The REALLY Good Bars: Viva la Cocktail Revival! - Beyond Tiki

H Humuhumu Member San Francisco Joined: Aug 22, 2002 Posts: 3691	H Humuhumu Posted posted on Tue, Jun 17, 2008 9:21 PM The state of the cocktail sure seems to be in much, much better shape these days, compared to where it was when I was first digging into this crazy world 7 years ago. Suddenly, bartenders are using jiggers, and bars are making their own syrups, and you can get more than 3 kinds of rum, and bar menus are being crafted with the same care as food menus, and everybody I know is going to Tales of the Cocktail, and I have THREE friends who have normal day jobs & moonlight as bartenders just because they love it, and and and... it's wonderful. I'm more clued into what's going on here in San Francisco, and not so much what the state of affairs is in the rest of the country. Here in SF, my favorite place is Alembic, which happens to be a nice convenient stumble from my place, but really & truly is a fantastic bar. The bartenders are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable, and very friendly -- no snobbery here. The last Tuesday of the month is their special Savoy night -- they set aside their normal (amazing) menu, and the menu that night is the actual Savoy Cocktail book from the '30s. The whole damned thing. You tell them the drink name and the page number, and they make it. They're prepared -- they've got all the goofy alcohols & syrups to make anything in the book, though of course they've had to get creative for some of the extinct ingredients. Other places where I've found the drinks to be unusually tasty are Beretta, Cantina, Flora, and of course Bourbon & Branch. Alembic still stands head & shoulders above in my opinion, though. This past weekend, I got to visit Teardrop Lounge in Portland, which is getting all sorts of attention up there, and it's well-deserved. TC's own tikimonkey/Trader Tiki is bartending there once a month for a special Tiki Night -- I'm hoping to make the one in July! Teardrop bartender/owner Daniel took extremely good care of us, and was definitely one of this new breed of bartender: serious about quality. Are there new bars in your town that are like this? Obscure liquors, consistent use of jiggers, creative use of ingredients, egg drinks on the menu, know their way around a lemon peel? (one small downside: good lord, I need a break from elderflower liqueur. Goldang, these folks love their trends! But I'll take a flavor trend over a flash trend any day.)

The state of the cocktail sure seems to be in much, much better shape these days, compared to where it was when I was first digging into this crazy world 7 years ago. Suddenly, bartenders are using jiggers, and bars are making their own syrups, and you can get more than 3 kinds of rum, and bar menus are being crafted with the same care as food menus, and everybody I know is going to Tales of the Cocktail, and I have THREE friends who have normal day jobs & moonlight as bartenders just because they love it, and and and... it's wonderful.

I'm more clued into what's going on here in San Francisco, and not so much what the state of affairs is in the rest of the country. Here in SF, my favorite place is Alembic, which happens to be a nice convenient stumble from my place, but really & truly is a fantastic bar. The bartenders are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable, and very friendly -- no snobbery here. The last Tuesday of the month is their special Savoy night -- they set aside their normal (amazing) menu, and the menu that night is the actual Savoy Cocktail book from the '30s. The whole damned thing. You tell them the drink name and the page number, and they make it. They're prepared -- they've got all the goofy alcohols & syrups to make anything in the book, though of course they've had to get creative for some of the extinct ingredients.

Other places where I've found the drinks to be unusually tasty are Beretta, Cantina, Flora, and of course Bourbon & Branch. Alembic still stands head & shoulders above in my opinion, though.

This past weekend, I got to visit Teardrop Lounge in Portland, which is getting all sorts of attention up there, and it's well-deserved. TC's own tikimonkey/Trader Tiki is bartending there once a month for a special Tiki Night -- I'm hoping to make the one in July! Teardrop bartender/owner Daniel took extremely good care of us, and was definitely one of this new breed of bartender: serious about quality.

Are there new bars in your town that are like this? Obscure liquors, consistent use of jiggers, creative use of ingredients, egg drinks on the menu, know their way around a lemon peel?

(one small downside: good lord, I need a break from elderflower liqueur. Goldang, these folks love their trends! But I'll take a flavor trend over a flash trend any day.)

Post #387725 by Humuhumu on Tue, Jun 17, 2008 9:21 PM