Bourbon Renewal. Oil on panel, 12" x 12".
Clyde Common is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. Its bar manager, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, is well known for his inventive cocktails, a blog, videos, a regular drinks column in Playboy, and a book on cocktail technique.
When I visited Clyde Common a few weeks ago in search of recipes, Freddy (the bartender on duty) immediately suggested the Bourbon Renewal. I tried to explain that I was looking for original drinks, not old classics. I had seen the Bourbon Renewal on menus at bars all over the Pacific Northwest so it had to be an oldie but goodie, right? Embarrassingly, not so much.
I looked it up while I sat a the bar enjoying another delicious drink, then sheepishly admitted my mistake to Freddy. The drink is indeed the invention of Mr. Morgenthaler, who named it after his business partner's band. Freddy kindly shared the recipe and J.M.'s business card.
When I emailed Jeffrey later, he bent over backward to help, answering my many questions and offering any additional assistance I might require in the future. Which, given his extremely busy schedule, went above and beyond.
The painting is inspired by the bar at Clyde Common; the chalkboard behind lists the many top-shelf offerings available. The beautiful ruby-red color of the drink comes from small amount of Creme de Cassis added to the bourbon.
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