Liquor and Spirits

Puffing Stogies With The Suits At Palio D'Asti

The Rob Roy: A Wee Dram, Hold the Cherry

dseang via FlickrBarrel-aged Balvenie: Steel yourself to do the unspeakableThe Broken Record saloon (1166 Geneva at Edinburgh) not only serves exceptional pub grub, their whisky selection is breathtaking: well over a hundred different ryes, bourbons, and scotches, most of it from the top of the shel ... More >>

Weird-Ass Beer of the Week: Allagash Curieux

This pricy brew has a definite bourbon aftertaste.

Road Trip Pit Stop: Beltramo's

... has one of the broadest selections of liqueurs anywhere.

Best Sissy-Drink Bar

... has one of the broadest selections of liqueurs anywhere.

Best Bourbon Selection

Cannery Wine Cellars

Drive-By Truckers

Decoration Day

Best Place to Sip Kuo Kung Chiew

Rosewood

Pirate Cocktails

Rosewood

Best Place to Sip Single Malt

Edinburgh Castle

Burning Dimly

Glow

Best Place to Find a Latvian Liqueur

Cannery Wine Cellars

Club Car

Gold Coast

The Joy of Juleps

A carefully crafted julep is not only a work of art and a delectable evocation of those lazy summer days just over the horizon, it's one of the two or three greatest American cocktails. The hardest part of the preparation is the crushing of the ice, and since you'll probably become addicted to julep ... More >>

Hard-Times Hero: Americano's Champion Bartender Shakes Up Depression-Era Classics

SanFranAnnie via FlickrThe Sidecar: A classic for shaky timesOn Monday we blogged about Ronaldo Colli, the Americano bartender who walked away with both the technical and overall awards locally in this year's US Bartenders' Guild Association contest during Cocktail Week (he won another technical awa ... More >>

Sangria is as Cooling and Variable as the City's Summer Weather

JonnyGdeCA/FlickrScore a prime example at Ramblas on Valencia.Sangria is as delectable and as open to experiment and interpretation as paella, its great culinary cohort of the Spanish table. This fruity, sparkling concoction is the perfect light-spirited libation for the summer months and is malleab ... More >>

Champagne Punch: Chunky, Fruit-Filled Kool-Aid for Grownups

Kevin Littlefield/FlickrLight yet potent.​Before summertime comes to an end and the fruits of the season shrivel into luscious memory, satisfy your stone fruit desires one last time with a light yet potent champagne punch. Raid your local farmers' market for the juiciest plums, apricots, nec ... More >>

Straight-Up Classic or Rainbow Slushy, the Margarita is Timeless

Tequila Photos/Flickr Reposado tequilas on the bar at Tommy's.Remember when the family would head out to that Mexican joint on the highway with the racetrack-shaped cocktail lounge and the three-foot bartender and the Miwok skeletons under the floorboards? And your father would give you a tas ... More >>

Bulleit Bourbon: A 90-Proof Rite of Passage

Markyboy81/FlickrHonestly, if you don't respect yourself, who will?​The late great American cultural historian Bernard DeVoto once wrote an entire book dedicated to the proposition that the only cocktails a self-respecting adult should consider imbibing are the dry martini and a slug of whiske ... More >>

Early Warning: WhiskyFest S.F. Bringin' the Brown to SOMA

cactusthesaint/FlickrA blur of Glenmorangie at last year's WhiskyFest.​Bourbon is America's native spirit. That's not editorializing on the part of a prideful Kentuckian, just fact -- and law, seeing as a 1964 Act of Congress officially declared it exactly that. Furthermore, on August 2, 2007, ... More >>

Home-Made Lithuanian Milk Liqueur: Think of It as Bathtub Bailey's

Unique Snowflake/FlickrYeah, that's right -- milk.​Apartment-dwelling San Franciscans with a hankering for home-bottled moonshine might be discouraged by the city's dearth of mountain men and their tucked-away open-air stills, but illicit hooch doesn't have to be cooked up in some backwoods ho ... More >>

S.F. WhiskyWeek Seminars Kick Off Sunday with a Scotch Tasting at Elixir

Kenn Wilson/FlickrElixir is one of about a dozen S.F. bars hosting whiskey-spiked events next week.​There's no better place to celebrate the upcoming sloshfest that is WhiskyWeek 2009 than bellied up to the bar of one of San Francisco's oldest and most passionate advocates of the hard stuff. M ... More >>

Don't Wait for 2012 to Shake Up a Batch of Leap Years

robertr2006/FlickrThe Leap Year might just make you put a ring on it.​A few weeks ago we made mention of The Savoy Cocktail Book, Harry Craddock's seminal bar guide published in 1930. Craddock, a willing refugee from Prohibition-era America, presided over the lobby bar at London's Savoy Hotel, ... More >>

What to Stock Your Bar with for That Holiday Cocktail Mixer

gibneb/FlickrSee? Easy.​When you get right down to it, the holiday season is all about lighting a candle in lieu of cursing the darkness during the gloomiest, coldest time of the year. From the Druids' burning yule log and Hanukkah's glowing menorah to the bulb-bedecked pine tree and the flami ... More >>

The Carton is Crap. Mix Up a Batch of Real Eggnog

norecipes/FlickrCheer bomb.​Sure, you can spike some store-bought eggnog with a pint of Old Grand-Dad and serve it in plastic tumblers at your next holiday soirée, but it won't be nearly as impressive as a big punch bowl of the real thing, made from scratch and proffered in festive tones of g ... More >>

SFoodie Recommends: Taking Liberties on St. Patrick's Day

norecipes/FlickrCheer bomb.​Sure, you can spike some store-bought eggnog with a pint of Old Grand-Dad and serve it in plastic tumblers at your next holiday soirée, but it won't be nearly as impressive as a big punch bowl of the real thing, made from scratch and proffered in festive tones of g ... More >>

Gran Classico: An Ancient Liqueur Comes Back

Campari's hand-crafted cuz.​Maybe it's just us looking at the world through drunk-colored glasses, but it's never been a better time to have a drink. As the national interest in cocktails and the standard of quality in bars increase, it's created a market that allows for the revival of and ac ... More >>

Comstock Saloon: The Savory Coast

Campari's hand-crafted cuz.​Maybe it's just us looking at the world through drunk-colored glasses, but it's never been a better time to have a drink. As the national interest in cocktails and the standard of quality in bars increase, it's created a market that allows for the revival of and ac ... More >>

Don't Call It Peppery

Campari's hand-crafted cuz.​Maybe it's just us looking at the world through drunk-colored glasses, but it's never been a better time to have a drink. As the national interest in cocktails and the standard of quality in bars increase, it's created a market that allows for the revival of and ac ... More >>

Go Share a Bowl ― It's National Punch Day

LA & OC Foodventures/FlickrPimm's Berry Punch at Rickhouse.​For many the idea of punch is that unnaturally red "Hawaiian" liquid from a plastic gallon jug. Even the spiked variety that occasionally shows up at adult gatherings is usually nothing more than the kid stuff fortified with cheap liq ... More >>

Going to SF WhiskyFest? Brush Up with This Whisk(e)y Primer

jrodmanjr/FlickrAmerican whiskies like bourbon are typically made from corn.​So what is whisky and how does it differ from whiskey? The difference is usually regional. The Scots, Canadians, and Japanese prefer to spell it whisky, while the Irish and Americans like to add an 'e' and spell it wh ... More >>

DIY for the Holidays: Homemade Liqueurs

Sean TimberlakeInfused spirits are among the easiest gifts to make and some of the nicest to get.​ The first of SFoodie's weekly guides to food-crafting gifts you can make. Giving booze for the holidays always reminds me of my grandfather. It's not that he was a big drinker, quite the contrar ... More >>

Local Pisco Expert Signs Books, Gets Wonky at Pisco Latin Lounge

Guillermo Toro-Lira has penned a history of Peruvian brandy in California.​Every movement needs a historian, someone who can frame events with the trajectory of inevitability. For Barbary Coast cocktail cultists, that historian is Lima-born Guillermo Toro-Lira. Like some early Christian saint, ... More >>

Three Events to Keep You Drunk for New Year's Weekend

​New Year's Day is all about fresh starts and optimism, but don't make the mistake of believing you can say goodbye to a whole year with one night of drinking. Our extensive studies have shown that a full 24-hour period of carefully paced cocktails is required for that. With that in mind, here ... More >>

Pisco Sour, a Peruvian Celebration at La Mar

​La Mar Cebicheria Peruana's Pisco Sour (Pisco Quebranta, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, and regional bitters) has felled us on more than one occasion. Though Pisco is a brandy (i.e., distilled from grapes), the foamy egg white fills us with nostalgia for (don't judge) the Orange Julius. ... More >>

Taste of Brooklyn

Aaron WojackNew Yorker Damon Boelte.​Damon Boelte at Beretta and Delarosa When: Beretta on Tue., Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m.; Delarosa on Wed., Feb. 23, :30 p.m.-1 a.m. Where: Beretta, 1199 Valencia (at 23rd St.), 695-1199 ; Delarosa, 2175 Chestnut (at Pierce), 673-7100 Cost: All special coc ... More >>

Drink 2011: Cocktails, Let's Go Bowling

Aaron WojackNew Yorker Damon Boelte.​Damon Boelte at Beretta and Delarosa When: Beretta on Tue., Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m.; Delarosa on Wed., Feb. 23, :30 p.m.-1 a.m. Where: Beretta, 1199 Valencia (at 23rd St.), 695-1199 ; Delarosa, 2175 Chestnut (at Pierce), 673-7100 Cost: All special coc ... More >>

Liqueur de Violettes: Flower-Based Liqueur Revives a French Classic

​Petaluma-based Tempus Fugit, maker of Gran Classico bitters and absinthes, has just released a 19th-century-style spirit, Liqueur de Violettes. The color's a natural blue-pink (from the violets it's made from, hand-harvested in the sunny Côte d'Azur). It was traditionally used with Champagne ... More >>

Glimpsing Locanda Through a Cocktail Glass

LocandaBrian MacGregor.​Locanda Cocktail Preview at Blackbird Where: Blackbird, 2124 Market (at Church), 503-0630 When: Sun., Mar. 27, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Cost: $9 per cocktail The rundown: Anticipation for the Delfina sibling Locanda (expected sometime this spring) is building as fast as a con ... More >>

This Saturday: Make (and Drink!) Gin Cocktails with Scott Beattie

Lou BustamanteOld World Distillers' Davorin Kuchan will help Scott Beattie school you on gin.​Where: Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building (at Embarcadero)When: Sat., May 28, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.Cost: $50 online via Eventbrite; 21 and overThe rundown: Scott Beattie returns to the Ferry Building to ... More >>

Secret Negroni Menu at Orson

Lou BustamanteNegroni variation 5: Hard to Make a Living​While the Pisco Punch might have undisputed San Francisco heritage, the Negroni often feels more like the official cocktail of San Francisco. The equal measures of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari said to have been invented in Florence by Co ... More >>

Two New Gins to Shake Your Thirst

​Gin can seem like a simple, juniper-focused spirit, but two new gins illustrate how it can be more sweet or savory, and that it doesn't always have to taste like a hangover -- er, pine. Just delicious. The No. 3 London Dry Gin ($39.99/750ml) by Anchor Brewers and Distillers, in conjunction ... More >>

Scotch and Cheese? Try It at Quince

​We've had a lot of cheese and a lot of Scotch, but we've never thought to try them together. That's because we lack the imagination of Quince general manager Katrina Parlato, who is running a bar special this week: a Scotch and cheese pairing flight.It's not cheap, at $36. But these are not cheap ... More >>

A Liquid Preview of Jasper's Corner Tap

Lou BustamanteKevein Diedrich, bar manager at Jasper's Corner Tap​Jasper's Corner Tap, the gastropub project in the hotel section west of Union Square, opens tonight with an impressive list of beverages. The tavern will feature 18 cocktails, 18 beers and six wines on tap. We were able to get ... More >>

Starlight Room Cocktail Preview

Lou BustamanteJoel Teitelbaum serving up a couple of Pisco Crustas​Opening tonight at 6 p.m. (until midnight) is the revamped incarnation of Harry Denton's Starlight Room sporting a new dance floor, plush furniture, and an inventive cocktail menu. We caught up with bar manager Joel Teitelba ... More >>

Encanto Pisco Stars Tonight at Bar Adagio's Free Cocktail College

​Where: Bar Adagio, 550 Geary (at Taylor), 775-5000 When: Thurs., Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Cost: Free! but you must RSVP: baradagio@jdvhospitality.com The rundown: Bar Adagio's Cocktail College, the popular series held on the second Thursday of each month, happens tonight spotlighting loca ... More >>

Belden Taverna's Foraged Manhattan Busts a Cap in Your Glass

Lou BustamanteThe Foraged Manhattan​As the days continue to get colder and shorter, so do my drinks -- my preferences slowly shift from tall, juicy, and shaken, to stiff and stirred cocktails. I'm not alone. For lots of people, winter brings an increasing fondness for aged spirits occurs, with whi ... More >>

Robert Burns Night: Pairing Haggis and Whisky

drewleavy/Flickr"But mark the Rustic, haggis fed/The trembling earth resounds his tread"​The culinary feast known as Burns Night, a dinner punctuated with poems from Scottish poet Robert Burns for his birthday (the 253rd one) today, is clearly not for the uninitiated. Aside from sourcing or making ... More >>

San Francisco's Top Ten Cocktail Bars

Lou BustamanteBar Agricole's moonraker: Now that's a beaut.​In the last few years, finding a bad drink in San Francisco has become harder than finding a good one. In nearly every neighborhood you'll find a bar filled with fresh juices, high-quality spirits, and a talented bartender conducting ... More >>

Happy Goat's Scotch Caramel Sauce

Stephanie Hua, Lick My Spoon​Happy Goat's Scotch Caramel Sauce is a revelation. The caramel first woos you with a sweet hit of fragrant Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean. Next comes the seduction of 12-year-aged single malt Scotch whiskey from Aberlour. The finish is a subtle twinge of earth ... More >>