Watch Portland Barman Jeffrey Morgenthaler Almost Set Seth Meyers on Fire
On Tuesday, May 22, Pepe Le Moko and Clyde Common barman, cocktail genius, and (according to several unnamed Portland Monthly staff members) strapping gentleman Jeffrey Morgenthaler appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote his second book of booze wisdom, Drinking Distilled: A User's Manual.
During the segment, Morgenthaler attempts to show an unwitting Meyers how to make a classic Portland drink: Huber's Spanish coffee. If you've never had one, it involves a boatload of overproof rum and fire.
Unlike his cocktail nerd bible The Bar Book, Morgenthaler's new tome is aimed at at booze beginners—designed to help people navigate cocktails in and out of the bar setting. "I think so many people are really petrified about doing the 'wrong' thing in a bar," he says. "[Plus] there are so many so-called 'experts' who are ready to pounce on someone for ordering the wrong drink. I go out of my way to point out that these people (usually men) are not experts."
He got to play newbie himself this week on Late Night. "I've never been on national TV before, are you kidding me?" he says. "I was freaked out for like three weeks."
Watch the full clip below. Keep rotating!