My first encounter with the legendary Jeffrey Morgenthaler was at Eugene's now-defunct Bamboo (where El Vaquero is now, at 5th Street Market). My friend Lindsay and I would occasionally nip down there for a cocktail, sushi and some conversation.
While I'm more of a beer and wine person, Jodie and I have definitely been getting a bit more into mixed drinks. The article below is not only on Jeffrey though. It is also about how mixed drinks, like beer and wine before them, are going through a renaissance — and how a master mixologist like Jeffrey, like a devotee of any art, is helping to bring the cocktail the respect and quality it deserves:
Link: MIXOLOGIST LETS IT POUR: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore..
"Jeffrey Morgenthaler is a man on a mission, and he’s carrying on his crusade these days from behind the well-stocked bar at Bel Ami Restaurant and Lounge at Midtown Marketplace, on Willamette Street in just-south-of-downtown Eugene. The mission — and not only has he already accepted it, he helped start it — is “to put Oregon on the map by being on the forefront of ‘craft’ bartending,” which means “putting out world-class cocktails” and getting bartenders all over the state to sign on to do the same thing."
By the way, you'll currently find me quite at home with one of the following:
- Whisky sour
- Margarita (Cafe Soriah on 13th and Lawrence does a great Margarita)
- Rusty Nail (equal parts whisky and Drambuie)
