I recently had the honor of being invited to travel to Berlin and speak at the BCB — Bar Convent Berlin — possibly Europe’s most important bar show. Nearly 10,000 visitors from all over the world come to taste incredible new products, learn about the very bleeding edge of mixology and meet one another.

Joseph Priestly was a Unitarian minister with a bit of a problem: he could barely speak without a stutter. As a minister’s primary function is to speak to the masses, he was forced to do what any good English gentleman at the time would have done: marry rich, and use one’s time conducting science experiments. | Read More

Lately one of the most popular drinks ordered in my bars — and in many modern cocktail bars around the world — is a drink about as far from modern as you can possibly get. The most requested drink these days is the Old Fashioned, and it’s the oldest cocktail in the book.

The cocktail is, in my opinion, America’s one truly great and unique contribution to the culinary world. Sure, there are the usual objections whenever I bring this up. What about pizza, jambalaya, hamburgers? But those foods we typically associate with American cuisine are little more than variations of European dishes, a reflection of the beautiful | Read More

The golden age of cocktails and the golden age of automobiles were one and the same, with a handful of drinks named for the machines that inspired them. This fall, park yourself in the garage, stare at some sheet metal, and mix one up.

Sure, since the mojito became the most popular drink ever, once again, it’s also become popular for bartenders and self-described cocktail geeks to complain about it: It’s pedestrian, it’s the new Cosmo­politan, it takes too long to make.

One popular trick behind the bar today dates back to 1970 in Los Angeles, was revived by Dale DeGroff in New York in the 1980s, and continues to be popular among bartenders everywhere, and that’s the flamed orange peel. Reportedly invented by bartender Pepe Ruiz for the flame of love cocktail created for Dean Martin, | Read More

Often derided as sugar-laden and artificially-flavored, blended drinks have gotten a bad rap with the cocktail crowd over the years. Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler argues for their place among the classics and offers a 101 on making the perfect blended drink. Try this little experiment: Walk into your local craft cocktail bar, ask for a blended | Read More

Simple syrup is generally found in two strengths: Equal parts sugar and water, the most common strength in U.S. bars, is referred to as “one-to-one” (1:1). Two parts sugar to one part water is, as you might guess, referred to as 2:1, which is the standard syrup in U.K. bars; in the States, you’ll often | Read More

Ace Warm-weather cocktails with expert tricks and techniques from bartender and author Jeffrey Morgenthaler. During the nearly 20 years that I’ve worked as a bartender, I’ve learned that there are three essential aspects of making a great cocktail: the recipe you follow, the ingredients you select, and the technique you use. Come up short in | Read More

This is a special time for me, both as a bartender and as a writer. I’ve spent the past 18 years behind the bar, obsessively learning all I can about my chosen craft, then the last two years committing that knowledge to paper. Last week, all of that hard work culminated with the release of | Read More

Up here in the rainy Pacific Northwest we don’t see much sun until roughly mid-July, but this year we’ve been treated to an unseasonably warm spring. I’ve altered my weekend beverage schedule accordingly. You see, while April and May are usually set aside for Mint Juleps at my house, this glorious sunshine has me currently | Read More

No home bartender disputes the importance of a quality shaker. Opaque cocktail ingredients like cream, fruit juice, and egg whites need to be shaken hard to be incorporated into a drink. It provides a light, delicate experience; a cocktail full of tiny air bubbles that dance on the tongue. Well, that shaker alone won’t do a | Read More

Let’s just admit it, the Long Island Iced Tea is a bit of a joke. The drink had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, but ordering one now will get you laughed out of half of America’s so-called craft cocktail bars. That’s a damn shame. Because when it’s made well—with the proper balance of | Read More