Jeffrey Morgenthaler Bartending and Cocktail Advice Since 2004

This is just going to be a bunch of musings, something I haven’t been able to get out of my head for a while now. Inspired by my many text thread and in-person conversations with “old timers” and veterans like myself who have watched a real paradigm shift in the drinks trade lately. I’m well aware that hospitality evolves over time. Shit, when I first started, most bars didn’t even take credit cards – everything was cash only unless you were at the fanciest restaurant in town. I’m talking about the massive tidal wave of change that’s happened in the past decade, with the largest amount of change happening since Covid started.

I’m also going to preface this by saying that I absolutely abhor this sort of old-guy “the kids are doing it all wrong” bullshit that has been around since the beginning of time. I love being at this place in my career where I can sort of sit back a little bit, and watch and learn from people who are coming up in the business. It’s inspiring, and it’s fucking fun.

But one facet of this paradigm shift has been kind of eating at me lately, and I wanted to share some thoughts and hear some thoughts. And that’s this idea I have that knowledge has replaced skill as the cultural capital among bartenders over the past decade. And I’m not talking about the interaction between bartender and guest right now, just the thing that we trade in amongst ourselves. Let me explain:

When I was coming up in the business (and mind you, this was pre-internet era bartending) we (bartenders who started around the same time I did) used to go sit at bars to watch bartenders who were fucking amazing at the job. And we either subconsciously or consciously assigned ourselves to a place in the ecosystem based on how we stacked up to whoever we were watching and learning from. And I’m not even talking about cocktails – I’m just remembering going to a sports bar to watch Rick and Wendy because they were crushing massive volume night after night, and doing it all without breaking a sweat. I remember going to a sort of fun, divey, restaurant lounge to watch Cameron, who knew every single person in the place and had everyone eating out of the palm of his hand while he put on a show. And sure, we’d also go watch Ronnie and Brian and Albert because they were the first ones in town making drinks with fresh juice, but also they were throwing a rager of a party at the same time, making more money than just about anyone in town, and doing it while wearing a shirt and tie instead of a black t-shirt. So we would roll around town on our nights off to watch and learn. Because the cultural capital of bartending at the time was pure, unadulterated skill – and we wanted to get some of that for ourselves.

But something happened around a decade or so ago, and the main commodity between bartenders now feels like it’s information, instead of skill. What shape of clay pot still is being used at this distillery in Oaxaca. What the mashbill of this bourbon is. How many grams of Xantham gum need to be used to stabilize this syrup. You get what I mean.

I think it all started with the educational brand trip. The implication to bartenders that if you come to our distillery, if you sit in on this masterclass, if you spend a week in an immersive educational platform, when you get home you’re going to be a better bartender. And all of the unspoken promises that come with it: you’ll be better bartender because of this new knowledge. You’re gonna make more money. You’ll get a job in a bar that’s on this list or that list. You’ll eventually be famous. People will recognize and respect you. You just need to collect some more knowledge.

When I was actively managing bars I would see it all the time. Bartenders would come in with their resumé, proudly displaying their many accomplishments and sometimes absolutely shell-shocked that they weren’t hired on the spot. I could see it in their eyes, but sometimes I’d even hear it, too: how does that person get to work here and I don’t? They don’t have one percent of the education that I do!

As a result of this commoditization of knowledge among us, the industry has (I feel) turned in on itself – we’re much more interested in impressing our peers with this knowledge than we are with impressing our guests. I see it at many industry gatherings I go to, and I hear it from guests. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had this sort of conversation:

“I want a Margarita but can you make, like, a regular one?”

“Uh, yeah I think so. What exactly do you mean?”

“Well, do you have fresh lime juice? Last week I ordered one and the bartender told me how he makes his own lime juice from like chemicals or whatever. It was, like, clear? Also don’t want any egg whites or anything in it.”

Which begs the question, who is this for? I’m watching bars all over the world close their doors, often citing this idea that “people just don’t want to drink anymore” and I have to ask if this fetishization of knowledge, and need to impress our peers with tricks and trivia has something to do with it. Consumer confidence is feeling very low right now, and I wonder if this inward turn we’ve taken as an industry has to bear a small part of the responsibility.

And I know that this is rich coming from a guy who has been sharing information and techniques on the internet for 20+ years. But in real life and in my bars I have always taught my teams that these are simply tools we use to put a more delicious and craveable product on the bar-top. And the reason why we’re doing that is because we want them to crush a bunch more of our drinks, spend more money, and have a great time. And come back. I have always prioritized bartenders who don’t trade in the currency of information, but rather fun. And it’s gotten harder and harder to convince staff that fun is the way through, and not just collecting information which honestly I believe might be a dead-end eventually.

Anyway. That’s just where my head has been at lately.

Much love,
JM