Jeffrey Morgenthaler


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Latest Drink Recipe

Egg Nog

Egg Nog

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.

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About Me

My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the head bartender at Bel Ami in Eugene, Oregon.

A photo of me behind the bar.

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.

My Cocktail Recipes

Bad Apple

Friday, March 17th, 2006
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I’ve got to admit, I can’t stand this whole green apple cocktail phenomenon. I think these product lines of Jolly Rancher-flavored schnapps are ridiculous and do nothing for the world other than encourage binge drinking among teenage girls. And when a man walks into my bar and orders one, well, personally I think he becomes less of a man. But that’s just my opinion.

That said, I was still getting a lot of requests for them at Red Agave, so I came up with this as an alternative. It’s a vodka cocktail flavored with fresh green apple. No neon-green syrupy schnapps, just pure, fresh ingredients. And here’s how you do it:

1 quarter green apple, seeded
2 oz Absolut Citron
1.5 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup

Either muddle apple in a mixing glass or blend ingredients, without ice, until apple is pureéd smooth. Shake this mixture with ice and fine-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of green apple.

Update: Our friends at Natural Born Cynic now have a photo posted of this drink!

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Guava Margarita

Friday, February 17th, 2006
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guavamargarita.jpg

The origin of the Margarita is lost to history, but there are several stories vying for the title. The one I like involves a showgirl named Marjorie King, who was apparently allergic to grain alcohol. In 1938, Marjorie was visiting the Rancho Del Gloria Bar in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, when she asked one of the bartenders to mix her a cocktail with tequila. A bartender by the name of Danny Herrera, poured tequila over shaved ice then added lemon and triple sec. He translated Majorie’s name to its Spanish equivalent, Margarita.

This blended version, which we came up with for El Vaquero in 2005, should be tart, yet just sweet enough to allow the guava to shine through the alcohol.

2 oz tequila
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1 oz simple syrup
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Blend with a 12-ounce scoop of ice until smooth. Pour into a festive glass and garnish with a thin lime wheel.

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43 Manhattan

Monday, January 30th, 2006
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vaqueromanhattan.jpg

The Manhattan allegedly has a documented history. When Samuel J. Tilden was elected Governor of New York in 1874, socialite Jenny Jerome threw a party at the Manhattan Club in New York to celebrate his victory. The bartender created a special drink for this occasion; one half ounce bourbon, one quarter ounce each sweet and dry Vermouth and a dash of bitters. She named the drink the Manhattan after the club. Both the drink and Jenny Jerome earned a place in history. She later became Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill.

We have placed a twist on this venerable cocktail by replacing the vermouth with a touch of the sweet Spanish brandy liqueur, Quarenta y Tres.

.5 oz Cuarenta y Tres
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Build this one in a large rocks glass before adding any ice. Finish the drink with crushed ice and garnish with an orange twist.

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Mexican Sidecar

Tuesday, January 17th, 2006
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The Sidecar is rumored to have been invented at Harry’s American Bar in Paris some time in the early teens, and must have taken a popular turn very quickly, as it was a well-established drink by the time Prohibition arrived in the United States.

Arguably the greatest cocktail of all time and the basis for many classics such as the Margarita and newer classics such as the Lemon Drop, it has traditionally been made with two parts brandy to one part each lemon juice and Cointreau. We have updated the recipe slightly to appeal more to modern palates.

1.5 oz El Presidente brandy
1.5 oz Citronge orange liqueur
1.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup

Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass with sugared rim. Garnish with a lemon twist.

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Simple Syrup

Monday, January 16th, 2006
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There’s a reason why this isn’t called “Complicated Syrup”. If you can boil water, you’re on your way to making drinks like a pro.

Anyway, here’s how we do it, so you can make these drinks at home.

1 pound (2 cups) granulated cane sugar
2 cups boiling water

Stir together until clear. Let cool and pour into a clean bottle with a pour spout.

That’s it! Have fun.

7 Comments

Brisa

Sunday, December 18th, 2005
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This cocktail has no history. Sara Willis, owner of Red Agave and Vaquero, came to me with a vision of a simple drink that used these three ingredients, so I came up with this. It is light and refreshing, and a wonderful alternative for drinkers accustomed to Cosmopolitans and Greyhounds.

1.5 oz. Ketel One vodka
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1.5 oz. grapefruit juice

Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

1 Comment

Planter’s Punch

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005
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The Bon Vivant’s Companion of 1933 credits Jerry Thomas at the Planter’s Hotel in St. Louis around 1840, for creating this drink. The charm of the Planter’s Punch is its refreshing mellowness - not to be interpreted as sweetness.

I updated it for Vaquero with a touch of unsweetened passionfruit puree in place of the traditional orange juice.

2 oz Myers’s Dark Rum
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
.75 oz passionfruit puree

Build this drink on the rocks in a tall glass, drizzling it with the passionfruit as the last step. Garnish with an orange wedge.

Comment on this Article

The Blood Orange

Sunday, January 2nd, 2005
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Here’s a good one for the season - the complex flavors of it make it one of the few citrus cocktails that would be truly appropriate on, say, Christmas Eve. I had a drink by the same name years ago in San Francisco, and tried to recreate it when I got back home. This is what I came up with, and it ended up being nothing like the original recipe, so I called it my own (this version is leaps and bounds better, anyway)

So here it is, probably the best drink I’ve ever created, the Blood Orange:

1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
.75 oz Campari
.75 oz dry vermouth
1.5 oz fresh orange juice

Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a quartered orange wheel.

1 Comment

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Old Forester Repeal Bourbon

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 [...]

Read full review here »

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