Absinthe about town

Since absinthe became available on the market again, many restaurants are serving it in traditional cocktails like the Sazerac. At the restaurant Absinthe, they've also rediscovered a classic cocktail called the Lawhill. Farallon offers the Sazerac, Corpse Reviver #3, and the Waldorff cocktail. For a while, Yankee Pier restaurant on Santana Row in San Jose was serving oysters Rockerfeller with absinthe, as the original recipe called for it. Who knew?

Other venues are experimenting with new uses for absinthe. At the lobby bar and Ame restaurant in the St. Regis, they're serving an Ame Tremor, made with Armagnac, sweet vermouth, absinthe, and a dash of bitters. At the launch party for Right Gin at bacar, they served a gin and absinthe drink that wasn't going to be on the permanent menu, but maybe if you go on Friday night Carlos will make you one.

Sens restaurant offers a Raspberry-Absinthe Press, made with absinthe, framboise liqueur, and sparkling water with a lemon twist. I've tried it and it's pretty darn tasty- and you can make it at home! I've also had a touch of absinthe in A Touch of Evil at Orson that was amazing. It has bourbon, mint, lemon juice, absinthe, and rhubarb syrup. (And by the way, Orson's cocktail list is now online here.)

At Conduit, a new restaurant a block from my house that I have yet to visit, they're serving a drink called The Hub with reposado tequila, absinthe, and bitters. I need to get in there and drink my way through the menu.

And these are just the drinks in San Francisco. It's fun when a new ingredient hits the market and everyone uses it in different ways. St. Germain had the same effect last year.

What might be the next hot spirit? I'll place my bets on Square One Vodka's cucumber flavor whenever it finally comes out (you guys know there is another cuke vodka hitting the market, right? hurry up!), and I bet we'll be seeing a lot of Veloce. But more on that later.

Labels: absinthe, SanFrancisco, trends