A few years ago I posted some thoughts about why Americans should celebrate the anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition, and since then people from all over the country have written to tell me about the events they’re organizing, the celebrations they’re planning, and the parties they’re throwing. I’ll be in Washington, D.C., celebrating the | Read More

Update: I’ve been given permission to use some of Silamith Weir’s photos that she shot over the weekend, so you’ll see some new/better pictures interspersed in the post now. I landed in New Jersey a day after the competitors arrived in New York, so upon arrival I was immediately whooshed away to the beautiful home | Read More

I’m packing my backs, loading up the camera with virtual film, charging the phone and (possibly) the laptop for New York city tonight after work. I’ll be there witnessing the first Master’s Competition put on by Martin Miller’s Gin, and pitting some of the best bartenders in the United States against some of the United | Read More

No, not Election Day, you chucklehead. I’m referring, of course, to Repeal Day, the day that Americans decided to call bullshit on Prohibition and repeal the Eighteenth Amendment to the constitution, giving many of us the ability to have a beer at a picnic, crack open a bottle of wine with dinner, work as a | Read More

After attending and presenting at the Bar Convent Berlin in September, I felt like taking a few days off and not blogging. I know it sounds like whining, but I needed a break even if it meant that I didn’t get to write up the tail-end of my trip to Germany. So I’m going to | Read More

I’m not really much of a writer. It takes me a long time, I have to constantly erase and re-write huge passages, and I’ve always, always, always got a case of writer’s block. So I was thrilled to come up with my latest-and-greatest blog post last week while I was in Germany : My Five | Read More

It is with a heavy heart and much sadness that I must say goodbye to Germany tomorrow morning, and I wanted to thank everyone I met here for all of the kindness, grace and generosity I encountered while here. The BCB team put on an incredible bar show, so far the best I’ve attended. I’d | Read More

I’ve put together a transcript of my presentation at the BCB as well as all of the slides I used, especially for those of you whose first language is not English. I had a great time presenting and sincerely hope I can do it again next year! My name is Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and I’m a | Read More

I greeted the evening with a late-night invitation to the Beefeater party at Maxim, a huge club here in Berlin. I wasn’t able to make it to the party, unfortunately, but I’ll promise a reasonable explanation – along with a definition of the term “Irish Goodbye” as an answer to the obvious question. Once I’d | Read More

In an amazing display of organization and efficiency, the gorgeous Bar Convent Berlin (Berlin Bar Convention) started this morning. Since I had the rare wisdom to leave early last night, I was able to be there for the first presentation of the day, Cachaça: The Soul of Brazil, presented by the brilliant Jared Brown and | Read More

I have to be up and running around the BCB tomorrow morning, so this post promises to be an exercise in efficiency, and while my last name belies this, I fear that it won’t be the German type. So, here we go: 1. I begin my day at a restaurant recommended to me by Helmut | Read More

There’s just something about rolling into a city at noon, after a solid eighteen hours of travel time that just screams “It’s going to be a late night”. So, after a nap and some real German sausages for dinner, it was time to meet up with Helmut Adam and Simon Difford for what I can | Read More

I might have mentioned this before, but I can hardly wait until this Friday, when I board the plane and head to Berlin to give a presentation at the BCB (Bar Convent Berlin). I’ll be reunited with my friends Helmut Adam of Mixology Magazine and Stephan Berg of The Bitter Truth, and finally get a | Read More

I grew up in California in the 1970s and 1980s. I never really understood water when I was growing up. Water was in the ocean, but you couldn’t drink it because it was too salty. There was water in the garden hose, but that was for hooking up to a sprinkler and playing in. My | Read More

If you’re going to be taken halfway across the world to learn about the clarity of Icelandic water, you’re probably going to be shown some of the stuff in its natural state. So at 8 this morning, after a night of dinner and a few Brennevins at one of the many bars near the hotel, | Read More