I was interviewed on unique expressions of ice in San Francisco for Eater.com.
Category: San Francisco
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Cocktails at the new Causwells in San Francisco
The Marina district bistro Causwells has reopened with Elmer Mejicanos (Tony's, Red Window) onboard as the Managing Partner and Beverage Director.
He put together a really ambitious cocktail list for the small restaurant with tons of outdoor seating.
With a group of friends, I was able to try a lot of the cocktails. Favorites outside of the below were: the Grasshopper, Cleverest Clover Club, Monkey Business, White Caus-mopolitan, Gin 50-50, and La Pina.
But my most favorites of all were:
Open Sesame
milagro tequila, bianco vermouth, cold pressed poblano, lime, agave, toasted sesame
credit: Stephanie AmbergCantélope Cruz
cantaloupe, reyka vodka, lillet blanc, honey, ricotta, lemon, fresh ground black pepper
credit: Stephanie AmbergFig News
mommenpop, kumquat, green walnut, fig leaf cordial, sparkling wine
I thought the Deconstructed Pimm's Cup (pimms, hendricks gin, chareau, cold pressed cucumber & strawberry, lemon, ginger beer) was also lovely, and is a great looking drink.
credit: Stephanie AmbergAnd the Ube-tter bee-lieve it (2 year cinnamon & pineapple vinegar, clarified ube golden milk, lemon, bubbles, ube foam) is a stunner!
credit: Stephanie AmbergBonus photos: Grasshopper and 50-50 Martini.
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English at Eater: Earthy Ube Purple Pina Coladas
I wrote a story for Eater San Francisco on a trend of purple drinks with coconut cream and usually ube as a flavoring.
Photos by @vivo.visuals, Melissa de Mata, @equal_parts_cocktail, Allison WebberYou should probably go read it.
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Three East Bay Drinking Itineraries in the July Issue of San Francisco Magazine
For my latest story in San Francisco Magazine, I wrote about three drinking itineraries in the East Bay. The five-page story is called The New Beverage Belt and it involves three tours:- Cocktail bars in Uptown Oakland, including the just-opened Hello Stranger and forthcoming Here's How.
- Tasting Rooms of Alameda, with seven stops including the Hangar One and St. George Spirits distilleries.
- Day Drinking in Jack London Square, which was 100% an excuse to write about Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon – and happily they took the photos of the bar to accompany the story.
I did a lot of drinking as research for the story, so out of respect for my liver go out and pick up a copy of the magazine or read it online!
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The Future of San Francisco Cocktails (Predicted By Me) in San Francisco Magazine
It has been many years since I have contributed to San Francisco Magazine, but now I'm back! In the new February Bars & Nightlife issue, I have ten stories loosely themed around "Future proofing the cocktail: How Bay Area drink makers are reinventing our favorite alcoholic beverages."Below is the intro with links to all ten stories and brief intros from me.
Two decades into the Bay Area’s cocktail awakening, you’d think that bars would have settled into a comfortable middle age—the imbibing equivalent of staying home to Netflix and chill. But you’d be wrong.
Creativity stirs all over the region, and drink makers and bar owners continue to spin out new ways to stay relevant and keep us guessing: with secret menus, popup concepts, and menu launch parties; with vibrant drinks, exotic ingredients, and bar-specific spirits; with quality concoctions served at double the speed, thanks to newfangled juices and outsourced ice. And to meet the expanding demand for quality, novelty, and expediency in booze consumption, new clusters of great bars have sprung up not just in the East Bay but also to the north and south. These changes are often nuanced but pervasive, taking place across many bars in many precincts throughout the ever-thirsty Bay Area.
Scanning the cocktail horizon, you can spot the big ideas and the small revisions that are changing the way we drink in 2018 and beyond. Here are 10 of them.
Bartenders Are Going Straight to the Source
How bartenders are directing spirits creation from distillers.
Forget The Simple Description: These Are Very Complicated Cocktails
A look into the mind of Adam Chapman from The Gibson.
Wine Country Has An Unofficial Cocktail AVA
Drinks at the fantastic Duke's and other Healdsburg cocktail bars.
The Future (and Present, Actually) Is Female
Who runs the bars? Girls. A sampling of ten women running things in Bay Area Bars.
Asian Restaurants Are the Center of Cocktail Innovation
Once the home of sake bombs and soju immitations of real drinks, now Asian restaurants are some of the most forward-looking.
Viking Drinks Are So Hot Right Now
Aquivit will be everywhere in 2018.
You'll Be Spending the Night in San Jose
Paper Plane and other great bars in San Jose.
Your Highball Intake Is About to Increase Dramatically
Whiskey and other highballs are happening.
Blind Tiger Ice and Super Jugoso are going to have a major impact on prep work in SF bars.
The Mission Has Only Just Begun
So, so many new bars are opening in the Mission District.
I've already got my next assignment for San Francisco Magazine, so hopefully this will be a regular thing.
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Air-Conditioned Cocktail Bars in San Francisco
[updated list 2025]It’s unusual to have air conditioned bars in foggy San Francisco, outside of hotels. So when it gets hot (if you don’t live here, “unbearably hot” is > 80F) people get weird and desperate.
Which bars in San Francisco have air conditioning? Here’s what I’ve found so far:
- Absinthe
- Barcha
- Bear Vs. Bull
- Blackbird
- Blondie’s
- Boulevard
- Cold Drinks
- Corridor
- Ginger’s
- Ha-Ra Club
- Hardwood
- Heartwood
- The Interval at Long Now
- The Lark Bar
- Last Rites
- Laszlo
- Lilah
- Maggie McGarry’s
- Meski
- Midnight Sun
- Pabu
- Parallel 37
- Perry’s Union Street
- Press Club
- The Progress
- Propagation
- R Bar
- Rudi’s Sports Bar
- Rye
- The Vault
- True Laurel
- Woodbury and Alchemist
- Wildhawk
East Bay
- Hangar One, Alameda
- Hotsy Totsy, Albany
- Bull Valley Roadhouse
- Redfield Cider
Let me know if you know of any more. I have deleted many closed venues from this list but I know I am missing a lot of new ones!
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Resources for Cocktail Events: Edible Flowers, Dry Ice, and More
As I do more and more cocktail events in the Bay Area, I find myself turning to Facebook for advice on where to procure bulk items for them. It would be rude of me not to share!
Edible Flowers
I was looking for edible flowers for an event. One cannot just stick regular flowers into drinks as they contain pesticides and other nasty stuff, so you need to be sure they're appropriately designated as food-safe. You can often find edible flowers in small packs at places like Whole Foods and even Safeway, but should one be looking for a few hundred flowers you need to go bulk.
Ultimately I'll probably just end up going in on an order of one of my local bars, but here is what my research turned up:
- Restaurant Depot – Business account required
- San Francisco Produce Market
- Marx Foods
- Chef's Garden
- https://wholesale-tropical-flowers.com/ (don't look edible)
- Bay Cities Produce in San Leandro
Dry Ice
Dry ice is a great party effect, and it turns out it's a lot easier to find than I would have thought. Note that like any ingredient that might go into food, you need to sure you're purchasing food-grade dry ice. I have not fact-checked these except for the first four. - Cash & Carry
- Molllie Stone's (Castro location for sure – you need to ask at the register)
- SF Ice
- Ben's Dry Ice
- Michaelis Wine & Spirits
- Bait and Tackle shops
- Air gas
- Praxair
- Smart & Final on 7th Ave in the Richmond
- Lucky's st Fulton & Masonic
Juices
I've had a real problem making same-day lime, lemon, and other fresh juices not available in stores (or even juice shops). In one instance I was able to source some from a local bar, but generally speaking for squeezing fresh juices I seem to be on my own.
I have in the past used a manual juice press to make up to 3-4 liters of juice, but this takes a long time and a lot of effort. Bartenders in the know have recommended that for bulk juicing in the future I purchase a Sunkist juicer.
Are there any other bulk event supplies you'd like to know where to source in San Francisco? Please let me know and I'll try to help.
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San Francisco’s Second-Oldest Drinking Spot
The bar Elixir was recognized this weekend as being the second oldest (known) drinking location in San Francisco by the wacky historical/drinking club E. Clampus Vitus (aka The Clampers).
The oldest is the Old Ship Saloon, which was literally a ship dry-docked in what is now the Financial District that was turned into a bar.
Elixir dates back to at least 1858 and it has been continually operated as a drinking establishment since then (we know this thanks to the thorough research by The Clampers) - with the exception of the 1906 earthquake and fire when it burned down and was rebuilt, and during Prohibition when it was a soda fountain.
The Mission seems pretty far out for an old drinking establishment, but keep in mind that Mission Dolores nearby is the oldest surviving building still standing in SF dating back to 1791.
I attended the event and took a couple of snaps. It was fun because The Clampers are ridiculous and also because the bar's owner, H. Joseph Ehrmann, has been a long-time Clamper himself. Also, there were two-dollar shots of whisky so I didn't get much else done that day.
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All the Cocktails and Spirits Books Published in 2016 for Reading or Gifting
I love books! Here are all the books on cocktails and spirits I know of (please do comment if I've missed something) published this year. Give some gifts or just stock up on your winter reading for the cold months. I've got stacks to get through myself.
Whiskey Books
Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick More Kentucky Bourbon Cocktails by Joy Perrine and Susan Reigler
The Big Man of Jim Beam: Booker Noe And the Number-One Bourbon In the World by Jim Kokoris
Whisky Japan: The Essential Guide to the World's Most Exotic Whisky by Dominic Roskrow
Iconic Whisky: Tasting Notes & Flavour Charts for 1,500 of the World's Best Whiskies by Cyrille Mald and Alexandre Vingtier
Whiskey: A Spirited Story with 75 Classic and Original Cocktails by Michael Dietsch
The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail with Recipes by Philip Greene
Miscellany
Made of Iceland: A Drink & Draw Book by Reyka Vodka, Snorri Sturluson Inside The Bottle: People, Brands, and Stories by Arthur Shapiro
The Craft Cocktail Coloring Book by Prof Johnny Plastini
Drinking with Republicans and Drinking with Democrats by Mark Will-Weber
The Moonshine Wars by Daniel Micko
Drinks: A User's Guide by Adam McDowell
Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times (Second Edition) by Michael Dietsch
A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World by Robert Simonson
Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History by Steven Grasse
DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavor – A Guide to Making Your Own Bitters for Bartenders, Cocktail Enthusiasts, Herbalists, and More by Jovial King and Guido Mase
Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons
Drink Like A Grown-Up by The League of Extraordinary Drinkers
The Coming of Southern Prohibition: The Dispensary System and the Battle over Liquor in South Carolina, 1907-1915 by Michael Lewis
American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites, and One Man's Blues by Dan Dunn
Distilled Stories: California Artisans Behind the Spirits by Capra Press
Building Bacardi: Architecture, Art & Identity by Allan T. Shulman
Craft Spirits by Eric Grossman
Cocktail Books, General
Cocktails for Ding Dongs by Dustin Drankiewicz (Author), Alexandra Ensign (Illustrator)Zen and Tonic: Savory and Fresh Cocktails for the Enlightened Drinker by Jules Aron
Pretty Fly For a Mai Tai: Cocktails with rock 'n' roll spirit
Cocktails for Drinkers: Not-Even-Remotely-Artisanal, Three-Ingredient-or-Less Cocktails that Get to the Point by Jennifer McCartney
Aperitivo: The Cocktail Culture of Italy by Marisa Huff
The Complete Cocktail Manual: 285 Tips, Tricks, and Recipes by Lou Bustamante and the United States Bartenders' Guild
Shake. Stir. Sip.: More than 50 Effortless Cocktails Made in Equal Parts by Kara Newman
101 Cocktails to Try Before you Die by Francois Monti
Drink Like a Man: The Only Cocktail Guide Anyone Really Needs by Ross McCammon and David Wondrich
The New Cocktail Hour: The Essential Guide to Hand-Crafted Cocktails by Andre Darlington and Tenaya Darlington
Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes by Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau
Eat Your Drink: Culinary Cocktails by Matthew Biancaniello
Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks and Buzz-Worthy Libations by Warren Bobrow
Tiki with a Twist: 75 Cool, Fresh, and Wild Tropical Cocktails by Lynn Calvo and James O. Fraioli
Cocktail Books from Bars or Places
The Canon Cocktail Book: Recipes from the Award-Winning Bar by Jamie Boudreau and James O. Fraioli Regarding Cocktails by Sasha Petraske and Georgette Moger-Petraske
Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World's Hippest Borough By Peter Thomas Fornatale and Chris Wertz
Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki by Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate
Cuban Cocktails: Over 50 mojitos, daiquiris and other refreshers from Havana
Brooklyn Bar Bites: Great Dishes and Cocktails from New York's Food Mecca by Barbara Scott-Goodman
The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book by Frank Caiafa
Lift Your Spirits: A Celebratory History of Cocktail Culture in New Orleans by Elizabeth M. Williams and Chris McMillian
Science!
Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey by Rob Arnold and Eric SimanekDistilled Knowledge: The Science Behind Drinking’s Greatest Myths, Legends, and Unanswered Questions by Brian D Hoefling
Classic Cocktail Book Reprints
THE HOME BARTENDER'S GUIDE AND SONG BOOK {By Charlie Roe and Jim Schwenck}
AMERICAN BAR {By Frank P. Newman}
LOUIS' MIXED DRINKS {By Louis Muckenstrum}
Beer (A few beer books slip through the cracks and come to me)
The United States of Beer: A Freewheeling History of the All-American Drink by Dane Huckelbridge
The Beer Geek Handbook: Living a Life Ruled by Beer by Patrick Dawson
MY BOOK!
Please consider supporting Alcademics by purchasing a copy of my book Tonic Water AKA G&T WTF. It's a gift to yourself, and a gift to me.
Want to see some of the previous years' books? Well, here they are:
More Than 40 Drink Books Published in 2014 for Reading or Gifting
All the Cocktails & Spirits Books Published in 2015, For Reading or Gifting
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Bartender Nexus: Range in San Francisco and its All-Star Cast
The owners of Range Restaurant announced that they'll be closing at the end of the year after 12 years in operation. Let's talk about how important this restaurant was for the world of San Francisco cocktails.This little restaurant was a surprising nexus of talented bartenders. I've been making mental notes of "nexus bars" for a while as I find it fascinating- the bars that see the most important bartenders come through them. Sometimes it's because those were the hottest venues in town, sometimes it's because everyone wanted to work with the bar manager, sometimes like at Range, well, I just don't know. Which makes it interesting.
In San Francisco, some of those bars include Stars (from way before my time), Absinthe, Bourbon & Branch, Heaven's Dog, and certainly Range.
When Range first opened, the cocktail scene (as well as all of the bartenders compared to now) was fresh and young. Muddling and infusions and using fresh juice were still news.
Heck, I was still writing about nightlife as well as cocktails, still learning about them, and soon to move to full-time coverage of them by 2006. In a lot of ways, I came up in my career too learning from the bartenders at or from Range.
Let's look at where some of those bartenders are now:
Carlos Yturria – Has since consulted on many different Bay Area bars and now is a co-owner of The Treasury in Downtown SF. When Range first opened, I was obsessed with a (now embarrassingly simple) drink that was a Gin & Tonic with a splash of Lillet Blanc. Turns out Carlos created that one. We've each come a long way since then.
Perhaps Yturria's most-loved drink from his time at Range was the Sungold Zinger – a simple and exquisitely delicious cocktail with gin, lemon, and heirloom tomatoes that they'd bring back every year during tomato season. I'm not positive, but I think his drink Flash (kiwi, cucumber, gin) may have been created in that era and it's on his current menu at The Treasury.
Camber Lay – Has been the longtime lead bartender at Parallel 37 at the Ritz-Carlton in SF. I remember she was using a food dehydrator to create dried fruit rims on drinks and I was all, "What will those crazy mixologists think of next??" Ha!
Jon Santer – Now owns the much-loved/respected Emeryville bar Prizefighter. Kind of a big deal.
Santer in 2004. No idea what/where.Jeff Lyon became co-owner (along with Range chef Phil West) of Third Rail, a jerky and cocktail bar, in San Francisco's Dogpatch district.
Enrique Sanchez – San Francisco's omnipresent bartender, currently often working at my local-local ABV.
Brooke Arthur– Came up through the ranks at Range and was the face of the bar for a long time. Later ran the programs at venues including Prospect and super-favorite Wo Hing General Store. She is now a brand ambassador and vice president for House Spirits out of Portland, OR.
Brooke Arthur at RangeThomas Waugh – Moved to New York and is doing incredible things as the cocktail king of Major Food Group. You might have one of his drinks at a half dozen places in town.
Dominic Venegas – After working pretty much everywhere great in SF, moved to New York and was bartending at the every-award-winning Nomad before taking a brand ambassador job with Pernod-Ricard. Way back just post-Range, Venegas and Yturria were awarded the SF Chronicle's "Bar Stars" as a team.
So… Yeah a lot of great people went through that bar- and more than just these folks I'm sure. Respect. Range is/was one of the most important restaurants in San Francisco's cocktail history.
