Better Cocktails Creep Into the Castro

My first story written for 7x7 Magazine is now online. 

Castro's Last Stand

Long a bastion of bad drinks and a good time, the city’s biggest party neighborhood is slowly but surely learning how to wield a muddler.

by Camper English

While the Tenderloin, Mission and Haight are reveling in white whiskeys and raw sugars, in the Castro, bartenders are still called bartenders, and the drink of choice is more likely to be an appletini than something made with absinthe. From Martuni’s to Moby Dick, drinks in the gay sector are still mixed with vanilla vodka, Long Island Iced Teas make up the happy-hour specials, and mojitos come in more than one flavor. Popular venues, like Toad Hall and Badlands, skip the cocktail menu altogether.

As of late, however, there have been a few glimmers of change. 

Read the rest on the 7X7 website.