Jeffrey Morgenthaler


  • Home
  • Resumé
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Contact Me

Latest Drink Recipe

Autumn Leaves

autumnleaves.jpg

This recipe is part two of my New Orleans Mixology Monday post. For the complete story behind this drink, please click here.

¾ oz Wild Turkey rye
¾ oz Clear Creek apple brandy
¾ oz Carpano Antica Formula vermouth
¼ oz Strega
2 dashes cinnamon tincture*
1 large strip orange peel

Stir ingredients over cracked ice. Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass and garnish with orange peel.

*To make cinnamon tincture, soak 4 ounces whole cinnamon sticks in 16 oz grain alcohol for three weeks. Strain solids and bottle.

More Recipes »

Most Popular Articles

Ten Books Every Bartender Should Own »

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 Dos and Donts of Mojitos »

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 Richmond Gimlet »

The Richmond Gimlet

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.

How Not to Make a Mint Julep »

How Not to Make a Mint Julep

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.

Ten Myths You've Probably Heard in Bars »

Dave and Jeff

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.

Crack or Strain »

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.

How to Make an Angostura-Scorched Pisco Sour »

Angostura-Scorched Pisco Sour

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!

How to Write a Bartending Resume »

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.

A Gallon of Margaritas by the Gallon »

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.

How to Make a Daiquiri - The Bartending School Way »

How Not to Make a Daiquiri

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.

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.

Swag Off ’08: We Have a Winner!

Monday, July 21st, 2008
Permalink

Since I was deep in the thick of competition and couldn’t take notes, I enlisted the services of Portland, Oregon food writer Ms. Lizzy Caston. Following is her report.


What does a group of creative bartenders do with bags full of promotional alcohol samples, mixers and condiments? Hold a contest to determine who can make the best drink using nothing but the swag handed out at Tales of the Cocktail.

Welcome to Swag Off ’08.

In true rogue spirit, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Daniel Shoemaker from the Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon and Eric Adkins from the Slanted Door in San Francisco met Friday night on the roof the Monteleone Hotel by moonlight, in what is sure to become a legendary annual event.

team.jpg

The rules were simple. Gather together a group of three judges; in this case Keith Waldbauer, bartender at Union in Seattle and author of Moving at the Speed of Life, Lauren Clark from Drink Boston and Misty from LUPEC http://lupecboston.blogspot.com/. The lovely and vivacious Liquid Muse, Natalie Bovis-Nelson agreed to MC.

judges.jpg

Ingredients included a hodge-podge of liquors not limited to airplane sized bottles of Bluecoat Dry Gin, G’Vine French Grape Gin, Pearl Vodka, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, Veev Acai Spirit, Poli Grappa and the most prominent swag at Tales this year: Canton French Ginger Liquor.

Yikes.

In lesser hands these drinks could have been small disasters, yet each contestant showed skill, inventiveness and their own personal touches. Jeff’s strategy was to, “take one of everything on the table and mix it together” in a technique reminiscent of a savant teenage mixologist at a house party. Eric on the other hand, took the molecular cocktail approach by smoking an inverted drinking glass over a Navan liqueur vanilla-scented aromatherapy candle. Daniel simply grabbed a few different ingredients and like a mad scientist on speed mixed and tasted and mixed some more.

All drinks were served up, and Eric’s had a whopping 2 oz of gin, a full oz of Veev, an undisclosed amount of grappa and the above mentioned “smoke of the vanilla candle”. Daniel chose chili powder, 7 whole dashes of Angostura bitters, agave nectar, 1.5 oz gin, ¾ oz grappa and ½ oz of Campari for his “Seat of the Pants” cocktail. Jeff could not resist muddling the Sour Green Apple Cocktail Candy http://www.cocktailcandy.com/ccandy/ccandy.html for his “Green Mile”, adding it along with 4 dashes of Campari, dashes of Angostura, with some of the gin, St. Germaine, Bitter Lemon and a float of Lemoncello.

While the judges reactions were mixed, no one “spat” which is surely a good sign. Feedback was generally positive with all judges agreeing that each certainly had the Spirit of the Cocktail in them. Yet a clear winner did emerge; Daniel Shoemaker’s Seat of the Pants. Look for it at a Bennigan’s or TGIF Fridays soon.

daniel.jpg

So congratulations Daniel. And remember, we are all winners at Tales of the Cocktail.


Thanks, Lizzie! Be sure to watch the video coverage of the event at the Small Screen Network.

10 Comments

I’m Over Here!

Friday, July 18th, 2008
Permalink

If you’ve noticed a dearth of posts from me while I’m at Tales of the Cocktail, please join me at the collaborative cocktail blog, TalesBlog.com

I’m attempting to liveblog some of the events I’m attending, and my colleagues are doing the same. I will, of course, be posting lots of photos and sharing some of the better stories once the trip is over.

Comment on this Article

Tales of the Cocktail: Day Zero

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
Permalink

I’m calling this “Day Zero” since the events don’t officially start until tomorrow. Although, you’d never know it by the sheer quantity of cocktail luminaries amassed in the French Quarter right now.

My day started with an internal miscommunication about the actual date of my departure (that’s what I get for booking the trip three months in advance and not checking my itinerary) - and this was after a full night behind the bar at Bel Ami.

After 10 hours of travel time, I was safely on my way to the hotel, sharing a cab with Chuck and Wes and longing for a lap or two around the Carousel Bar. And as much as I wanted to offend the room with my travel scent, I used my better judgement and cleaned up as well as I could before heading down to the bar.

There I spent some quality cocktail time with my old pals Natalie “The Liquid Muse” Bovis-Nelsen, Jenny Adams, and the Vieux Carré cocktail. It was an explosion of blogger-types as we rode the bar around the room in three complete cycles.

coops.jpg

Then, the bloggers split off in search of jambalaya and gumbo at Coop’s (mmmm, rabbit, sausage, shrimp, oh my!). By this time I was feeling the effects of several cocktails, sleep deprivation and a full belly. Time for an iced coffee at Café du Monde! (Note to Café du Monde enthusiasts, they’ve got nothing on Pacific Northwest java. Seriously.)

walking.jpg

The rag-tag group of enthusiasts then made its way down Bourbon Street (at Paul Clarke’s doing - thanks, Paul) to the French 75 bar next to Arnaud’s. We shared a round of 75s made with cognac and - I believe - orange liqueur (not my preferred recipe) and chatted with Jim Meehan.

french75.jpg

I’d had my arm twisted into attending a tasting of La Fée Parisienne absinthe at the Old Absinthe House by Natalie (where were you?) and ran into some old friends from Las Vegas last year.

Anyway, it’s 11PM, I’ve been awake since I-don’t-know-when, and now I’m contemplating flipping a coin and braving the Carousel Bar once more before bed. This is going to be a good week.

10 Comments

On My Way!

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
Permalink

tales.jpg

To Tales of the Cocktail, that is. You see, after last year’s debacle there was no way I was going to miss this one. In fact, I was so excited about going that I somehow showed up to the airport a day early, embarrassed as heck and thanking the nice young lady up and down for rescheduling my flights. (If Beaumont were there he totally would have made fun of me until I peed my pants.)

Anyway, no harm done, as I’m currently at the Portland Airport waiting for my connection to Dallas, and then off to New Orleans. I’ll be posting updates via Twitter, here on my site, and most importantly on the ginormous collaborative cocktail blog that we’ve set up to provide more Tales coverage than you’ll be able to shake a swizzle stick at.

More to come soon, I’ve got to get ready for my flight!

2 Comments


Latest Product Review

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 »

The Sections

  • Announcements
  • Ask Your Bartender
  • Experiments
  • General
  • Helpful Advice
  • Mixology Monday
  • My Cocktail Recipes
  • Oregon Bartenders Guild
  • Product Reviews
  • Repeal Day
  • Required Reading
  • Stories
  • Tales of the Cocktail
  • Travel

Syndication

By using this link, you may subscribe to this site in your favorite newsreader software.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to my email edition below and have new articles sent to you as they're published.

Offsite

My Twitter Profile
My Amazon Wish List
My MySpace Profile
My Facebook Page
Oregon Design Collective
Tony Figoli

  • Bartenders

      Bar Stories
      Drinks Companion
      Lance Mayhew
      Maxologist
      Miss Charming
      Moving at the Speed of Life
      Neyah White
      Spirits and Cocktails
      Kelsey Crenshaw
      Barbau Blog
      Chris Doig
      Robert Heugel
      Joe Bartender
      Jimmy Patrick
      Stanislav Vadrna
      The Art of Drink
      Shawn Soole
      The Thinking Bartender
      Ultimate Bar Chef
  • Cocktails

      Alcademics
      Bitters Blog
      Cocktailnerd
      Days That End In ‘Y’
      D.C. Drinks
      Drink Boston
      Explore the Pour
      Imbibe Magazine
      Intoxicated Zodiac
      Lamb Martini
      Martini Lounge
      Sloshed!
      My Bar, Your Bar
      Off The Presses
      Oh Gosh!
      Rookie Libations
      Slakethirst
      The Spirit World
      Underhill Lounge
      A Dash of Bitters
      Ardent Spirits
      Brilliant Cocktails
      Cocktail Chronicles
      Cocktailians
      Dr. Bamboo
      DrinkBoy
      The Gumbo Pages
      Kaiser Penguin
      Bibulous
      Bibulous
      Mixology Magazine
      MotoTails
      Liquid Muse
      Yes, Have Some!
  • Events

      RepealDay.org
  • Food

      Accidental Scientist
      Tea and Cookies
      28cooks
      Accidental Hedonist
      Dornenburg/Page
      Brownie Points
      Chow
      Food and Wine
      Married with Dinner
      Megnut
      Portland Food and Drink
      Slashfood
  • Spirits

      Nonjatta
      Scottes Rum
      Whiskeyfun
      Infusions of Grandeur
      Spirits Review
      The Scotch Blog
      Whisky Grotto

    • Archives:
    • 2008
    • 2007
    • 2006
    • 2005
    • 2004
    Creative Commons License
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.