You Should Never Say to Your Bartender post a while back. It seems that everyone’s got their own list of things they don’t want to hear while working, so here are a few:
“Do you know who I am?” - Tara Tainton
“Sitting at the bar and asking, ‘What’s that, what’s that?’ about each drink you make is the thing I hate the most!” - Sara, Austin, Texas
“When are you done? - I hate this question, why do you care? Are you trying to make me feel bad for working?” - Ernesto, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Can I get a free birthday drink?” Kyle, Brooklyn, New York
“I hate it when people assume that they’re getting whatever it is that they’re drinking for free once the clock turns over to their birthday. Who decided that you get a bunch of free shit on your 37th birthday? - Alex, Seattle, Washington
“SMILE!” - Ben, Breckenridge, Colorado
“People who tell me, ‘You should smile more!’ when I’m really busy are going to hell. And I don’t care how saintly of a life they’ve lived!” - Jen, Kissimmee, Florida
“I hate it when men ask me ,”Do you have a boyfriend?” when I’m working. Would you ask a girl working at the supermarket that question?” - Jen, Redondo Beach, California
“Can I ask you a personal question?, and then follow it up with something way too personal, about my body, my sexual preference, or my relationship status or something.” - Kari, St. Louis, Illinois
“Can I read your palm? I had this guy ask me this last night, what a fucking tool!” - Jessie, San Francisco, California
Two of my favorite local food bloggers, Brownie Points Blog (when are we getting together to play with the liquid nitrogen tank, Jocelyn?) and Accidental Scientist are in the Eugene Weekly today. I highly recommend reading both their blogs for fun insights into home cooking, local restaurant reviews, and even a scathing comment or two about my neighborhood pub’s french fries.
Read the full article here. Congratulations, you two, you really are the creme de la creme of Eugene blogging!
Sophie Soong of KVAL here in Eugene interviewed me last night for a short piece on tipping here in Eugene. You can read the brilliant soundbite I gave here.
Hi all! I’m being interviewed tonight on KOPT radio in Eugene for a segment on food and wine pairings. I’ll be on between 5PM and 5:30PM, so tune in and listen up!
That’s 1600 AM for my local readers. I’ll look for an audio stream to link to…
Things are really starting to ramp up for the 75th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition on December 5th! Today I received a package from the folks at Old Forester bourbon, who are showing their support of my favorite day by releasing a limited edition Repeal Day bottling of their whiskey.
From the press release:
“Repeal [...]
