When it comes to making great cocktails, the most important factor is starting with high quality spirits. But once your liquor cabinet or bar cart is fully stocked, it’s time to think about bar tools. From muddlers and strainers, to glassware and bar towels, having the best barware on hand streamlines your cocktail mixing experience | Read More

Making your own cherries is not as easy as it sounds – they can be surprisingly stubborn about taking up the juice. One of my favourite bartender-drinks writers, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, recommends starting with a jar of Italian maraschino cherries, draining them of their syrup and then rebottling them with a mix of cognac, amaretto and maraschino | Read More

I was not a big gin drinker back in my early 20s. Far from it, actually. In my mind it was whiskey or nothing at all. (Save for water.) But I soon came around, thanks to an ex’s extraordinary force of a grandmother, who taught me how to luxuriate and thoroughly enjoy a G&T. And the | Read More

Bye, pumpkin spice. Hello, turmeric, Oregon pears & fig jam. Jeffrey Morgenthaler  “Summer flavors are about celebrating one or two key ingredients,” says Jeffrey Morgenthaler. “I feel like fall flavors are about piling on flavor on top of flavor on top of flavor.” Morgenthaler would know. The bar manager at downtown’s Clyde Common and formerly | Read More

Let’s face it: The question on everyone’s mind is: When can we get back to normal? And the answer for most of the bar industry is that normal no longer exists and probably won’t for a long time to come. As I write this, we’re hitting seven months of living in the “Upside Down,” where | Read More

Upgrade your cocktails with these impressive gadgets and techniques. Barrel Aging This technique, developed by award-winning Portland-based bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, uses an oak barrel to tame harshness and alter flavor in spirit-driven drinks made with fortified wine, such as a Negroni. The semi-porous wood allows oxygen to interact with the ingredients—mellowing the vermouth in a | Read More

The single most important book for an amateur bartender is Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s “The Bar Book.” Unlike most other cocktail books “The Bar Book” focuses entirely on technique. Before you start bothering with recipes, you have to know how to properly make them. And this is what Morgenthaler’s book offers. It’s an examination of the why | Read More

Portland’s Top Cocktails from the People Who Make Them You can’t make a list of the city’s best cocktails without talking to OG, put-Portland-on-the-map, barrel-aged-his-drinks-before-it-was-cool bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler. He’s famous for soverymany drinks, so I couldn’t wait to see what he would choose as his finest. The answer: an Amaretto Sour ($14). Made with amaretto, overproof bourbon, | Read More

“Regardless of shape or clarity, the temperature of ice, I would say, is the most important thing,” says Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager of Portland’s Clyde Common, a restaurant where the bar program has garnered six James Beard Award nominations. Although water freezes at 32°F, ice is usually much colder. Ice purists might even go so far | Read More

We asked 10 of America’s best bartenders to submit their finest recipe for the Grasshopper—and then blind-tasted them all to find the best of the best. The verdict on many classic cocktails rests with the method in which they’re made (shaken or stirred); others, by their presentation (on the rocks or up). But at least | Read More

Perhaps the most annoying response to “I don’t like that” is “You’d like mine,” but that’s exactly what Jeffrey Morgenthaler said to me when I told him I hated eggnog. Even more annoying? He was correct. Jeff’s nog is the only good nog, and it is made with tequila. To fully appreciate the praise I am bestowing on Jeff, | Read More

Thousands of miles from the cocktail hotbeds of New York and San Francisco, Jeffrey Morgenthaler still managed to connect with his peers through a blog informed by his work behind the stick. “He has a website that’s not for cocktail nerds, it’s a bartender’s site,” [Giuseppe] Gonzalez says. “With Jeff, he was the first bartender | Read More

Episode 32: Jeffrey Morgenthaler from Clyde Common and Pepe Le Moko on why craft cocktails are due for change, why everyone should strive to contribute, and why bartenders should stay behind the bar As always, Jeffrey tells it like it is, and we cover a range of topics including: Why the craft cocktail movement is | Read More

When a new cocktail bar first hits upon a winning formula – securing a loyal following, garnering industry acclaim and winning awards – it won’t be long before the offers start flooding in. The head barman may be invited to do guest slots elsewhere, judge competitions, write books, speak in public, work as a brand | Read More

A godfather of the modern cocktail scene, Jeffrey Morgenthaler is an award-winning bartender, author, and the person largely responsible for the resurgence of Amaretto Sours. You might not expect someone at that level to be behind the bar regularly, but this guy is — all the time. Look for him at Pepe Le Moko or Clyde Common, his two esteemed | Read More