From time to time, I will get a call from a publication asking me to speak about bartending and cocktails. While it may seem that I just love to see my name in print (well, sure), I also enjoy being given the opportunity to spread the word about craft bartending and the growing movement that is taking place in this country.
Click the article name to reveal a snippet of the article and a link to the full story, if available.
Templeton, Molly. “Much More Than a Mimosa” Eugene Weekly. May 22, 2008
“It all started with one drink.
Or rather, it started with the idea of a drink, with the recipe Bel Ami bartender
Jeffrey Morgenthaler posted to his blog one afternoon. Morgenthaler was fudging a little with a ‘Mixology Monday’ topic: fruit liqueurs. Rather than using a fruit liqueur exactly, he’d created a drink that used Bombay gin, lemon, St. Germain elderfl ower liqueur and a syrup made from Sweet Cheeks 2006 Estate Pinot Gris.
East of Eden wasn’t just a delicious drink with perfectly layered fl avors, though. It was an introduction, albeit a rather roundabout one, to an oft-neglected sub-category of cocktails (using the general definition rather than the one that specifies certain ingredients): those made with wine.”
Click here for the full article (PDF, Page 6). »
Bjornstad, Randi. “Mixologist Lets It Pour” The Register-Guard. May 12, 2008
“
Jeffrey Morgenthaler is a man on a mission, and he’s carrying on his crusade these days from behind the well-stocked bar at Bel Ami Restaurant and Lounge at Midtown Marketplace, on Willamette Street in just-south-of-downtown Eugene.
The mission — and not only has he already accepted it, he helped start it — is “to put Oregon on the map by being on the forefront of ‘craft’ bartending,” which means “putting out world-class cocktails” and getting bartenders all over the state to sign on to do the same thing.”
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“Drink of the Month: Bit of a Fix-You-Upper” Playboy. May 2008
“Jeffrey Morgenthaler is our kind of guy: an obsessive practitioner of lost arts and an inventor in his own right. He toils behind the bar of the Bel Ami Restaurant & Lounge in crunchy Eugene, Oregon, mixing, remixing and improvising, and he documents his findings at jeffreymorgenthaler.com.”
Kirstin Henninger. “Cocktail Movers and Shakers” Forbes Traveler. December 2007
“Another drink-slinger who’s putting the Pacific Northwest on the cocktail map is
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bartender at El Vaquero in Eugene, Oregon. “There are amazing drinks being made in this region right now and people don’t really know about it.” He’s doing his best to change that. Of late, his favorite drink is an Old Fashioned using house-made orange bitters and his own brandied cherries.”
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Cox, Louanne. “However you like your gimlet, it kicks a hell of a punch.” Helium. August 2007
“2001 saw the introduction of the Richmond Gimlet by mixologist extrodinaire
Jeffrey Morgenthaler. His recipe is 2oz Tanqueray No. 10 gin, 1oz fresh lime juice, 1oz simple syrup and a large sprig of mint. Place all the ingredients plus ice into a cocktail shaker and shake, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.”
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Neuman, Steven. “El Vaquero Dishes Up Latin Spice” The Oregon Daily Emerald. July 13, 2007
“This actually stands in stark contrast to the excellent and detailed bar menu created by legendary Eugene mixologist
Jeffrey Morgenthaler. It’s been said before, but if you have the cash, drop some for a few Richmond Gimlets - the perfect cocktail to beat summer swelter.”
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Fauchald, Nick. “The Mojito Rules” Food and Wine. July 12, 2007
“Oregon-based mixologist/blogger
Jeffrey Morgenthaler … recently posted an excellent list of mojito dos and don’ts, which should be posted behind every bar in America, along with his recipe for a proper mojito, which has given me hope that the mojito still has a chance.”
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Clarke, Paul. “Gone But Not Forgotten” Imbibe. July/August 2007
“At El Vaquero in Eugene, Ore., bartenders have also taken to using house-made falernum instead of the commercial versions. “I think the reason we’ve been pursuing the do-it-yourself approach is because we’d like to turn the clock back to a time when there were so many more flavors available to mixologists,” says Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager at El Vaquero. Morgenthaler found a falernum recipe online and has been using the syrup in Rum Swizzles, Corn ‘n Oils and other drinks, with a good response from customers. “Nobody’s ever tasted anything like it,” he says. “People have been going crazy for the falernum ever since we introduced it.”
Sparks, Lance. “El Vaquero: Riding High in the Fifth Street Market” Eugene Magazine July/August 2007
“Bartender Jeff Morgenthaler is a skilled mixologist with distinctive charm and a talent for invention. His “senuous cocktails” (each $8) include special selections of classics (43 Manhattan, Planter’s Punch) and Morgenthaler’s own ideas (Red Agave, Pink, Irish Laundry). The revival of interest in the cocktails couldn’t have come at a better time. Morgenthaler’s corner of El Vaquero is mighty popular during cocktail hour.”
Regan, Gary. “Gin Cocktails” Wine Enthusiast. May 2007
“The Richmond Gimlet, adapted from a recipe by
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Head Bartender, El Vaquero, Eugene, Oregon. … Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice and add the ingredients. Shake for approximately 15 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.”
Click here for the full article. »
Taylor, Lewis. “Boundless Blogs” The Register-Guard. April 30, 2007
“The great thing about blogs is they’re so specialized,” says
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, head bartender at El Vaquero restaurant in Eugene and author of a mixology blog. … “(The best part) is being able to connect with like-minded people. My area is so specific. There aren’t a lot of people in town that I can talk to about this stuff.” Although Morgenthaler is interested in a highly specialized area - namely mixology, the more artful side of bartending - there are lots of other uses for blogs.
Click here for the full article. »
Hale, Mike. “Bar Talk” The Monterey Herald. April 19, 2007
“A great bartender is like a great chef,” said
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the bar manager at El Vaquero in Eugene, Ore., and the author of a well-read blog on the subject. Morgenthaler, who grew up in Toro Park and graduated from Salinas High School in 1989, is a certified expert on the subject of “mixology,” and is quoted as such in several newspapers and magazines. “I see cocktails as a form of cuisine,” he said by phone from his Oregon home. “A great bartender can elevate the mundane after-work drink into something more. It transcends the simple act of having a drink to calm your nerves. It’s sensory.”
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Weaver, Tea Austen. “Do Women Drink for Free?” Chow. February 14, 2007
“Is it true that women never pay for their own drinks in bars—having their tabs picked up instead by obliging men? This is the latest question at
Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Ask Your Bartender column on his blog.”
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Regan, Gary. “Scintillating Citrus” Wine Enthusiast. June 2006
“
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, head bartender at El Vaquero, in Eugene, Oregon, hosts a regular customer who favors Cointreau on the rocks with a single dash of orange bitters in the glass. … Bartenders and consumers nationwide all have their own favorite orange liqueurs—some for cocktails, some to sip neat. Morgenthaler, for instance, uses Patrón Citrònge, a Mexican triple sec, along with Presidente Mexican brandy and fresh lemon juice when he makes his Mexican sidecar at Vaquero, a Latin-American steakhouse.”
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On the Scene with Sarah Simpson KMTR NewsSource 16. March 31, 2006
Templeton, Molly. “Minty Fresh: The Eugene Origins of a Trendy Cocktail” Eugene Weekly. March 9, 2006
“The Richmond gimlet, though certainly not the only gimlet variation in the world to use mint, is the particular creation of
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a bartender at El Vaquero whose blog turned up on that Google search — complete with Richmond gimlet recipe and sightings in other Eugene bars. I clearly had to try more.”
Click here for the full article. »
Everybody’s Talking About… Spin Magazine. December 5, 2006
“To honor the repeal of the 13-year-long national nightmare known as Prohibition, a mixologist from Oregon,
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, has been drumming up support for Repeal Day: An authentic alcohol-centric holiday, as ‘it is the only day which truly has any connection with alcohol,’ he wrote on his blog. Morgenthaler argues that Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day are played out and are a bit exclusionary (’Being French on Cinco de Mayo is about as cool as being British on the Fourth of July’), but that Dec. 5 is ‘a great time to get together with friends and celebrate our constitutional rights.’”
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Weaver, Tea Austen. “I’ll Have What He’s Having” Chow. November 27, 2006
“Blogger and mixologist
Jeffrey Morgenthaler is a man on a mission. His goal: to help spread the news of Repeal Day, the only holiday devoted solely and entirely to drinking. Celebrated on December 5, Repeal Day marks the anniversary of the day the 18th Amendment (that would be Prohibition to you and me) was repealed, thereby allowing all God-fearing Americans of a certain age to drink legally again.”
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Salvia, Vanessa. “Back to Basics” Eugene Weekly. March 10, 2005
“I don’t drink much. Between being a student and a parent, I can’t bring home the bacon or fry it up in a pan if I’m soused half the week. But when my editor told me to taste and write about popular cocktails, with the emphasis on tasting the cocktails, I said “Hell yeah!” My first thought was to find out what
Jeffrey Morgenthaler serves a lot. He’s the hunky guy behind the bar at Red Agave, and I completely trust his opinions about alcohol. Morgenthaler says drinkers are returning to the classics like Manhattans, Sidecars and Martinis – the kinds of drinks you can get at almost any bar in the world. “I think people are getting a little overwhelmed by all the exotic ingredients,” he said. “I’ve been selling a lot of nice, simple drinks lately.”
Click here for the full article. »
Smith, Giselle. Best Places Northwest. 2005
“Voted best new restaurant by the Eugene Weekly in 2003, Red Agave is a distinctive blend of Nuevo-Latino cuisine. … The high ceilings and warm yellow walls make the open floor plan feel lively and vibrant. … Mixmaster Jeff Morgenthaler adds his own special twist to the full bar, and desserts range from spiced Mexican chocolate cheesecake with warm caramel-arbol chile sauce to an aged manchego cheese plate served with quince paste, cayenne, toasted almonds, and Palace Bakery baguette.”
Fogelson, Ben. “Why Red Agave’s So Damn Good” Eugene Weekly. October 10, 2002
“Don’t forget
Jeff Morgenthaler, prodigy bartending mixmaster, who brings extraordinary life to one of Eugene’s newest and finest dining establishments. … The drink menu rides hard the trend of interesting concoctions containing fresh-pressed juices, sometimes-exotic spirits and always colorful names, such as the Red Agave and the Blood Orange. Foreign liquors sit against a mirror.”
Click here for the full article. »
