Martini, with a meaty garnish

Morton's steakhouse in San Francisco announced they'll be giving out free filet mignon steak sandwiches weekdays from 5-7 PM to lure in the happy hour cocktail crowds. They seem to be promoting their cocktail program heavily lately so I may check out what they're doing one of these days. Free food would get me there sooner rather than later, if I weren't a vegetarian. Let's make a deal- you buy the drinks and I'll give you my sandwich.

The gallery of shakerface

I love the faces people make when they shake cocktails- everyone has their own style. My favorite shakerface of all time is that of Tony Abou-Ganim, who gnashes his teeth and make an orgasmic sound every time he's got a shaker in his hands. He makes it sound like he Just Can't Wait to get that drink in the glass. Last night I judged a 21 Below vodka competition at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco and recorded the shakerface of the contestants. Here are some of the best- click for larger images:

SF is very GQ

GQ Magazine came out with a list of the 20 Best Cocktails in America in a nice big spread in the magazine. Four of them come from San Francisco bars- Elixir, Range, Beretta (pictured), and the Buena Vista. Unfortunately, the selections nationally are a bit inconsistent. Some of the picks are based on the bar or drink's history, some on the bar's location, some on the bar's vibe, and some on picking a great drink from a notable bartender like Eben Freeman and Audrey Saunders. Though they may all be good drinks to have in specific bars, I wouldn't say these the 20 best cocktails in America. I think it would help if one person wrote the story next year for consistency's sake, instead of a lot of different writers. Someone who has been to eight states and nine countries pursuing good drinks in the last year. Someone who speaks with bartenders all over the country for stories. Someone not afraid to drink himself smart. Know anybody like that? Wait, did I just turn a blog entry congratulating local bars on their placement in GQ into a job application? I guess I should also hope they're looking for a writer who is completely shameless.

Bang a pong

I've lived in San Francisco more than a dozen years and have been to the beach here less times than that. That's why we need beach-themed events to simulate the warm climates of Southern California. This weekend, the Guardsmen host a fundraising beach party, with the proceeds going to help at-risk youth attend indoor and outdoor educational programs. And as someone who works at home and lives next to a playground, I encourage you to help get kids away from me and into these programs, as their screaming makes it hard to concentrate. You'll not only be helping kids, you'll be helping Camper. What's in it for you? An open bar, beer pong championships, and a barbecue. More details are here.

Right on time

Last night was the pre-opening event for Clock Bar in San Francisco's Union Square. As if to prove they can do the impossible on opening night, they served all 32 drinks from the menu to anyone who asked. So that statement about them not being ready for a month- consider it rescinded. In other exciting news, the bar opens at 4PM according to the website, so you can skip out of work early and beat the happy hour crowds.

National shot-and-a-beer week

Tales of the Cocktail begins in New Orleans this Wednesday. It's a terrible week to go cocktailing anywhere else since all the best bartenders will be drinking hard in the Big Easy. Do yourself a favor and don't order anything more complicated than shots and chasers until Wednesday of next week when everyone's hangover wears off. That said, in San Francisco Jon Gasparini will be holding down the fort at Rye, Jeff Hollinger (who proved his party credentials at last year's Tales) will stay in town working at Absinthe this year, and Marco Dionysos will be here getting Clock Bar up and running. Share a drink and commiserate with these poor fellows keeping SF running while we're running ragged. Anyone else not going and want to encourage business? Post in the comments.

Turning back time

It's important to have a cheesy clock-related title for all writing about the Clock Bar. DailyCandy chose "Ticking Clock" and Thrillist used "Clocked and Loaded." I fully support this movement. Anyway, good news on the Clock Bar front. Marcovaldo Dionysis has been named Head Bartender, and they put his name right there front-and-center on the drink menu. Excellent recovery from the earlier snafus. The menu has two of Marco's famous creations, the Ginger Rogers and the Chartreuse Swizzle, along with some great-sounding new drinks and many classics including the Bramble, Dark n Stormy, Hemingway Daiquiri, Last Word, Mary Pickford, and Pegu. The menu is viewable on the website. The signature cocktail is now the St. Francis Cocktail- a gin martini made with Junipero. There's a theory that the St. Francis was the first place to use the olive as garnish in a martini, so they did a good job on the historic tie-in. The drink menu has 32 drinks on it, which is hugely ambitious given the turn-around time since Marco took over. I'm going to a press preview of the spot tonight (it officially opens Tuesday), but I'd recommend waiting a month or so for consumers- with a menu that big, there are bound to be some consistency issues. Still, now there is a reason to be excited about the Clock Bar opening. I hope it turns out great, but I guess only time will tell. (How's THAT for cheesy sign-off?)

SF Events

A couple of things from my inbox: - Magnolia is serving $3 pints all day on Tuesdays, and each Wednesday the brewers will be there to hang out and answer questions from 6-9PM. - (from the True Sake newsletter): July, 2008 - Yoshi's Oakland Half Price Sake Mondays

Yoshi's Oakland is please to announce, due to popular demand, half price sake Mondays will be extended through the month of July! All bottles of sake, including the elegant Yuki No Bosha Akita "Komachi", will be half price for the entire month. Now is your chance to enjoy a bottle - or two- from our exlusive list. For a truly memorable experience, come by on Monday, July 21st, when Tamiko Ishidate from Joto Sake will be on hand as the Sake sommelier for the evening to answer all of your questions.

The curious case of the Clock Bar

Clock Bar, the hyped Michael Mina cocktail lounge opening July 15 in San Francisco, is becoming a lesson in OOPS I FORGOT ABOUT THE COCKTAILS. Early on the project was announced- historic space, famous chef, tasty bar snacks, high-end drinks, yadda, yadda, yadda- and nobody listed as being in charge of the cocktail program. Curious. The restaurant Gitane won't be open for another two months and they've had a beverage manager and a cocktail consultant on retainer since the beginning of the year. But things were happening on the back end. Several people involved with the project were interviewed for a story in 944 magazine that just came out. The story is marvelous.

In order to create the drink menu, Mina brought in legendary Las Vegas cocktail specialist Noah Ellis to help with the launch.... As the group's beverage director, Ellis promises to ensure quality by creating a menu that features fresh-squeezed juices, house-made tonic and seltzer bottled sodas to complement the high-end alcohol. Additionally each drink will contain jagged wedges of ice, hand-cut from frozen blocks of mineral water...

It sounds okay so far, right? Good, even. And then (cue sound of bomb dropping):

"The lounge's signature drink, the Clock Martini, will include frozen Ketel One Vodka shaken tableside and served with traditional garnishes."

Oooh, Ketel One! Don't hurt your arm reaching so high up on the shelf! And traditional garnishes? Stop spoiling us! It seems they hired a guy to do their cocktail menu and he came up with a signature drink of a standard vodka martini. Refund! Now, before I read this I'd heard that Marco Dionysos got a job working there. Marco works at Tres Agaves, used to work at Absinthe, and is a huge cocktail nerd who often corrects brand representatives on factual errors about their own products. He's invented at least one cocktail so good it's on drink menus in New York. Oddly enough, Marco told me a while back that he wasn't hired to be in charge but just on staff. That's curious. Don't they know who they've got? Of course they must- the article points out that they did their research. Just listen to Patric Yumul, VP of Operations for the Mina Group in the 944 Magazine story:

"It's about hitting on all cylinders," he says. "None of the bars I saw were doing it though. Even in ones with great drinks, I didn't want to actually sit down because I was afraid of getting hepatitis."

Curiouser. I wouldn't think that suggesting your competitors' venues teem with disease often spread by fecal-oral contact would be a good way to ingratiate yourself within the local cocktail community. But then again, the hepatitis prevents me from thinking clearly. Today I received the updated press release for the venue. There's no mention of hand-cut ice or house-made tonic- or Noah Ellis and the signature vodka martini for that matter. And how's this for not-a-raise:

Lead by a veteran hospitality team of GM Matthew Meidinger, reputable San Francisco bartender Marco Dionysos (formerly of Tres Agaves) and seasoned bar team Ray Cortez Brown, Estanislado Orona and Maren West, the opening of CLOCK BAR marks the return of San Francisco tradition to the heart of Union Square.

Well at least Marco is reputable now and singled out- though it doesn't appear he's been given a title/position such as Bar Manager or Head Bartender. Make that happen, Michael Mina people, and we'll have our first clue that you might know what the heck you're doing bragging about your super awesome new cocktail bar. Anyway, mistakes have been made, but they're fixable. I hope everything turns out delicious and that they bring success and additional great cocktails to San Francisco- they're just going to have to work a bit harder at it. [10:18 update: spelling of Ketel One corrected.]

Another day, another cocktail contest

If attending cocktail events is considered having a social life, then I'm the party animal of the century. If not, then... let's not consider that alternative since I don't do anything else. Tonight I helped judge another cocktail contest, this one for Lotus Vodka. This brand is based in San Francisco and has distribution only in Northern California (though they're expanding soon), yet is in 500 venues in the region. 500! I doubt there is any other spirit brand in the nation with that kind of track record, so whatever they're doing, they're doing it right. This one was done secret ingredient style, a la Top Chef. In the first round all eight contestants had half an hour to make a drink with nectarines. (That's my favorite cocktail fruit that I muddle into drinks at home all the time, FYI. Keep that in mind for the next contest.) Each person had to make one drink to present to us. From those drinks we picked three finalists- Ronaldo Colli from Americano, Josh Harris from Pier 23, and Cody Robertson from Lingba Lounge. For the second round, the secret ingredient was peppers- a variety of them. The three finalists each made a tall drink on the rocks and an up drink. Ronaldo Colli made two drinks that were very good, whereas the other two contestants each made one drink that was extraordinary and another drink that was... not so good. The third place winner (Josh Harris) was only two points out of 400 away from our second place winner (Cody Robertson), so it was more of a tie. This means Ronaldo Colli took home yet another trophy from another cocktail contest! Dude wins these things constantly and deservedly. Congratulations to Ronaldo and thanks to all the contestants for filling my social calendar with night after night of delicious drinks. More pics here.

Don't quit your day job

The title I wanted for this story in July's San Francisco Magazine was "Take a Shift Where You Eat," but I can see why they didn't go with that :)

Don't quit your day job Thanks to new amateur hours, dilettantes can give their dream careers a trial run. By Camper English, Photograph by John Curley Most fantasy careers (astronaut, movie star, Mrs. Clooney) are a bit out of reach for the average desk jockey. But at least there are some new ways to take dream jobs in the service industry for a test spin.

Read the rest of the story, with information about guest bartending at Elixir, the guest sommelier program at Fifth Floor, being the guest chef at Kuleto's, and guest stripping at New Century Theatre here.

EO SF: NO

I emailed with Dushan Zaric, an owner of Employees Only in New York, to ask about the rumor of a San Francisco outpost that's been going around town. The word is:

"We are currently not working on a SF Employees Only although it is in our plans to eventually open up an EO there...a lot of people have been asking but I have no idea how they got this information."

I have to admit that I'm glad to hear it. Though I have no problem with spreading a good thing around, local pride may may cause a little "We don't need New Yorkers to show us how to make drinks!" angst. That said, the lines between New York drinks and San Francisco drinks are already starting to blur, and I think SF bartenders are practicing more professionalism and consistency, and NY bartenders are increasing the amounts and varieties of fresh juices and herbs in their cocktails. In another year, much of the regionalism may disappear from these two cities. In another year, New York may have a few dedicated tiki bars and and SF may have membership clubs. I've been thinking about this a lot recently, getting ready for my talk at Tales of the Cocktail on Regional Trends in American Cocktails on Saturday morning. Last year at Tales, it became very clear that there were regional differences in cocktails between the coasts and that each brings something to the game. This year, we're moving beyond just SF and NY as cocktail centers, seeing amazing things in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and DC. Next year at this time, with the opposing forces of greater awareness of national cocktail culture versus the increasing amount of regional micro-distillers and focus on local ingredients, I'm not sure what will happen. In the end I'm glad that there there isn't yet a homogenized idea of what good cocktails are, what they taste like, and in what types of bars to get them.

Note for the next heat wave

Cantina has air conditioning. Unfortunately that was only the first stop on a bar crawl to show my pal Ana from New York around to the new cocktail bars that have opened since she was last here. After a quick refresher at Cantina we hit Rye, where we sat in the outdoorish smoking patio hoping for a stray breeze, but no such luck was had. A drink was had instead. Then off we went to Bourbon & Branch where it wasn't as stifling as it can be in there, so I felt lucky. Joel Baker made me a repeat of his Chatreuse/peach/basil/sherry drink from the competition a few days earlier, so I felt luckier- and he even sent someone out to pick up a peach to make the drink. Now that's what I call service! By this time Ana was tipsy and hungry, so headed to NOPA where she could satisfy her urge to eat and I could satisfy mine to stay tipsy. It was hot, but not insufferably hot in there. Ana had one of their famous pork chops and pronounced it the best she's ever had (yeah for her, too bad for the pig), and I had some vegetable goop. Soon poor Ana, unable to contain her carnivorous voraciousness, had consumed the entire gigantic pork chop and grew uncomfortably full. Time for an uphill walk in the not-cool night air! Up Divisadero and further up Haight Street we traveled to reach The Alembic. No heat relief was to be found there- it had to be over 90 degrees inside. Luckily, relief came in the forms of the Pisco Sour and new-to-the-menu Gilded Lily with Plymouth gin, Yellow Chartreuse, orange flower water, and sparkling demi-sec. At this point Ana, who lives in New York and should really be better at this, pooped out. I think she was sufficiently impressed with the cocktails in SF and I was sufficiently impressed with myself for out-partying a New Yorker. Not a bad way to beat the heat.

Level III opening + a cucumber recipe

Friday night I attended the opening party for Level III in the JW Marriott, which, it turns out, was also the 7X7 Magazine Best of SF issue party. It's hard to say what the place will look like when the party lights are off and the space returns to its normal hotel lobby look, but they did a terrific job of fixing it up for the event. They served three drinks from the menu: The Shanghaied, Portman Cosmafornian, and Cable Car No. 2. They were all batch-made drinks for the big party, so they weren't a good indication of how the drinks might taste when made on the spot- we'll just have to see about that going forward. The Portman Cosmafornian is basically a Cosmo with a sweet lime foam on top- without the foam the drink is nothing special but the sweet lime foam really works. The Cable Car No. 2 is full of tequila with a chili powder and cocoa rim. I really liked where it was headed, though I think I would swap chili powder with wasabi. (Mmm, wasabi.) I wasn't sold on the chocolate but I like chocolate less than the average person. The Shangaied with Square One cucumber vodka, Canton ginger liqueur, and lemongrass syrup had great flavors (though it came out too sweet in the batching) and the lemongrass bits kind of get stuck to your lips, but it's worth it. This could be a great drink for summer. It contains just three ingredients, and if you batch the lemongrass syrup (or buy it from Monin), would make a great party drink. And the Square One folks just gave me permission to print the recipe. At Level III we had this drink served on the rocks instead of in a cocktail glass as directed below. Shanghaied Created by H. Joseph Ehrmann, Mixologist and Brand Ambassador for Square One 2 ounces Square One Cucumber Vodka 1/2 ounce Canton Ginger Liqueur 1 ounce lemongrass syrup* 3 - 4 inch piece of lemongrass stalk for garnish Combine in a mixing glass with ice. Shake hard for 10 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. *Lemongrass Syrup: Trim the stalk at the bottom and just past the heart of the stalk (4-5 inches). Save top half for garnish. Cut the heart lengthwise down the middle and with a mallet pound the lemongrass to break it up. Boil lemongrass in one cup of water for 2-3 minutes then add one cup of sugar slowly, stirring constantly to dissolve. Bring to a boil then simmer for 3-5 minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat and cool completely. Pour through a strainer and into a storage bottle. Refrigerate.

One more stop on the downtown cocktail circuit

The JW Marriott on Post Street relaunched their restaurant/lounge, now called Level III, with cocktails created by H. Ehrmann of Elixir. The drinks, which I've posted below (as the website has it as a PDF), look really light, floral, and likely to go down easy. Also, importantly, this is a new bar on the downtown drinking circuit. You can hit Level III on your way to Bourbon & Branch, Cantina, Rye, and other spots off Union Square. For someone who doesn't work or shop downtown, I sure spend a lot of time there. emperor norton’s mistress (seasonal – summer) we’re sure this seasonal fruit refreshment would have been one of the emperor’s “decrees.” knob creek bourbon, muddled strawberries, navan, and cointreau are combined and served tall, over ice with a luscious strawberry. harvey milk punch (3 levels) san francisco’s version of the big easy classic. select your grand marnier • level 1 – cordon rouge • level 2 – cuvee de centenaire • level 3- cuvee du cent-cinquantenaire navan, organic milk; rolled and served over ice with a dusting of fresh nutmeg and fresh cinnamon. the bank exchange punch duncan nicol, an early san francisco mixologist, only allowed patrons two of his famous cocktail… and for good reason. barsol pisco quebranta, st. elizabeth allspice dram, pineapple gomme, distilled water, and fresh lemon juice are shaken and served up with a pineapple chunk. shanghaied we bet you’ll go willingly on this chinese journey. square one cucumber, canton ginger, and organic lemongrass syrup, shaken and served up with an english cucumber slice on the rim. the portman cosmafornian leave it to san francisco to re-imagine and elevate the traditional berry flavor found in the wildly popular cocktail. level vodka, plymouth sloe gin, lime foam. sunset on dunnigan citrus and floral notes characterize this nod to the wine country. damrak gin, sauvignon blanc, and st. germain are combined, shaken and served up with a grapefruit twist. the summer of love wait for the memories of 1967 to come rushing back with just one sip. hangar one mandarin blossom vodka, rose water syrup, lillet blanc and chambord are combined and served up with a lemon zest rose. golden gate fog get lost in the flavors, not the “fog” that envelops this drink. white peach puree, muddled mint, rhum clement creole schrubb, and lime juice are stirred, poured over ice, and topped with “fog” - a louche of kubler absinthe - and a mint sprig. dirty harry luck’s got nothing to do with this cherry-flavored concoction. rittenhouse 100 rye, carpano antica, luxardo maraschino and a la fee absinthe rinse is stirred and served up with a house-made maraschino cherry. cable car no.2 unique, latin flavor pairings differentiate this version from the classic. 4 copas organic añejo tequila, rhum clement creole schrubb, and lemon juice are shaken and served up with a ghirardelli cocoa and ancho chili powder rim.

Gin + Dinner = Ginner

Orson in San Francisco is hosting a Gin and Stone pairing dinner on June 11 to celebrate fresh stone fruit. (Gin you can celebrate all year round.) I've seen dinner pairings with bourbon, rum, absinthe, and even vodka, but this is the first gin and food pairing I've noticed. Check out the menu here.

All about absinthe

Bourbon & Branch's Beverage Academy has a few spots open for tomorrow's absinthe class with Lance Winters. Lance makes St. George Spirit's Absinthe Vert, and is a fun speaker to boot. Backing him up is Todd Smith who will be making absinthe cocktails during the event. If you can't make it tomorrow, the next one is July 29th. The Beverage Academy has also started teaching Cocktails 101, also lead by Todd Smith, who will teach you how to get the most out of making drinks at home. Get tickets here.

Events in San Francisco

Here are a few San Francisco events clogging my inbox: May 22: 7 Leguas at Elixir's Cocktail Club. May 22: Mr. Smith's Whisky Club holds a tasting of Bowmore 12, Achentoshan 18, and Glen Garioch 3 Wood, with Guest Speaker David Stoop. May 24 and June 2: Uva Enoteca has begun hosting Introduction to Italian Wines classes. The first of the two dates is May 24. Join their mailing list for more info. June 4th: the Mechanics Institute Library (almost my favorite place in San Francisco except they don't serve drinks) is hosting a talk by Benjamin Wallace, author of The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine.

Going off-menu

It's over two weeks since I've been to Beretta, and I'm getting the shakes. I meet there last night for drinks and I find the menu lacking the cocktail I most want: the Rangoon Gin Cobbler. What to do, I ask Eric Johnson, my man behind the stick. Relax, says he, mixing me one, we change the menu all the time depending on the ingredients in stock. Fine, I go, and what else don't I see here? He says we were recently between piscos, so the menu isn't packing Punch, but I'd whip one out for you if you wanted. I say no thanks, buddy, but you've inspired me to keep this train off the tracks. I ask him for a Ti Punch since they've got rhum agricole laying around like bums in the park, and he makes me one like it's nothing. Thanks for keeping me steady, I say, and blow out of there until tomorrow.

Gin judging

Last night I helped judge the Hendrick's gin cocktail competition at Rye. Hendrick's likes to make things interesting in their events and marketing, so for this contest bartenders not only had to create a cocktail showcasing one of the botanicals in Hendrick's, they also had to recite a limerick to go along with it. The limericks were weighted heavily in the judging but luckily our top contenders were strong in both the poetic and taste categories. The winner of the contest was Sierra Zimei of the Seasons Bar at the Four Seasons with her Secret Garden cocktail consisting of grapefruit, cucumber, lime, and cilantro syrup with a healthy dose of gin mixed in. She won a round-trip air ticket anywhere in the States, which unfortunately she's not using to join us at Tales of the Cocktail but opting for a baseball game with her husband instead. I believe that marriage should not get in the way of cocktailing, but then again that may be a reason I'm still single. I'll ponder that over drinks later. After the contest, I went out to dinner with Julio Bermejo of Tommy's, Charlotte Voissey of Hendrick's, Rob Renteria of Martini House, Greg Lindgren of Rye, and some other friends of Julio. Joey and Eddie's (the former Moose's) has a short cocktail menu, from which I chose the Bronx Negroni, which is a regular Negroni with a touch of Averna. Very good.

Beattie book and bar news

I ran into Scott Beattie of Cyrus last night at Absinthe's SF Cocktail Week finale event. He had big news to share- as of last weekend, he's no longer be working behind the bar there. He'll still be running the show, though, so your drinks will be just as tasty as ever. So from now on, he'll be a backseat muddler. In other news, his book Artisnal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus, will be released in November. It's available for pre-order on Amazon.com here. He gave me a sneak peak at the contents and it looks like great stuff, with photos like the one below (stolen from his website). It makes me very, very thirsty.

Bourbon, Branch, and Boudreau

Prepare yourselves. The wonderfully talented Jamie Boudreau will be guest bartending at Bourbon & Branch on May 28th and 29th in the library room, bringing along his own cocktail menu. Will make drinks with beer liqueur? Olive caviar? Blowtorch something? We shall see. Boudreau was until recently behind the bar at Vessel in Seattle, is the author of the blog SpiritsandCocktails.com, and is also a hell of a photographer. He makes many of his own ingredients, designs dozens of cocktails, and is a fine writer to boot. He does so many things so very well that you kind of want to kick him, but I do not recommend that officially. Instead, go read his website and visit him next week at B&B.

I should have made this claim 6 months ago, but whatevs.

Ginger beer is the new soda water. Who uses a splash of soda anymore? Nobody in San Francisco, it appears. It's all about the GB.

Bong Souvenir

Bong Su restaurant has produced mini recipe booklets as souvenirs featuring their cocktails. I'm not sure when they're available and whether or not they're free, but they do intend to make them available to the public. I think this is a great idea- it reminds visitors of where they got that great drink they liked, and allows them to (try to) make it at home. And they did a nice job with these booklets- they're spiral bound with thick laminated pages. And chances are, they were made at a discount. Brands used in the recipes are listed as sponsors on the back. Clever!

Robotic cocktails in SF

A cool robot bartender event I hadn't heard about.

Rum race

Next weekend's Bay to Breakers is San Francisco's famous naked race (as opposed to the naked marches, naked street fairs, and a generally high level of overall nakedness), though these days more people seem to be wearing costumes than nothing at all. Don't like exercise? Don't worry. This year, the Million Pirate March gives you an excuse to drink rum, wear an eyepatch, and be generally more piratey than on other days. Also, wearing an eyepatch doesn't imply you have to wear anything else.

Different ways to get stinko on Cinco

The Chronicle does a nice round-up of non-margaritas in SF, including several versions of the Paloma, the Mescal gimlet, the fabulous Carter Beats the Devil at Flora, and the spicy Toro del Fuego at Laiola.

Beretta robbed!

Given the number of times I've been going there, it's surprising that I wasn't present for the drama. Then again, if I were, I probably wouldn't remember it clearly anyway.

Armed man robs SF restaurant in the Mission

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

(04-30) 19:02 PDT San Francisco -- An Italian restaurant in the Mission District was robbed early this morning while about 10 patrons were eating their dinners, said police Sgt. Neville Gittens.

Police got a call at 1:21 a.m. Wednesday that a man had walked into Beretta on Valencia Street between 22nd and 23rd Streets, waved a gun and shouted, "This is a robbery! Everybody get down!" He didn't fire his gun, and no one was hurt. A restaurant worker handed the man the cash, and he fled on foot eastbound on 23rd Street.

The suspect was described as an African-American male between 25 and 35 years old, 5'8" and 150 pounds and wearing a brown hooded jacket, black baggy jeans and black shoes.

The manager of Beretta was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

There is no indication the hold-up is related to the recent spate of Oakland area restaurant robberies, Gittens said.

"At this point, there's no indication it's related to anything," he said.

Light drinks

New York magazine mentions wine bar Terroir and Marshall Altier's non-hard-alcohol cocktails. (I just met Marshall last week in SF. I think he likes it.)

His concoctions incorporate port, sherry, vermouth, whipped egg white, and bracingly smoky Lapsang Souchong tea. They even display a touch of molecular mixology in the La Terra Ferma’s Nebbiolo-porcini spuma—otherwise known as foam.

Out here, of course, the big opening this week was Uva Enoteca, where Camber Lay (Range, Frisson, Laiola, Epic) did the drink list with the same restrictions. Here are some of the cocktails:

MIELE FRIZZANTE Carpano antique, orange, peach bitters & heidrum sage blossom mead EVVIVA Tahitian green tea infused vya dry vermouth, lemon bitters, pinot bianco & lemon IN BOCCA AL LUPO Lillet blanc, chilies, basil, prosecco & coconut salt ULTRAS Birra bionda, ginger beer, lime, lemongrass & terragon

Lookin' good.

SF Represent!

I picked up a copy of Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 to see what the representation of bars and cocktails around the country was. West Coast drinks have been getting more attention in the past year and it's great to see this reflected in the book. The cocktails from the Bay Area are: Grapefruit Flamingo from Kieran Walsh at Solstice Green with Envy from the Poleng Lounge Amberjack from Le Colonial Bergamont Shandy from NOPA Zydeco Cocktail from Tres Agaves Vanilla-Cucumber Limey from Jay Crabb at Martini Monkey in San Jose Fog Cutter from Forbidden Island Puerto de Cuba from Dominic Venegas (formerly of) Bourbon & Branch Alsatian Daiquiri from Duggan McDonnell at Cantina Thai Boxer from Scott Beattie at Cyrus in Healdsburg Green Lantern from Range Mi-So-Pretty from Elizabeth Falkner and Angie Heeney-Tunstall of Orson Tommy Gun from Jacques Bezuidenhout of Bar Drake Filibuster Cockatail from Erik Adkins of Flora in Oakland Jose McGregor from Jimmy Patrick at Lion & Compass in Sunnyvale Northern Spy from Josey Packard The Alembic Off Kilter from Elixir Babylon Sister from Jonny Raglin of Absinthe Blackberry and Cabernet Caipirinha from Cantina Strawberry and Ginger Cooler from Jeff Hollinger Absinthe plus Dark and Stormy Ribs from Presidio Social Club That makes 17 SF and San Jose venues represented compared to 24 New York. Not bad for a city 5-10 times as small. Other cities represented and their number of venues were: Atlanta 4 Boston 7 Boulder 3 Chicago 8 Dallas 5 Houston 5 Las Vegas 5 Los Angeles 9 Louisville, KY 3 Madison, WI 4 Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale 5 New Jersey 4 New Orleans 5 Philadelphia 5 Phoenix/Tuscon 4 Portland, ME 3 Portland, OR 8 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC 5 San Diego 4 Seattle 4 St. Louis 3 Washington, DC area 4 Note: Go Portland, Oregon! That place has had a great selection of local beer, wine, sake, and micro-distillers for a while now. The new cocktail bars like Beaker and Flask and TearDrop Lounge are taking it to the next level. And with Imbibe Magazine based out of Portland, it may soon be the most important drinking city in the nation. Props.

New word needed

As may be apparent from the name of this website, I love making up new words. But I'm stumped. Last night a group of friends and I hit Beretta (making this my sixth visit in three weeks, I have a problem) and sampled 13 of the drinks over two rounds. What made it fun is that nobody owned any one drink- we all shared everything, except for Jamie who hogged the Rangoon Gin Cobbler and Marshall of Tailor in NYC, who was the bottleneck in our cocktail-passing circle. Then we realized we only had four drinks to go to try all 17 cocktails on the menu, so we ordered more. Project! So now I need a word or phrase that describes having every drink on the menu in one night- the cocktail menu equivalent of a triple crown or marathon or Iron Man. Suggestions?

Reading material

- The LA Times story reporting on the closing of some of SF's old-time watering holes was reprinted in the Baltimore Sun. I'm so glad word on the street is we don't have any good old bars left. That's not entirely true, of course. Katy St. Clair, who was quoted in the LA Times story, writes about them in the SF Weekly all the time. - Eric Felten in the Wall Street Journal taste tests mass-market bourbons and finds Evan Williams his favorite. As usual, he has some great cultural anecdotes in the story as well. - The NYTimes has a story on a $10,000 home still that efficiently converts sugar into ethanol. Unfortunately, it's for car fuel. - Jeff Mortgenthaler (Morty) gives a simple recipe for ginger beer. Marleigh at Sloshed! reviews some commercial brands without high-fructose corn syrup. - Jamie Boudreau describes his individual component method for making any type of bitters. And I thought I was crafty for using my Chia herb garden to make tinctures. - Alder at Vinography has the complete list of wine blogs- in several languages! - Esquire's molecular Whiskyburger's recipe is now online.

Conduit cocktails and convoluting the story

I finally made it into Conduit for some drinks the other night. The menu by Reza Esmali has a lot of surprises. He combines Rhum Clement's Creole Shrub with Chartreuse and lime in the Monk's Voyage, absinthe and tequila in The Hub, and apple brandy, lemon, and mint in the Gravenstein Smash. The dessert cocktails are unique too, bringing bourbon and almond grappa together in the Americana, and Creole Shurb and Nocino walnut liqueur in the Clement. (There is also a classic cocktail section for the less adventurous.) I don't know where he came up with these ideas, but I like where they're going. I wasn't in complete agreement with the balance of some of them- more nuts, please- but they deserve another try seeing as I'd just come from having about four drinks at another bar. Luckily this place is near my house and open late. It's great how bars in San Francisco are veering in different directions. Innovation here and there, spirits business morality there, organic drinks there and there, fresh fruit in many bars, and classic-derivative cocktails all over the place. While variety is definitely a good thing, it will make the panel I'll be giving this year at Tales of the Cocktail on regional American cocktail trends a little more difficult to sum up. It used to be fresh fruit = SF, stuff from bottles = NY. Now there's a lot more overlap.

Drinks at Fish and Farm

There's another organic cocktail program in town at Fish and Farm. Mixologist Brian Livesay uses spirits like Square One vodka and 4 Copas tequila in his drinks, along with some brands not certified organic but that use organic ingredients. Some of the fresh herbs in the drinks are grown on the chef's rooftop garden. The drink list includes some interesting elements like rosemary and citrus-infused gin, but seems largely dependent on fresh juices and mint. The real creativity, however, comes from the modifying ingredients. Since there are no commercial organic vermouths or triple secs, Livesay makes his own using an organic neutral base spirit and organic ingredients. He makes sweet and dry vermouths, triple sec, a delicious apple liquor, cherry-vanilla and orange bitters, and is working on a few more cordials like cocoa-blueberry. Hand-labeled bottles sit atop the back bar and line some of the shelves, so you know he's got a bunch of other experiments in the works as well. All in all, a very cool project.

Dry Drunk: The Cocktails of Thad Vogler at Beretta

What's up with my iPhone-tography skills? Do I have to be good at everything? Anyway, Beretta. I was only thinking about the cocktails when I went there, but it turns out that with inexpensive food and lots of communal seating, this may be the one cocktail restaurant in which I can actually afford to eat. (Small plates priced as small plates- what a concept!) But back to the important stuff: the drinks. Thad Vogler's drinks, unlike many in San Francisco, eschew the farmer's market fruit, flowers, and herbs in favor of the basics- lime, lemon, grapefruit, and pineapple. The flavor profile of most could be considered classic for that reason, but as opposed to classic derivative drinks that go wild with brown spirits and amaros or other unusual modifiers, these cocktails are more like simple drinks reconsidered. What sticks out is the types of sweetening agents used in each drink- honey, gomme syrup (made by Slanted Door's Jennifer Colliau), sugar cane syrup, agave syrup, etc. I don't know if they use plain old simple syrup at all. But when you drink them, "sweet" isn't a word that comes to mind. Vogler makes the driest drinks in town. He uses a lot of gin, rhum agricole, and maraschino liqueur, and even the Pisco Sour isn't sweet (or all that sour- it's almost earthy). Of the drinks I tried, the Nuestra Paloma is the most pleasing and probably the safest bet for the less adventurous drinker (It's delicious- don't get me wrong). The Dolores Park Swizzle looks great with a few drops of bitters atop the crushed ice of the drink like a happy red treat, but packs a wallop of flavor. I like it more as the ice melts starts and dilutes it. The same is true of the Rangoon Gin Cobbler, my favorite drink on the menu so far that has a nice orange aspect to it from the Cointreau. I also liked the Single Village Fix, making this the second time I've ever enjoyed a drink with mescal in it. Is anyone else bored of my typing? I am. Long story short: tasty dry drinks, go good with food, it's in my neighborhood, I'll be back lots.

More winners

After the USBG competition, many of SF's bartenders headed over to the Averna competition at Cantina. There two local bartenders won a trip to Italy to compete in the finals: Thomas Waugh from Alembic and Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe, who was not actually at the competition but had his drink made my Jackie Patterson of Orson. Congrats, people.

Regional Winner

Congratulations to Carlos Yturria, who won the United States Bartending Guild regional qualifier today at Conduit against about 20 other bartenders from as far away as Sacramento. Carlos will be competing in the USBG national competition in Long Beach in May.

One one hand...

... it's a terrible thing that I'll be out of town for all but the last day of San Francisco Cocktail Week, because the schedule is looking absurdly great and I keep hearing about more special guests being added. On the other hand, with me out of town there will be a lot more cocktails available for everyone else to drink. Think of it as my gift to you.

WoW Report

Live from the Denver airport (kudos for the free wi-fi), my take on last night's Whiskies of the World in San Francisco:

• Eades "Double Malts" is a lame advertising term to describe the combination of two single malts, married in an additional cask. However, their Islay blend, made with Bowmore and Caol Ila and finished in a Zinfandel cask, is going in an interesting direction. I think I like it when people put a sweet and soft spin on a macho spirit, kind of like a drag queen with a beard.
• The new Ardmore single malt (previously it went mostly into the Teacher's blend) seemed to be a big hit at the event. I'm glad- I like the stuff. I had lunch with the brand ambassador Simon Brooking the previous day. He said that there are about 3,000 cases released this year (in the next couple of weeks), but should be five times that next year. It's the only fully peated Highland malt, with the peat smokey flavor profile of an Islay scotch, but there's something about the texture of the whisky that's most like the smoothness Glenlivet or Glenfiddich. The combination of lighter texture and heartier flavor I really enjoy.
• I tried Tuthilltown Spirits products for the first time. I was surprised to love their unaged corn whiskey (moonshine, basically). I didn't like the Baby Bourbon at all, but found their Single Malt to be tasty. And those little tiny bottles are just so cute. I'll take a dozen!
• But the big hit of the night was the High West Rendezvous Rye, a blend of a 6 year old and 17 year old rye that was destined to be blended into Canadian Whisky. The man behind the brand, David Perkins, saved it from its fate and married the two together. Perkins says that with the exception of Anchor's 100% rye, his product probably has the highest rye content on the market. And in a strange coincidence, Perkins is the future father-in-law of an old raver friend from the early 1990's I ran into at the event. Flashback!
• There were also a few vodkas, rums, eau-de-vie's, and absinthe at the event. I skipped most of them but tried some tequila.
• Querido Viejo had a deliciously sweet blanco that reminded me a little of Corralejo crossed with Don Julio. I didn't like their reposado at all- it was aged 9 months in new oak. The anejo, aged in Canadian whisky casks (and I think Canadian whisky casks are often used bourbon casks used again but I could be wrong) I also enjoyed. It's strange how so many tequila brands have blanco, repo, and anejo expressions, but they may not share the same barrel finish or flavor profile.
• Speaking of that, I also tried the Don Eduardo tequila. The blanco is triple distilled and thus doesn't taste like anything much. The reposado, on the other hand is only double distilled like usual, and is wonderfully strong in agave character and spiciness from aging in Oregon pine. The anejo, aged in used bourbon barrels, I thought was just okay. Go repo!

Phew! That's it. Now I'm thirsty again.

On the organic happy hour circuit

Kuleto's, which has the first and only all-organic cocktail menu in San Francisco, has expanded their program. Now from 3-5 PM on weekdays they offer an Organic Happy Hour with reduced prices on orgo cocktails, wine, and beer. They also deny you plastic straws and paper napkins to rub it in, err... set the mood. And as an after-party for that, the W Bar at the W Hotel is starting an "ecolicious" happy hour in April. The party goes from 5:30 to 7:30 (so walk slowly from Kuleto's) on weekdays, serving two each of organic wines, beer, and cocktails. The $10 cocktails are a vodka-elderflower drink with a prosecco float, and a tequila-watermelon-chili drink. A portion of the proceeds goes to Save the Bay.

Belgian showers

The Toronado, a bar that normally specializes in Belgian beers, is celebrating Beglian Beer Month in April, with, I assume, even more Belgian beers than usual. I bet between this bar and La Trappe and The Trappist and Monk's Kettle you could try nearly every Belgian beer on the market. Not a bad way to spend your April.

At Beretta, less is more

When Beretta opens (currently scheduled for April 1), cocktail fans will recognize many familiar faces behind the bar. Thad Vogler (Slanted Door, Jardiniere, Bourbon & Branch) is leading the bar program, and some of the people taking shifts there will be Jon Santer (Bruno's, Range, Tres Agaves, B&B), Todd Smith (Cortez, B&B), Ryan Fitzgerald (Tres Agaves, B&B, Brick), and Eric Johnson (Eastside West, B&B). Vogler says it's coincidence that they were all looking to pick up a shift or two, but I'm already nicknaming the venue the Valencia Street All-Star Bar. Though not finalized at this point, Vogler gave me the gist of his bar program: a paired-down spirits selection, quality valued more than quantity, and execution over innovation. They'll be carrying only two brands of vodka (one local, the other organic), but a good selection of gins, rums, aperitifs, and liqueurs. The cocktail list looks like it will include a lot of classic profile drinks emphasizing the American, Latin, and Caribbean base spirits. I think it's going to be an interesting place, especially because this bar program is running in a pizzeria restaurant.

Tiki taking over?

Now that they're serving tiki drinks in New York, the rest of the country can read about the trend. At Elettaria they're serving a few tiki cocktails including the Navy Grog and Zombie, the Rusty Knot is some kind of tiki dive, and DISCUS threw a tiki party that was reported on all the blogs. Out west, the Teardrop Lounge in Portland is doing Tiki Third Tuesday with a whole list of drinks just for the night- dang that's a lot of work! In San Francisco, a busload of bartenders went to Forbidden Island on Monday for a Rhum Clement event, so Tuesday at happy hour your favorite bartender may not look so happy. The Times story does make a good point, though.

“Certain elements of mixology have gotten too dry,” (Angus Winchester) said, referring to a bar ethos that esteems pre-Prohibition cocktails, sometimes to a point of purism. “Cocktail lists are starting to look like history lessons, with bartenders hiding behind the fact that they’re using the 1812 recipe of a drink rather than the 1814 recipe. Tiki is the antithesis to all that.”

To a degree, anyway. As Mr. Miller said of the Navy Grog: “We’re using the original 1941 recipe.”

I think the tiki trend allows for the same nerd-ness as pre-Prohibition cocktail worship, but with different flavor profiles. Those earlier drinks (and their modern incarnations favored on the East Coast) use citrus zest, twists, flames, foams, and other aromatic tricks to give spark and life to small-volume drinks that largely come out of bottles. Many tiki drinks, it seems, use citrus and other mixers as the lively base canvas of the drink, allowing the spirits some breathing room in which to show off. (Does this make sense? I'm trying to say it's like the difference between drinking straight rum and a Daiquiri.) In any case, I say more (well-made) tiki drinks is a good thing.

Branch news

News from Bourbon & Branch:

• They've added classes on Cocktails 101, Rum, and Absinthe to the Beverage Academy
• Taking co-management positions after Todd Smith's departure are Joel Baker and Yanni Kehagiaras (pictured)
• Russell's Room, an additional private room built into the former barbershop next door, is scheduled to open in April.

Good news about menu labeling in SF

Skip to the bold statement.

San Francisco's labeling law heads for enactment Source: NRN SAN FRANCISCO (Mar. 19, 2008)

As expected, the city's Board of Supervisors gave its final approval Tuesday to a requirement that some chain restaurants post nutritional information on their menus and menu boards. The measure now moves to the desk of Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign it into law.

The measure will require local units of chains with at least 20 units in California to display the calorie, fat, carbohydrate and sodium content of every item on their menus. Places that use a menu board instead of a conventional menu must post the calorie count of each item, but they can make the other information available through other media, including brochures or posters.

Nutritional profiles of alcoholic beverages would not have to be disclosed.

The measure, patterned after a law scheduled to take effect in New York City at the end of the month, was unanimously approved by the 11-member board in a final vote. News reports have indicated that the mandate would take effect in about six months.

Hooray!

Absinthe about town

Since absinthe became available on the market again, many restaurants are serving it in traditional cocktails like the Sazerac. At the restaurant Absinthe, they've also rediscovered a classic cocktail called the Lawhill. Farallon offers the Sazerac, Corpse Reviver #3, and the Waldorff cocktail. For a while, Yankee Pier restaurant on Santana Row in San Jose was serving oysters Rockerfeller with absinthe, as the original recipe called for it. Who knew? Other venues are experimenting with new uses for absinthe. At the lobby bar and Ame restaurant in the St. Regis, they're serving an Ame Tremor, made with Armagnac, sweet vermouth, absinthe, and a dash of bitters. At the launch party for Right Gin at bacar, they served a gin and absinthe drink that wasn't going to be on the permanent menu, but maybe if you go on Friday night Carlos will make you one. Sens restaurant offers a Raspberry-Absinthe Press, made with absinthe, framboise liqueur, and sparkling water with a lemon twist. I've tried it and it's pretty darn tasty- and you can make it at home! I've also had a touch of absinthe in A Touch of Evil at Orson that was amazing. It has bourbon, mint, lemon juice, absinthe, and rhubarb syrup. (And by the way, Orson's cocktail list is now online here.) At Conduit, a new restaurant a block from my house that I have yet to visit, they're serving a drink called The Hub with reposado tequila, absinthe, and bitters. I need to get in there and drink my way through the menu. And these are just the drinks in San Francisco. It's fun when a new ingredient hits the market and everyone uses it in different ways. St. Germain had the same effect last year. What might be the next hot spirit? I'll place my bets on Square One Vodka's cucumber flavor whenever it finally comes out (you guys know there is another cuke vodka hitting the market, right? hurry up!), and I bet we'll be seeing a lot of Veloce. But more on that later.

New at WoW

The annual Whiskies of the World is coming up March 28 and 29th in San Francisco. On Friday the 28th, they'll be holding $30 seminars and $ 60 courses (differentiated by the duration of each) at Le Meridien Hotel. The 2.5 hour courses include "Whisky Wizardry" by John Glaser of Compass Box for those into experimentation with blending, "Grain to Glass" that seems like a large overview of whiskies from around the world, and "A Walk in the Woods" with whisky master Steve Beal of Diageo, which is all about wood maturation. The 50-minute seminars are mostly brand-specific, with tasting lectures by MacKillop's Choice, Yamazaki, Bowmore, and Laphroaig, plus "The Great Whisky/Whiskey Debate" which is about American vs. Scotch whiskies. Information on courses and seminars is here. The big tasting this year returns to the San Francisco Belle, docked at Pier 3. Even though the boat is docked the whole time it can be a little wobbly until your sea legs catch up with your natural rocking motion from the alcohol. The tasting costs $99 and runs from 6PM-10PM. New this year, the Beverage Academy of Bourbon & Branch will host a booth at the event so you can stop by and learn about the programs. The open air top deck allows for a whisky and cigar pairing, and there are live whisky cooking demos from Angel Catering. The list of whisky brands attending is here (scroll down).

Gin winners

Last night I stopped into Rye's cocktail competition with this month's sponsor Bluecoat Gin. Certainly the most interesting cocktail of the evening was Jonny Raglin from Absinthe's green garlic drink- there's nothing like a cocktail that gives you stink breath. Raglin said it was made to go with food, like a big plate of french fries. French fries and gin? That's my kind of meal. I later found out that it was a garlic gastrique. And you know what that means, folks: He used the magic ingredient of 2008: Vinegar! The competition's winners were Joel Baker from Bourbon & Branch in third place, H. Ehrman from Elixir as runner-up, and Carlos Yturria from Grand Puh Bah and other places taking home the first prize. His drink was my favorite of the night also- along with some fresh juices, it had pepper in it and I'm a total sucker for that. Winning drinks from Rye's competition make it onto their drink menu, so stop in and try one.

SF Event: Cocktail week calendar

They've started to put together the schedule for San Francisco Cocktail Week. This year it will run May 13 - 19. Some of the events planned include an opening event at the Starlight Room with Tony Abou-Ganim, a guest bartender night at various bars around the city, several cocktail dinners with food and cocktail pairings, a "Save the Sazerac" event at Elixir, a booze and literature lecture at Hotel Rex, a farmer's market cocktails event at the Ferry Building, and a grand finale event at Absinthe. Wow. This is shaping up nicely. The SF Cocktail Week website isn't up to speed just yet, but stay tuned for more information.

Bar-swapping

Reminder to SF'ers make real live New York City bartender Phil of Death & Co. welcome at Alembic this week, and for New Yorkers to visit Thomas of the Alembic in your own backyard. I believe they're swapped until March 12th.

Bay Area winners at Vegas Bar Show

At the Las Vegas Nightclub and Bar show last week Bay Area and other bartenders from around the country competed in the Battle of the Mixologists competition. Out of 29 competitors, two locals were chosen to be in the five finalists: Victoria Damato-Moran of various spots in SF, and Manny Hinojosa of the Walnut Creek Yacht Club. Funnily enough, these two competed in a previous cocktail competition in San Francisco and came in first and second place. In Las Vegas, Manny Hinojosa once again took home the top prize of $5,000 bucks. Well, he won five thousand bucks anyway. Given that the event was in Las Vegas you never know if any of it made it home.

Beyond the Branch

Big news in SF barland: Todd Smith has turned in his resignation at Bourbon & Branch. He's been with them since long before they opened but said, "It's time for me to move on and do another project." He told me he plans to take some time off and work on some consulting gigs he's firming up now, as well as potentially opening his own space with some other bartenders down the road. And though the details are still being hammered out, he plans to remain with the Beverage Academy teaching classes there. Speaking of the Beverage Academy, they added their first scotch whisky class on March 25th with Dominic Venegas as the instructor. The rum class will likely start in April with Thad Vogler at the helm. Best of luck both the Bourbon & Branch and Todd Smith!

Dueling Belgians

In the March issue of San Francisco Magazine, I have a story on the three Belgian beer bars that opened in December 2007. (Also, a travel story on Aspen.) At 7x7, the other glossy city magazine, Jordan MmmKay? has a piece on the same topic (bars, not ski towns), with four recommended beers to try. The Trappist in Oakland is a simple place, with only two cheese plates available as food. When I visited there was one server working the whole seating area so it was faster to walk to the bar and pick up pints yourself. They did a nice job with the glassware cooler water jet that lowers the temperature of your glass by a couple of degrees. In North Beach, La Trappe is something between a restaurant, a lounge, and a bar. They have a full bistro menu (but could use more appetizers for those not in search of a meal) with some Belgian specialty foods, as well as a huge beer menu. I recommend getting there early to score a space on the plush seating in the lounge. Also, rumor has it mixologist Victoria Damato-Moran will be working there- which is odd because the place doesn't have a full liquor license. In the Mission, Monk's Kettle is a small, bright space with upscale pub food and two dozen beers on tap. They have a combination of Belgian and other non-common beers, and the place seems always to be busy. Plan to get dinner if you want a table, or just pop in at lunchtime for a few pints (says the writer without a day job).

Caloric cocktails

Nutritional disclosures could be on the way for menus at S.F.'s chain eateries

Boo! I feel like I should support listing caloric information on food and drink menus because that would encourage healthy eating and drinking, but I just don't. It's not like (most) people are unaware that the mocha-choco-latte has more fat and calories than the caffeine-enhanced water. Food and drinks are more than calorie-nutrient-caffeine-alcohol delivery systems. Requiring chains to have the information available on request? I think I'm okay with that. But when hotel bars have to list cocktail calories on their drink menus I have a feeling I'll opt to imbibe in other locations where I can get a drink without a garnish of guilt.

A shifty bunch

Those bartenders, they never stay put. If you've been in Bourbon & Branch, surely you've noticed Eric Johnson from Eastside West toiling behind the bar, and recently Thad Vogler of Jardiniere has been seen there too. When last we spoke he was just doing a few shifts a week while consulting. Speaking of consulting, Dominic Venegas from bacar, B&B, Range, etc. will be consulting on the forthcoming project Gitane- but you've got a long wait until it opens in May(ish). You'll have to wait forever to see Alberta Straub behind the stick in SF: She's moved to Brooklyn. Boo! Her cocktail show on On Networks continues. And Josh Harris from Palmetto is doing time at (I think) Pier 23, filling in shifts at Elixir, and I already overheard one bar manager talking to another saying, "You should hire that guy!" It's not easy being popular.

Orson and onward

Last night was the grand opening party for Orson, likely to be the only restaurant opening party this year to feature both a fashion show and a sword fight. But I was there to joust with the cocktails, so that's what I did. I had three drinks: a celery gimlet that tastes exactly how you think it would, a bourbon-based drink with many other ingredients that I do not remember (it was fantastic), and a drink with cocoa bean-infused something, sherry, Batavia arrak, and a flamed orange peel, which was also layered and delicious. Why don't I take better notes? Afterward I hit the very end of Rye's cocktail competition featuring Charbay's green tea vodka, and had a tasty sweet drink with just the vodka and lemonade. After that, I headed over to NOPA for some food and drinks, because lord knows I hadn't had enough drinks. NOPA has been doing something cool with their menu for a while now that I haven't seen other places. They have a section of the menu devoted to a class of spirits, such as calvados or cachaca, in addition to the regular cocktails. This time its rhum agricole from Rhum Clement (check out the menu here), with five cocktails featuring expressions from the brand. It's a nice way to get acquainted with a category of spirits- and I especially need to get familiar with Clement, because I'm going to Martinique in April to drink it from the tap. Wahoo!

Cocktails at Epic

On Thursday I visited Epic Roasthouse, and not for the roast. I was there to try Camber Lay's cocktails. The menu is divided into classics and Epic Originals, but even the classics have been upgraded with touches like key lime sugar on the rim of the Sidecar and gigantic house pickled cippolini onions in the Gibson. In the original drinks section, my two favorites were the Copper Pot with Partida blanco, calvados, and apple juice, with a spiced pecan dust rim, and the surprisingly bright and aromatic Conversos, made with white pear tea-infused gin, Lillet, Chartreuse, and a lemon twist. The recipe was printed in the Chronicle a couple weeks ago. I also had the old-world-esque Prohibition and the Fennel Gimlet (with fennel and citrus infused vodka). And though I didn't try it, there is almost no way to go wrong with the Farewell to Arms, made with Oronoco rum, grapefruit, vanilla, and key lime. The drinks were delicious, but I caution people not to go between 6 and 10PM unless you're interested in big crowds and long waits behind people ordering "a dirty Grey Goose martini on the rocks." Ack. I got there at 4:30 and was the first person in the bar before happy hour rush. It was nice and breezy up until about 5:30. But then the crush came and it was difficult to squeeze through the room at all and the bartenders were so swamped it was painful to watch. So blow off work early or go for late night drinks because the comfy seats and beautiful views in the pictures are blocked by too many people during prime time.

Flora drinks

Michael Bauer, food critic for the SF Chronicle, gave Flora in Oakland three stars this week, and also made special mention of the cocktails. (This rarely happens.)

There's nothing wrong with the wine list at Flora. It's very good, with 82 diverse selections, but on my three visits, I couldn't pass up the cocktails, which made ordering a bottle of wine impossible if I wanted to keep my wits about me.

This restaurant is serious about its spirits, especially when you see the absinthe apparatus on the bar, which is lined with premium pours.

The cocktails are credited with their place of origin in small type below the description. The Corpse Reviver No. 2 made with Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, lemon and absinthe ($9), for example, is from the American Bar in London.

The drink program was developed by Erik Adkins from the Slanted Door, so that's why it's so tasty. When I was there (order the Carter Beats the Devil) Erik wasn't working but the execution was still terrific.

Epic thirst

I haven't visited Epic Roasthouse, one of two new Pat Kuleto restaurants, but today I saw a copy of the cocktail menu. Camber Lay of Frisson/Range/Laiola has put together a drink menu that includes ingredients like Batavia arrak, white pear tea-infused gin, spiced pecan dust, and fennel infused vodka. (Not all in the same drink, of course.) It looks amazing. I think I'm going to blow off an early afternoon next week and work my way through the menu.

Bartender Swap

Via Eater via NY Mag, Daniel Hyatt of the Alembic (which was very busy this Saturday afternoon when it's usually nice and quiet- we need to stop giving them awards) will be doing a bartender exchange with a Death & Co. bartender from NYC next month. Note to Alembic staff: Stock up on Yellow Chartreuse. Note to Death & Co. staff: Stock up on women. In the comments, someone has suggested that they ship off J-Beau and Morty to NY next. Do you think that's someone in New York who wants to import them, or someone in the Northwest who wants to get rid of them?

School of booze

A few weeks ago I was allowed to sit in on a class at Bourbon & Branch's Beverage Academy. So far they're doing three courses- one each on bourbon, tequila, and gin, offered once a month on Tuesdays. The class I attended was on gin, lead by Todd Smith, though from what my friend said about the tequila class she took the previous week with Ryan Fitzgerald, the classes are run similarly. We covered the history, production, current products on the market, and use of gin in cocktails. We made several cocktails in class and were served both an introductory and an end-of-class drink, plus samples of about five different types of gin in a blind tasting. There were powerpoint slides, a bound take-home booklet with topics and (some of B&B's most famous) recipes covered in the class, and a mid-class break for them to change out the glassware for the second half. I don't want to describe the class in too much more detail because that might take away some of the fun of attending. Though the two-hour classes cost $100 (mine ran to nearly three), they've put a lot of work into making it a high-value experience. I was really impressed.

New tricks at Brick

Recently I checked out the new cocktail menu at Brick, designed by Ryan Fitzgerald of Tres Agaves. They keep it simple with just seven specialty drinks. The Elder Sour has been on a few menus around the city and country (bourbon, St. Germain, lemon juice) and the Spiced Pear seems like a popular flavor profile for Winter 07/08 (except he uses pear nectar and plain vodka instead of pear-flavored vodka). I didn't try the Grapefruit Royale though it would be hard to go wrong with sparkling wine, cassis, grapefruit juice and grapefruit bitters, but did have the terrific Floridinho (pronounced "floridinyo") with Beleza Pura cachaca, maraschino, grapefruit, lemon, and agave nectar, served over ice. That one is a total winner and a perfect use for cachaca. I also had a sip of the Mexico 70- a nice take on the French 75 with Partida Reposado and agave nectar instead of gin or brandy. Overall, the drinks were modern, bright and refreshing, tending toward sour or tart end of the spectrum, and seemed to pair well with the food. (I only had a few snacks, but the country-fried mushrooms are a must order.) A short cocktail list, but nicely done.

SF bar stars

The Chronicle has a big section on local bartenders defining cocktail culture in the city today. There's one story each on: Daniel Hyatt from the Alembic Camber Lay from Epic Roasthouse Martin Cate from Forbidden Island Dominic and Carlos from Bacar 12 other bartenders doing cool stuff "old masters" behind the bar All in all, it's a pretty good selection with some obvious holes for next year's batch.

SF Event: Strong Beer Month

February is Strong Beer Month once again, and both Magnolia and 21rst Amendment breweries will be putting a list of high-alcohol beers on their menu to help you celebrate. To kick off the party, brewers from both places (both nice guys) will be at the Toronado Thursday Jan 31 to say howdy. Stop by and have a high-octane beer.

SF Event: 80 beers

This Saturday in San Francisco a two-hour tasting event of 80 beers from around the world. The details are here. It sounds worth the money (if a bit short) at only 30 bucks, but the copy on the flier reads like it was translated from a third grade essay in another language:

This enjoyable event will be a Unique opportunity for you to discover New & Exotic beers while gauging stylistic differences against your own preferences. Serving the beers will be Beautiful servers/ambassadors dressed in Specially designed sexy costumes with an around the world theme making for a truly extraordinary experience.

Hopefully the event will be better than its description.

The drinkiest day of the new year

What is it about January 28th? In San Francisco, it's Absinthe's ten-year anniversary party, a Hands On Bay Area fundraiser at Bin 38, a Moet-Hennessy tasting, Rye's Mixing Competition with Navan, and 7x7 Magazine's Eat & Drink Awards. All events I'd like to attend. Unfortunately, I won't be here to hit any of them. I'll be on a plane coming back to SF after a visit to Asheville, NC. Bummer.

Brunch drinks

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Daytime Cocktails for New Years Brunch Camper English, Special to the Chronicle

New Year's Day often arrives with one pondering the previous night's indulgences and the resulting aftereffects. On the upside, this can also be done with a cocktail in hand.

Whether consuming them to nurse the previous night's hangover or just to pass the lazy New Year's holiday, adults have a free pass to enjoy cocktails before noon on Tuesday.

Typical brunch cocktails include the bloody Mary, mimosa, screwdriver and Irish coffee, with fresh derivations of these standards now on morning menus throughout the Bay Area. Additionally, frothy Southern breakfast drinks like the Ramos gin fizz are coming back into vogue, though drinkers' aversions to raw eggs and the negative associations with imbibing in the morning may be obstacles to their popularity.

In "The Joy of Drinking," author Barbara Holland addresses the National Institutes of Health's "pompous treatise" against readministration of alcohol (more widely known as "the hair of the dog that bit you") to cure the hangover, for fear that it encourages alcoholism.

She writes, "I don't know what social circles the NIH travels in, but I myself have never seen any sufferer, after shakily sipping his bloody Mary, let out a whoop, grab the vodka bottle and chug it down."

Read the rest of the story here.

Boozeless Cocktails

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Drink Menus Explore Virgin Territory with Alcohol-Free Cocktails Camper English, Special to the Chronicle

Bay Area restaurants and bars are increasingly devoting space on their menus to alcohol-free drinks. These concoctions are more complicated than simple sodas and juices, involving the same glassware, seasonal ingredients and fresh garnishes as drinks with the hard stuff.

This trend of enticing consumers with nonalcoholic cocktails, rather than leaving it to them to request a virgin version of another drink, owes much to the current emphasis in better cocktail bars on creating drinks with seasonal ingredients. These fresh drinks can be translated fairly easily into alcohol-free versions, whereas in other bars, a nonalcoholic Jack and Coke is just a Coke.

Josh Harris, bar manager of Palmetto on Union Street in Cow Hollow, says that in the first month or so of being open, the menu listed only drinks with alcohol, but patrons would see the fresh cocktails being made and request alcohol-free versions.

"Some of them translated (to nonalcoholic drinks) very well, and some of them not well at all," he says.

Read the rest of the story here.

New bars in the Bay Guardian

I contributed this round-up of new drinking venues to the San Francisco Bay Guardian. As I was taking notes on the venues that opened in the past year, I realized that there are way to many of them to list. The final article has 32 new venues listed, and it doesn't include a third of the wine bars that opened, nor several of the venues that renovated their whole schtick, such as bacar and Jardinière, nor many of the new restaurants with good cocktail programs even though I included a bunch. No wonder I've been so busy.

Two big nights, two slow days

On Monday I hit up Absinthe to drink some absinthe. Lucid was having a launch party for the Bay Area. A couple of weeks ago there was a launch for Kubler at Bix that I attended, and last week we saw St. George Spirits absinthe get approved. (It's been a big month for faeries.) I can't wait to do a comparison tasting, but for now I'm just trying to get my bearings with the stuff. I tried drinking Lucid the standard way, with the louche, but I didn't put enough water in it. I had it in a cocktail or two as well. But my favorite way was the frappe they did at Absinthe. It seemed to be just absinthe over shaved ice with simple syrup and soda water, but it was really refreshing. Unfortunately the recipe for it isn't on the Lucid website (and unfortunately a recipe for absinthe and Red Bull is) so I'll have to hit up Absinthe for it. After that I hit the town with Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz and Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Project. We popped in to Jardiniere for a a drink, then checked out Marlena's for the annual Santa display. We then thought it would be a good idea to get some food, which lead to us walking all the way to Church and Market to Sparky's, where we had more beer. (My decisions may have been clouded like louched absinthe.) The next day passed very slowly and a bit painfully and I had some french fries then it was time to go out drinking. I met Eric Seed and friend Debbie at NOPA for some cocktails by Neya White. We also got snacks, and they do a mean plate of french fries so that made twice. Then, because I wanted to go home early, we went out drinking. We headed to the Alembic for drinks by Josie Packard. Hooray! They put a few new drinks on the menu there, including the Vieux Carre I was digging in New Orleans this summer. But I loved the Oh Sweet Nothing with rum, Chartreuse, and root beer bitters. And because I had to get home and not be out late, we stayed until closing. Smartly, Debbie ordered a plate of fries, which were the best ones of the day. And that made it a fry-fecta.

Seasonal Beer

I got this announcement of the new seasonal ale for the Park Chalet in San Francisco. Frostbite Spice Ale When strong brown ale gets infused with Juniper Berries, Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Orange Peels you get pure, spicy, holiday excitement! 7.0% ABV That's making me pretty darn thirsty.

Another Repeal Day party announcement: Forbidden Island

On December 5th, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the US was ratified by FDR, repealing the 18th Amendment, aka Prohibition, aka “Big Mistake”. We will be celebrating at FI in style: All the remaining November Cocktail Month Specials will be just $5 all night until they’re gone. That’s about 12 different drinks! I’ll have a list on hand that night.

Repeal Day Party in SF

CELEBRATE THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION WITH BLUECOAT GIN AND ELIXIR

DECEMBER 5th

San Francisco , 1933 - On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified, repealing Prohibition. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1881-1945) ran for the presidency in 1932, partly on a platform of the repeal of Prohibition. The 21st Amendment was ratified by the State of California on July 25 ^th, 1933. On December 5, 1933, Utah was the 36th state to ratify the amendment. President Roosevelt immediately issued a repeal proclamation.

In those days, California was considered the farthest reaches of the United States and, as it was so far from the Federal Government, Prohibition was not as closely followed as in some other states. However, Elixir, then under the ownership of the man who built rebuilt the saloon after the 1906 fire, ran it under the business description of a "soft drink parlor". How "soft" the drinks are, we'll probably never know. But one thing is for sure: 74 years ago, on December 5^th, there was a damn big party at ELIXIR. And we're gonna do it again!

Please join us for

Bluecoat Gin Cocktails at Prohibition Era prices!

$5 Cocktails all night

9pm to close

And speaking of good news

Jackie Patterson, who has been working as a server at Le Colonial but tearing up the cocktail competition circuit, will be the bar manager at the upcoming Orson, a restaurant from the owners of Citizen Cake that will have a 40-seat circular bar. This means I'm officially excited about a restaurant opening. Who am I?

Pisco book event

On Monday, December 3 at 7PM at Cantina there is a book release party the English language version of Wings of Cherubs, a novelization of the author's search for the recipe for the original Pisco Punch.

Book signing and release of Wings of Cherubs—A book that unravels the secrets of Pisco Punch, the magic and mysterious concoction of San Francisco, California, of the early 1900s. In an entertaining way, the narrative describes the saga of a protagonist obsessed with discovering the recipe of the secret beverage, long lost since the death of its creator en 1926. With the gift of being able to transport himself in time, he reveals little known historical anecdotes of San Francisco. The book climaxes presenting the recipe of the famous Pisco Punch for the benefit of all those who love history and Pisco brandy. (254 pgs., 147 photographs and illustrations; a 30 pgs. essay is included).

The author, Guillermo Toro-Lira will be reading from, selling, and signing copies of his book. (It's also available on Amazon.com here or directly from the author here.) I have a copy of the book but haven't read it yet. However, San Franciscans should take time to learn about this drink, as it was one of the most popular cocktails in the US in the gold rush era and invented here in SF. I plan to write a large feature on pisco and 'frisco in the new year, and hope this book will be a good resource. Oh, and if you haven't tried the pisco punch at Cantina you really must. It's an updated version but it's delicious.

Ambitious Cocktails

Greg Lindgren from Rye was cited in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, but unfortunately his cocktail recipe didn't get printed along with the others.

Perhaps the most ambitious entry came from Greg Lindgren, an owner of the San Francisco bar Rye. He proposed poaching quince in honey, water and mulling spices, and then using the warm fruity broth to flavor a glass of brandy. Very nice indeed -- if you succeed in finding fresh quince.

I asked Greg if he actually made the drink or just 'proposed' it. He said he did make it, in fact, and even sent Eric Felten a picture. I guess for Greg getting quince was not the problem- but I think ambitious is an appropriate term. Greg told me that it took almost three hours to poach the quince.

Holland gin

Congrats to the SF winners of the Damrak gin contest. They get a trip to Holland. From the press release:

In San Francisco, the top three winners at the Rye bar event were: First place—Micah Wilder from Bambuddah Lounge with the Lycheetini, Second place--Alicia Walton from Martunis with the Dam Good Martini and Third place—Amanda Washington from Rye with The Damsel.

Tiki bar crawl in San Francisco

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Next Thursday though Sunday is the seventh annual San Francisco Bay Area Tiki Crawl. That the event is spread out over four days and three geographic regions is an indicator that we have a heck of a lot of tiki bars in this part of the world. (Take that, Hawaii!) On South Bay Thursday, the hordes descend upon Smoke Tiki, the Palo Alto Trader Vic's and Martini Monkey in the San Jose airport (pending approval). Friday night, city tiki-hoppers stop by Trad'r Sam, the Tonga Room, Bamboo Hut and the San Francisco Trader Vic's. On Saturday, it's time to hit Trader Vic's in Emeryville, Forbidden Island in Alameda, and the Conga Lounge and Kona Club in Oakland. The tour ends on Sunday with a leisurely revisit of Forbidden Island. There is no bus between venues unlike past years, so drivers are encouraged to find safe carpool situations rather than anger the great gods of common sense. Specific times and addresses, as well as an e-mail information list can be found on TikiCrawl.com.

Magnolia Pub's Ten Year Anniversary

Magnolia Pub and Brewery in the Haight is celebrating their ten-year anniversary next week as they launch their annual Thunderpussy Barleywine for the holidays. They're doing a concert at the Great American Music Hall on Monday, and having themed food and beer all week at the pub. Here's the word on what's happening from owner Dave McLean:

The early part of the week is a nod to some of the things that influence us. Mon-Thurs are all 3-course menus (also available a la carte). Monday is an expansion of our ongoing New Orleans night, Tuesday a British gastropub theme, Wednesday the menu is Belgian-inspired, and Thursday is an extension of our fried chicken night with a southern theme. Then on Fri-Sun night we will be running the same 5-course tasting menu each night (not available a la carte, and the whole table must order), which will focus more on David's creativity and be an expression of what can done with the gastropub concept. We will feature our favorite local and sustainable producers throughout, of course. The actual anniversary is on 11/11 (sunday), so the Monday, 11/5 show at the Great American Music Hall is sort of the kickoff and then the week will progress with the menus and pairings and some beer releases like barrel-aged 10th anniversary ale and barrel-aged Belgian tripel and some vintage Old Thunderpussy Barleywine and Smokestack Lightning Imperial Stout. Plus whatever else we can find in the cellar.

Not Finnished Yet

Yesterday I went to Finnishing School, an event put on by Finlandia vodka lead by Dale De Groff and Tony Abou Ganim. They do this program around the country every now and then, but this was my first time attending. For those of us aware that fresh ingredients are important in cocktails it wasn't a huge awakening, but I did pick up a few tidbits of information- to keep a bunch of mint fresh, store it upside down in a bucket of cold water, canned lychees are easier to work with and not much worse tasting than fresh ones, and a "gummy" feeling in the mouth is an indicator of glycerin in your vodka. Speaking of picking up things and tasting glycerin, I picked up a prize for identifying the most vodkas in a blind taste test. I (and four other people) picked four out of six vodkas correctly. We knew what the brands were and had to match the tasting sample with the brand. I was really gunning to get them all, but didn't feel as bad when I learned that only six people in the entire history of the Finnishing School have ever identified them all. Next time... For me the creaminess of Absolut and the charcoal of Kettle One were easy stand-outs for my palate, it was clear they were pushing Finlandia as the sample that tasted the most like nothing, and I got the Grey Goose solely by the process of elimination. (I am ashamed to admit that I mixed up Skyy and Stoli, two brands I've probably had more of than the rest!) In any case, it was a fun event and every bit of confirmation that I'm not a complete phony helps drown out the voices of doubt. Also, so does the vodka.

Halloween drinks in SF

By me, in Friday's SF Chronicle:

A few bars and restaurants around San Francisco are putting extra effort into making your Halloween more spirited with cocktail specials.

Luna Park is serving the Dr. Moreau's Island, a rum punch poured into a bowl with dry ice for the fog machine effect. 694 Valencia St. (near 18th Street), S.F; (415) 553-8584, lunaparksf.com.

Another rum bar, Forbidden Island in Alameda, is serving two drinks without rum for the night: the Hawaiian Hemoglobin, a blood-red hibiscus liqueur and sparkling wine drink, and the Hellfire with mango, tamarind, Hangar One chipotle vodka, and cayenne pepper. 1304 Lincoln Ave. (at Sherman), Alameda; (510) 749-0332, forbiddenislandalameda.com.

At Rye, bartenders are conjuring up three cocktails for All Hallow's Eve: the Bela Mumosi (similar to a mimosa), the Karloff's Cauldron with pumpkin puree and ginger flavors, and the Bloody Scary, which is a riff on the Bloody Mary. 688 Geary St. (at Leavenworth), San Francisco; (415) 474-4448.

Teatro ZinZanni is performing a special macabre ball event with the drinks made with Blavod black vodka. Pier 29, Embarcadero at Battery Street; (415) 438-2668, zinzanni.org.

And whatever costume you're wearing this year, don't forget to cut a hole in the mask for the straw.

Smells like 'tini syrup

By me, in Friday's SF Chronicle:

For the past few years, cocktail consultant Jacques Bezuidenhout has been sneaking maple syrup into the drinks he invents for the Starlight Room and special events, and perhaps it's finally caught on, because now we see it on several menus about town.

At Bar Drake, downstairs from the Starlight Room, Bezuidenhout put maple syrup in the lobby bar's signature cocktail: the Bar Drake Manhattan. It contains Woodford Reserve bourbon, Port, Angostura bitters and maple syrup. 450 Powell St. (at Sutter), San Francisco; (415) 392-7755, Ext. 226, bardrake.com.

Across town at the Presidio Social Club, you'll find the breakfast ingredient in the Pays d'Auge Cocktail, along with Calvados and citrus. 563 Ruger St.(near the Presidio's Lombard Gate), San Francisco; (415) 885-1888, presidiosocialclub.com.

Maple syrup is an unexpected ingredient in any drink, let alone drinks at a tiki bar, but Forbidden Island in Alameda has added it to the fall drink menu. The Dead Reckoning also pairs maple syrup with Port, along with 12-year-old Cockspur rum, Navan vanilla liqueur and fresh citrus. 1304 Lincoln Ave. (at Sherman), Alameda; (510) 749-0332, forbiddenislandalameda.com.

And at the new Bar Johnny in Russian Hill, they make no secret of the syrup in the Bourbon and Maple. It includes those two ingredients, along with the nutty liqueur Nocino Della Cristina and Angostura bitters. Does anyone else want pie? 2209 Polk St. (at Vallejo), San Francisco; (415) 268-0140.

WhiskyFest listing

Okay, last post about WhiskyFest until I go there: Here is the mention of the event in Friday's SF Chronicle:

Lessons in whisky Malt Advocate magazine's WhiskyFest, which has been running annually for years in New York and Chicago, makes its debut in San Francisco on Tuesday. It's a one-stop whisk(e)y workshop, with lectures, tastings of more than 250 Scotch, Irish, Canadian, Japanese, and American whiskeys, and food to keep you from getting overwhelmed by it all. Some of the special guests and/or speakers this year are Jimmy Bedford, master distiller at Jack Daniel's, Fred Noe, Jim Beam's great grandson, and John Campbell, distillery manager at Laphroaig. New whiskeys available for tasting include Benromach Organic Scotch, additional Glenmorangie finishes, and the Buffalo Trace 2007 Antique Collection. The event runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, 5 Embarcadero Center, in San Francisco. Tickets cost $105; to register in advance and for information, call (800) 610-6258 or visit maltadvocate.com.

Pisco at Elixir

I just heard through the grapevine (read: just got the weekly email blast) that Diego Loret de Mola will be leading a Pisco tasting at Elixir in San Francisco on Thursday during their weekly Cocktail Club. I went to Diego's pisco presentation at Tales of the Cocktail this summer, and it was great. He had us all make our own pisco sours, though I doubt there is room for all that shaking at Elixir.

Where's the after-hours at?

I just got word that Swig and Bourbon & Branch will be holding discounted after-parties for WhiskyFest San Francisco Oct 23. You know, just in case you haven't had enough with the 200+ at the tasting.

Bourbon & Branch After Party

501 Jones St.

San Francisco,

415-673-1921

20% discount on all whiskies in our 150 bottle (mostly Bourbon) list. Just show your WhiskyFest ticket stub to receive the discount. The event would be held in the Library room and a secret password is required for entry at the front door. To get the password, send an email to RSVP to dahi (put at sign here) bourbonandbranch.com. Admittance will be limited. Try their new Buffalo Trace cask; they will also be making new whisky cocktails such as the Revolver (Bulleit, Tia Maria, Orange Bitters), Black Manhattan (Buffalo Trace, Averna, Cherry Coffee bitters), as well as classics such as Blood & Sand, Manhattan and Old Fashioned. Swig After Party

561 Geary St. (between Taylor and Jones)

San Francisco

415- 931-7292

20% discount on 175 (mostly Scotch) whisky list.

Islay and Oysters at Absinthe

I don't even eat seafood but this sounds like a great pairing. Islay single malts can take on much of the character of the sea due to the wind-swept island locations: salt, seaweed/iodine, and the smokiness I bet will work just great with how (I think I remember) oysters taste.

Thursday, October 11 6:00 pm, $50 per person

Join us in our Private Dining Room as we sample up 20 different Islay drams.

In addition, we'll consume countless oysters, celebrating an age-old Islay pairing. This event is our warm up for Malt Advocate's first annual Whisk(e)y Fest in San Francisco on October 23, at the Hyatt Regencey Hotel. To purchase tickets for Absinthe's 'Little Feis Ile', go here.

Cachaca: Bonus Blog Post

My Chronicle story on cachaca was too long (I tend to go on and on and on and on), so here is some extra info that didn't make it into the paper:

Like boutique vodka, cachaca can be purchased in bulk from a major distiller and then aged, diluted or flavored to achieve the desired final taste profile and marketing message.

Sagatiba and Cabana brand cachacas have placed ads in national magazines, though these products have not yet rolled out in the Bay Area. Anheuser-Busch has filed a trademark application on a cachaca named Luzia. Rio-D produces flavored cachacas, and brand Boca Loca is launching flavors in 2008.

Banking on the popularity of the caipirinha, companies have introduced pre-made mixes to save consumers the effort of adding sugar to limes. A Leblon representative said they’re coming out with a caipirinha mix. Stirrings, a brand that produces several instant cocktail mixers, offers a bottled caipirinha mix. Beleza Pura sells a mix with cachaca included so it can be served right out of the refrigerator.

The restaurant Bossa Nova offers nine brands of cachaca, as well as classic, mango, raspberry, passion fruit, kiwi, and pineapple caipirinhas. General Manager Gilberto Duncan says of the new brands, “Agua Luca is really good, it’s one of my favorites. For sipping I like the Ypióca Gold. For mixing I like to use the Leblon.”

Though most restaurants stick to the caipirinha, some new cachaca cocktails are starting to pop up around town. The drink menu at Italian/Brazilian restaurant Mangarosa lists a cosmopolitan made with cachaca instead of vodka, and two flavors of batidas- Brazilian alcoholic milkshakes. Destino offers a drink called The Brazilian with cachaca, Kahlua, and espresso.

Oakland’s À Côté carries “nine or ten” cachacas, and rotates flavored caipirinhas onto the menu when fresh produce like passion fruits are in season. According to Bar Manager Mikey Moreno, they’ve previously served a hot chocolate type drink with cachaca, and a modified cachaca-Fanta drink made with fresh orange juice.

The Latin bar Cantina likely has the largest selection of cachacas in San Francisco with nearly twenty brands, most of them the high-end, and more than half meant for sipping rather than mixing. Currently, they offer three cachaca cocktails- a traditional caipirinha, a blackberry and cabernet caipirinha (that co-owner Duggan McDonnell says is closer to a batida), and a drink called the Milk of Millennia with cachaca, an acai liqueur, mint, ginger, lemon juice, and agave syrup.

McDonnell says he wouldn’t mind placing more modern cachaca-based drinks on the menu, but says he doesn’t think people are familiar enough with cachaca to drop the classic. “Besides,” he says, “to not feature a caipirinha in a Latin bar would be kinda goofy.”

Good things come in small batches

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Oct. 13 is the first Independent Spirits Fest, a big tasting event focused on small producers. Unlike most single-topic spirits bonanzas, this one has a bit of everything: cachaca, single-malt Scotch, liqueurs, flavored vodka, eau de vie, bourbon and more. Most of the Bay Area-based distillers (Charbay, Anchor, St. George, Osocalis) will present so you can support the home teams or try something from farther afield. Spirits are available for ordering on site, allowing you to get a jump on your holiday shopping. For added entertainment, "Cocktails on the Fly" Internet cocktail show host Alberta Straub will be conducting live interviews with distillers onstage while also mixing drinks with their products. Tasting, food and music are included for $75, or for $88 you can get in and start tasting an hour early.

The W Hotel San Francisco, 6:30-10 p.m. Oct. 13th. Tickets available at CelticMalts.com.

We've got spirits fests, yes we do

Here is my comparative round-up in San Francisco Magazine of the three upcoming spirits festivals in San Francisco: the Independent Spirits Festival, Malt Advocate's WhiskyFest, and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Extravaganza. I just found out I'll be out of town for the Independent Spirits Festival, which is too bad because they'll have all sorts of weird stuff there. But hopefully I can still hit the other two.

Repo Man

Phew! I'm finally finishing up some intense weeks of writing assignments. I think I've been in touch with every cachaca brand on the market and crammed more obscure liquor history in my head than should actually fit (so if I forget who you are, it's because that place in my brain is filled with orgeat instead.) Last night I hit Rye for the mixing competition, where Partida Reposado was the base spirit to use- and they provided free tequila for the crowd too, which was nice. Johnny Raglin of Absinthe took home first place, with Ryan Fitzgerald (Brick, Bourbon & Branch) and Victoria D'Amato (Monaghans) picking up the second and third place prizes. Natalie, she of The Liquid Muse, was in town too in preparation for the Square One cocktail contest. H. Ehrmann of Elixir was busy pureeing watermelons and figs all day to make cocktails for the crowd. They said they've sold so many pre-sale tickets there are only 40 available at the door. Dang! But before all that I'm going to a tasting of the winners of the SF World Spirits Competition earlier this year. Hopefully between the two events I'll find time to hit the gym, as my cocktail gut continues to grow unmitigated.

Caliente Cocktails

Here's a recent story I wrote for San Francisco Magazine about Latin cocktail bars, and in particular Cantina. I am known to spend some time drinking there on occasion.

Sake Soiree

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Thursday you have the opportunity to taste more than 300 sakes at San Francisco's Joy of Sake event, though we strongly suggest you don't try to get through them all.

The 6-8:30 p.m. event takes place at the Hilton Hotel, 333 O'Farrell St. The tasting hall is organized into sections that make gravitating toward your favorite sake categories easy. Our advice: bring a pen to make tasting notes on the program, drink plenty of water, and take a break to eat from any of the 14 restaurants serving food there as well - some of them like Hime and Poleng are relatively new.

Tickets cost $70 and are available online at joyofsake.com or by calling (888) 739-1007.

Caliente Cocktails

In September's San Francisco Magazine I have a story on Cantina, a bar I may have mentioned here once or two hundred times already, as part of the Latin cocktail trend. The story isn't online, so run screaming to your local newsstand to pick up the new issue.

Speakeasy's hootenanny

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Help celebrate Speakeasy Ales and Lagers' 10-year anniversary Saturday with a "rousing, riveting, and spine-tingling blowout hullabaloo" party at the Bayview brewery. The free admission event features live music by Brittany Shane, Crosstops and other bands, a barbecue, and of course, beer. They'll be debuting White Lightning Wheat Beer on tap, made with wheat, oats, orange peel and spices, that you can try in the 10-year commemorative tasting glass. The family-friendly (but 21 to drink) event runs from 2 to 7 p.m. at 1195 Evans Ave. (at Keith), San Francisco; (415) 642-3371.

Hey, My Bartender's On TV!

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

"Great Cocktails," a new show on the Fine Living Network, features some great bartenders we think you'll recognize: Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe, Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, Matt Kahn of Cigar Bar and Grill, Zachary Morlock of Frisson (now at Bacar and Ambassador), and even Chronicle cocktail columnist Gary Regan make appearances. So do other mixologists from around the country, popping up in short segments on simple topics like giving a toast and throwing a theme party. Most of the local bars on the show don't have televisions so you'll have to watch them from home, pretending the drinks you're having there are as good as what the pros mix. See fineliving.com for showtimes

Getting to know you, and by "you" I mean "your drinks"

Last week at the Rye cocktail competition, Dominic Venegas was one of the judges. Dominic set up the bar program at Range, bartends at Bourbon & Branch and Cantina, and has designed/revamped cocktail menus for several restaurants around town. Oh, and also he's the spirits buyer for John Walker & Sons liquor store. In other words, he gets around. The competition was to make a Campari-based cocktail. The judges are seated in a separate area so they are blind as to which bartender has prepared each drink. After the judging I asked Dominic how the cocktails were. "The problem with it," he said, "is that I know all of these guys and their styles already, so I could tell whose cocktail was whose." I'm starting to know the feeling. If the drink has a pepper plus a fresh ingredient muddled together, it was likely created by Todd Smith of Bourbon & Branch. If the cocktail has wine when it seems completely unintuitive, check with Duggan McDonnell of Cantina. If it has maple syrup, it was almost definitely made by Jacques Bezuidenhout of the Starlight Room. Today I was reading the Tablehopper newsletter and heard of a new restaurant called Laiola. I checked the website to look at the drink menu. (Am I the only person who reads food blogs for the drinks? I just don't care about food all that much.) This is the menu:

OLD WORLD Sangria de la Dia, wine, sherry & seasonal fruit 7 Tinto de Verano, Laïola tinto & Lemonaide over ice 6 NEW WORLD Colada, Sanctuary tea infused vodka, coconut cream, pineapple & bitters 8 Cuba Libre, Plantation grand reserve rum, cola & lime 8 Mojo, flor de caña limon rum, mint, apricot liquor, lime, and soda 8 Picasso Sour, Pisco, orange blossom water, lemon bitters, lime & egg whites 8 The Sun Also Rises, Orinoco rum, vanilla, grapefruit & lime 8 Toro de Fuego, Tequila, triple sec, lime and red pepper vinegar 8 Valentia, Vodka, sherry and caramelized orange 8

I hadn't heard of this restaurant or who was behind it, and the prices don't scream "celebrity mixologist," but I said to myself, I THINK THIS PERSON REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. (I always talk to myself in capslock.) Back to the Tablehopper newsletter, I found that I was right- the menu was designed by Camber Lay, formerly of Frisson and Range. The clues I should have picked up were tea-infused vodka, and lime and red pepper vinegar. While other mixologists put together ingredients in new and fascinating ways, Camber is always creating weird new ingredients and techniques. Last week I sat next to Deborah Parker-Wong, who writes for Tasting Panel Magazine (as do I now) at the El Tesoro Anniversario dinner at Slanted Door. Deborah has an amazing palate that I've witnessed at multiple tasting events. She was talking about blind tasting. "If you taste it when it's hot, when it's cold, in different glasses, when you're hungry, with food, in the morning- eventually, you just get it. So THAT's what [some brand of wine I'd never heard of] is all about." I drink enough of these guys' cocktails in enough different situations that blind tasting cocktails sounds like a really fun challenge. Of course, it will involve much more "training of the palate," but luckily it's happy hour soon.

Just for fun

I posted the story I wrote in 2001 about how to get your daily nutritional requirements in San Francisco from only free bar snacks. Page 1 is here. Page 2 is here.

Beating me to the Punch

I was telling someone at a bar how I wanted to publish the San Francisco bartender family tree, showing how you can connect most bars in the city through bartenders who work at multiple venues. The person I was talking to said, "Have you seen the latest issue of 7x7?" Naturally, Jordan Mackay had just published an article on bartenders working in multiple venues. Though not exactly the same thing I was going to write, I've decided that this happens far too often for it to be coincidence. Obviously Jordan cannot come up with these brilliant topics months before I do, so he clearly has invented a time machine that allows him to go into the future, and another machine that allows him to plagiarize my thoughts while there. He's very crafty. If only he would use his powers for good.

The Cuke is Loose

Todd Smith published the recipe for Bourbon and Branch's famous Cucumber Gimlet (!!!), among other recipes. Read them here.

Getting Schooled by the Best

On Saturday I attended a couple of sessions of Mixology Weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. Over the weekend courses were taught by Thad Vogler (Jardiniere), Todd Smith (Bourbon & Branch), Scott Beattie (Cyrus), Greg Lindgren (Rye), and David Nepove (Southern Wine & Spirits). I got a ride down with Erik from eGullet and we attended Scott Beattie's "Farm Fresh Cocktails" class. Unlike the others taught this weekend, Scott made all the drinks for us as we watched, smelled his fresh herbs, and helped defoliate mint and flowers to use as ingredients. His creations were amazing and complex and gorgeous to look at as well. So it turns out what everybody says about his drinks is absolutely true. And it saved me a trip to Cyrus where I can't afford the food anyway. And while Erik questioned, "Are these salads in a glass really cocktails?" my take-away was "Now I understand what you can really do with flavored vodka and rum." With all these different organic flavors in the glass he relies more on solid, simple spirits to provide the canvas for the drink. Afterward I stayed for Greg Lindgren's "Rye Cocktails" class, in which we got a little bit of rye history then made a ton of drinks ourselves following his instructions. Hands-on classes like these are really useful to people looking into making drinks at home- you can ask all the stupid questions you want, question whether you're using the right fruit or muddling it properly, and then taste the drink you made versus the one your classmates made to see how it comes out differently if you use more or less syrup or other ingredients. Overall it seems the students in the classes were really happy with what they learned, as was I. Initially I thought these courses were on the pricey side- $95 each- but I was wrong about that. Seven cocktails at Cyrus or Rye would cost nearly the price of the class alone. And learning from the best mixologists in San Francisco added great value. If they do this series again, I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. I'll let you know if they're on the schedule.