By me, in today’s SF Chronicle
Italy’s Fiery Grappa the Latest Spirit to Go Upscale
by Camper English
Several spirits have overhauled their previously negative reputations in recent years. Tequila lovers now pay up to several hundred dollars per bottle, and consumers who wouldn’t touch gin three years ago now shake it with egg whites into frothy cocktails at home.
But upon hearing the word “grappa,” many drinkers still wince. A beverage program built around the fiery spirit is thus a risky proposition, but that’s what you’ll find at Bar 888, the lobby bar that also serves the Italian restaurant Luce on the ground floor of the new Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco’s SoMa area.
“In San Francisco, we think people are interested in learning something new,” says Rene Van Camp, corporate food and beverage director for the Intercontinental Hotels Group. “People are educated here about food and beverage, so we needed to find something that they don’t know about already.”
Labels: camper_clips, grappa
Leave a Reply