Subject:

Liquor and Spirits

  • Blogs

    May 25, 2012

    Drink of the Week: Golden Gate 75th Celebration in Cocktails

    With the official 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend, the festivities will also come in cocktail form.* At Aurea inside the Stanford Court Hotel on Nob Hill, they're serving the St. Charles Punch ($12, Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac, Fonsecca Terra Bella Organic Rub ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 22, 2012

    Tres Times the Charm For Barman Joel Baker

    ​Two months ago Joel Baker, formerly bar manager at Bourbon & Branch and the Burritt Room, was brought on to enhance the bar and cocktail menu at Tres. Baker explained that, "The aim is to get the bar back to where it was when they opened, when Jacques [Bezuidenhout], Ryan [Fitzgerald], and Ma ... More >>

  • Dining

    March 7, 2012

    Drink: Wild Spirits: Small-Batch Bay Area Distillers Take Big Risks

    ​Two months ago Joel Baker, formerly bar manager at Bourbon & Branch and the Burritt Room, was brought on to enhance the bar and cocktail menu at Tres. Baker explained that, "The aim is to get the bar back to where it was when they opened, when Jacques [Bezuidenhout], Ryan [Fitzgerald], and Ma ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2012

    Drink of the Week: A Flight Through Cocktail History

    ​In a brilliant effort to showcase the significant differences spirits can have on a cocktail, Locanda's new bar director Gabriel Lowe (formerly of Beretta and Delerosa) has been quietly adding cocktail flights to the menu. Taking a classic recipe, he presents a triptych of sorts, swapping out bas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 13, 2012

    Happy Goat's Scotch Caramel Sauce

    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 earthiness. No sign of cloying over-swee ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 25, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 9, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 8, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 6, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 27, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 18, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 8, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    June 27, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    May 26, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    March 24, 2011

    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 >>

  • Dining

    March 9, 2011

    Drink 2011: Cocktails, Let's Go Bowling

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    January 28, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 29, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 6, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 3, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    October 4, 2010

    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 >>

  • Calendar

    September 1, 2010

    Don't Call It Peppery

    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 >>

  • Dining

    July 14, 2010

    Comstock Saloon: The Savory Coast

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 1, 2010

    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 >>

  • Dining

    March 10, 2010

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

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 11, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 3, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    November 5, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 10, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    August 20, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    August 12, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    June 25, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    June 2, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    May 22, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    May 4, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    March 26, 2009

    Road Trip Pit Stop: Beltramo's

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

  • Blogs

    January 26, 2009

    Weird-Ass Beer of the Week: Allagash Curieux

    This pricy brew has a definite bourbon aftertaste.

  • Blogs

    May 21, 2008

    Puffing Stogies With The Suits At Palio D'Asti

    This pricy brew has a definite bourbon aftertaste.

  • Best of San Francisco

    May 11, 2005

    Best Sissy-Drink Bar

    This pricy brew has a definite bourbon aftertaste.

  • Best of San Francisco

    May 19, 2004

    Best Bourbon Selection

    Cannery Wine Cellars

  • Music

    August 13, 2003

    Drive-By Truckers

    Decoration Day

  • Best of San Francisco

    May 14, 2003

    Best Place to Sip Kuo Kung Chiew

    Rosewood

  • News

    March 12, 2003

    Pirate Cocktails

    Rosewood

  • Best of San Francisco

    May 15, 2002

    Best Place to Sip Single Malt

    Edinburgh Castle

  • Dining

    January 24, 2001

    Burning Dimly

    Glow

  • Best of San Francisco

    May 17, 2000

    Best Place to Find a Latvian Liqueur

    Cannery Wine Cellars

  • Dining

    May 3, 2000

    Club Car

    Gold Coast

  • More >>
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