March 17, 2006
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 | Read More
February 17, 2006
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 | Read More
January 30, 2006
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 | Read More
January 17, 2006
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 | Read More
January 16, 2006
There’s a long-running joke behind the bar that goes like this: “It’s not called ‘Complicated Syrup’!” and it’s just about every bartender’s go-to joke when one of our coworkers screws up the simple syrup. There’s a reason why it isn’t called “Complicated Syrup”. If you can heat water on a stovetop, you’re on your way | Read More
December 18, 2005
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.
October 22, 2005
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 | Read More
January 2, 2005
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 | Read More
December 22, 2004
This one was named after a band that my business partner, Tony Figoli was in a long time ago. I thought the name was absolutely brilliant, so I decided to do up a drink to commemorate the band – and my favorite spirit at the time. I think the creme de cassis really works well | Read More
August 2, 2004
This one goes back to the days of the Vet’s Club in Eugene, when I came up with it one night. The drink is good, but fairly unremarkable. What really gets you is the name. My friend Rob came up with the name one night when I told him about the new drink that tasted | Read More
July 17, 2004
I was lying in bed one night a couple of years ago, and trying to come up with some new, exciting drinks for Red Agave’s cocktail menu. This was in the late summer of 2002. Anyway, tomatoes were very much in the twilight of their season, so I thought it would be fun to come | Read More
July 16, 2004
I just loved this one for its francophile name. Images of a British nanny shaking cocktails as some sort of penance plan in hell kind of make it all worthwhile. Here’s the recipe:
July 5, 2004
I love this drink’s name. I can’t remember how I ended up creating this one for Red Agave’s cocktail menu, but once I discovered how well the sweetness of the whiskey plays against the tartness of the cranberry juice, I knew it was a winner. The fresh cranberries are obviously optional, as they’re in season | Read More
July 4, 2004
This is a pretty specific drink to Oregon. It uses Bend Distillery’s Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso Vodka as a base. I suppose you could fool around with some other liquors/liqueurs to approximate the flavor. This is a really popular dessert drink, and has been ever since I created it at Bamboo.
June 14, 2004
Once again, contrary to popular belief, I did not invent this drink. It was created by Wendy Watson at Marche, specifically for the Bamboo cocktail menu. It was one of our more popular drinks – a definite chick drink. I hate it when bartenders do a half-assed job on the sugared rim, make it too | Read More
These are the books and tools I use every single day to make drinks at home and behind the bar. Clicking on a product takes you to Amazon, which helps me keep this site running, so thank you in advance!
