Month: December 2008

  • Party Tips from Esquire

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    I think it's a little odd to put your New Year's party tips in the January issue of a magazine instead of December, then to give away all the content online before it's even January, but that's why I'm not a rich and famous magazine editor. Nor am I a David Wondrich, who wrote all…

  • Cover Girl

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    Did you get your copy of Imbibe Magazine in the mail today? I did. Oh neat, look at that 12-page cover story on scotch whisky. I wonder who wrote it… Wait a minute, I did! That's my story. Hooray!  

  • The New Noilly

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    Cocktail nerds are abuzz these days with the news that the recipe for Noilly Prat vermouth has changed, as has the bottle. Word is that the American version, which was designed to be mixed into cocktails, will now be replaced with the European, which is more often sipped on its own and not mixed. It…

  • Recommended Bottles in the SFBG

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    In the San Francisco Bay Guardian this week I have a story on some recommended bottles to pick up this winter season. Here's the picture.

  • New Bars and Old New Bars

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    San Franciscans should immediately leave work and run screaming to their local newsbox to pick up this week's San Francisco Bay Guardian. Why? Because you'll find me waiting for you inside. In the Scene insert I have two stories. One of them is on some new recommended bottles of booze. The other is on new…

  • San Francisco’s Next All-Star Bar

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    I recently spoke with Erik Adkins (Slanted Door, Flora) who is the bar manager of the soon-to-open Charles Phan (Slanted Door's chef/owner) restaurant next to the Soma Grand building on Mission Street. After much wavering on the name (the code name was "Phantom" at one point, get it), they seem to have settled on Heaven's…

  • The Upsides of Prohibition

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    December 5th is Repeal Day, the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States. We hear a lot about the bummer that was Prohibition, but perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the upsides. What about all the good things caused by Prohibition? – Prohibition popularized Canadian Whisky that came over the…

  • Store and Pour

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    In the December issue of San Francisco Magazine, I have a story on venues like Taverna Aventine, Nihon, the San Francisco Wine Center, and the Occidental Cigar Club where you can store your poison of choice on-site. Read it online here.

  • I am BarSmart

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    You know that BarSmarts certification I was all stressed about, where we had to learn 25 drinks and a lot of information to pass the written and live bartending test? I passed, and am officially BarSmarts Advanced certified. Congratulations to me. Now I can put my new degree to use, backstool bartending by critiquing the…