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Cocktail Menu: The Hideout at Dalva in San Francisco

The Hideout at Dalva, a bar-inside-a-bar, has updated their cocktail menu. It is below.

“GQ” {gin & quinine} $10
Gin, fino & quina syrup

Fruit cup $10
Pimms, gin, lemon, ginger, cucumber,
soda & bitters

Gin & celery {G & C} $10
Old tom gin, lemon & house celery bitters

Sweet & bitter fruit $10
Gin, plum, lemon & tamarind

Night light $10
Gin, byrrh grand quiquina,
cardamaro & bitters

The Stranger $10
Gin, cocchi americano, lemon, honey
& herbal liqueur

Black mountain rose $10
gin, maraschino & 2 amaro’s

Killer’s lullaby $10
Navy strength gin, gentian aperitif,
honey, lemon & dry apple cider

Altered state $10
Mezcal, blanc vermouth & gentian aperitif

Hideout sour $10
Mezcal, honey, lemon, egg white & bitters

House whiskey cocktail $10
Rye, bonal, maraschino &
house bourbon bitters

Whiskey in church $12
Smokey scotch, oloroso, maple &
smoked apple

Joshie’s Calico road $10
Scotch, apple liquor, oloroso & bitters

 

Talking About Aperitifs at SF Chefs August 5th

During the forthcoming (and awesome) SF Chefs event, I'm speaking on a panel.

Prime Your Palate

August 5th, 11 - 12 AM, Westin St. Francis, San Francisco

Information and tickets here.

Join Fine Cooking’s Senior Editor Denise Mickelsen, libation expert Camper English of Alcademics.com and bar stars Neyah White and Brooke Arthur for a pre-tent palate priming. We’ll discuss (and taste!) a delicious category of drinks that many Americans are unaware or wary of—aperitifs.

These light, low-impact, before-dinner drinks are just the thing to prepare your taste buds for a full day of tasting. Don’t miss this lively discussion about what makes a great aperitif and which bars in San Francisco offer the best examples. Attendees will leave with a new understanding of aperitifs, some recipes to try out at home and a roaring appetite ready for San Francisco’s finest food.

We've already picked the three drinks we'll be serving during the hour:

• Brooke Arthur's Sparkling Chrysanthemum
• Neyah White's Japanese Whisky Highball
• The classic Negroni Sbagliato

 

Best Business Bars in Entrepreneur Magazine

I contributed a few write-ups to Entrepreneur Magazine's annual Best Business Bars story. It is the July issue, hitting newsstands now.

I wrote about Azucar Lounge in San Francisco, Drago Centro in Los Angeles, and ROOF at TheWit in Chicago. 

Pick it up at the newsstand or read it online here.

 

Cocktail Menu: Brasserie S&P in San Francisco

Brasserie S&P is the new bar in the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco. Bar manager Priscilla Young created this menu with a focus on gin and Gin & Tonic cocktails. 

Project Gin and Tonic
Hendricks Gin and Q Tonic Water | Cucumber 13.
Beefeater 24 and Sensei #1 Tonic Water | Lime Twist 13.
St. George Botanivore and Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water | 13.
Lime Twist
Blade Gin and Sensei #1 Tonic Water | Orange Peel and Thai Chili 13.
Tell us your favorite combination. It might make it to the list.
Be a part of Project Gin and Tonic.
 

Classics and Concoctions
The Victorian Drop 14.
purity vodka • rose water • fresh lemon juice • sugar •
rose hibiscus sugar
Garden Envy 15.
celery and green apple cold‐infused hendricks gin • square one
cucumber vodka • lime juice • galliano
Indian Summer in Mt. Tam 14.
st. george ‘terroir’ gin • sensei saffron tonic water
Redo ’22 15.
charbay blood orange vodka • smoked scott’s 1987 scotch •
vya sweet vermouth • luxardo cherry liqueur
Madame Genever 14.
organic coconut cold‐infused st. george ‘botanivore’ gin •
orange zest • fresh lemon juice • angostura bitters • egg whites
Farmer’s Gin Martini 13.
oregon’s all organic farmer’s gin • dolin dry vermouth •
angostura orange bitters • lemon peel
Diablo’s Whisper 13.
herradura silver tequila • blackcurrant hibiscus • muddled fresno
pepper • fresh lime juice • agave nectar • bacon salt
San Franciscan 13.
jameson • grand marnier • angostura bitters
Formation 14.
vanilla bean rapid‐infused bontanist gin • maraschino cherry liqueur •
parfait amour crème de violette • fresh lemon juice
Kimono Kloud 12.
hangar one vodka • thyme • honey water • fresh lime juice •
organic momokawa nigori sake • ginger beer
Picnic in Manhattan 13.
woodford reserve bourbon • lillet blanc and rouge • garden‐fresh
watermelon and mint • fresh lime juice

Concoctions @ Brunch
Pamplemousse 13.
junipero gin • combier pamplemousse rose liqueur • fresh lemon juice
powdered sugar • peychaud bitters • soda
Gin Blossom 13.
g’vine gin • fresh orange juice • orange blossom water • sparkling wine
Ode to Mary 14.
damrak gin • sensei tomato water • thyme • worcestershire sauce •
tobasco • fresh lime juice • bitters

Dessert Concoctions
Grand Finale 12.
coconut milk • grand marnier liqueur • angostura orange bitters •
egg white • dark cacao
Field of Dreams 13.
belvedere black raspberry vodka • fresh strawberries and lime juice •
whipped cream • sugar rim

Zero Proof Concoctions
The English Rose 8.
cassis black iced tea • rose water • fresh lime juice •
pomegranate syrup • angostura bitters
Bitter Sweet Soda Pop 8.
garden‐fresh watermelon • sensei tonic water #1 • fresh lemon juice
Breakfast at Tiffany’s 8.
sensei tomato water • fresh lime juice • dash of grenadine •
black pepper • egg white

 

50 Things to Drink in San Francisco Before You Die

In the June 2012 issue of 7x7 Magazine, I wrote the story The Big Drink. It's a list of 50 cocktails to try in the city.

It's basically a list of 50 Things to Drink in San Francisco Before You Die, but it's not always about what you're drinking, but where. 

I chose a mix of can't miss City classics (Pisco Punch, Tommy's Margarita, Irish Coffee), classic bars (Big Four Grill, Vesuvio), emblematic cocktails of the bars they're in (Bloody Mary at Zeitgeist, Basil Gimlet at Rye), recent classics (Chartreuse Swizzle, La Perla), and neighborhood bars to see (The Ramp, Li Po Lounge, Park Chalet).

Click for a larger image.

I did skip some modern classics like the Cable Car and The Revolver as I didn't want to make it seem stuck in the last decade, and I couldn't think of any drinks to recommend trying at a few bars like Wild Side West.

What else did I miss?

Cocktail Predictions for San Francisco

I wrote this piece on predictions for the Bay Area cocktail scene back in November for The Bold Italic magazine, and it has just gone online. They made it look super snazzy for the web.

 Predictions include:

• Shorter cocktail menus
• Hyper-local cocktail menus
• More Scott Beattie
• Cocktail party pop-ups
• Other cities taking the lead over San Francisco

Give it a read and let me know what you think! (Especially about that last thing...)

 

 

Cocktail Menu: The Fifth Floor in San Francisco

The Fifth Floor restaurant has another new bar manager, this time Brian Means, who was most recently at Zero Zero. There's also a new cocktail list that just launched with a focus on gin and whisky drinks. 

The full cocktail list has a few ongoing sections showing Kimpton Hotel Group mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout's influence, the Martini Over Time menu and a page of Negroni variations. 

There are two additional pages of drinks that I had a chance to try. Some notes are below the ingredients. 

Spanish Maiden
House infused Buddha Hand Tequila, Vida Mezcal, St. Germain, Rose Geranium, Habanero

Pink Elephant
Beefeater Gin, Rosato Vermouth, Pineapple gum, Orange bitters, smoked Absinthe

The Commodore
Clement Martinique Rhum, Blackstrap Gastrique, Lime, Ginger Ale

This drink was one of my favorites on the menu (vinegar!) and comes with a cocktail sphere. I believe the sphere flavor changes daily. This one had dehydrated Aperol on top of the sphere for a nice crunch. 

Jewish Mother
Bulleit Rye, Navarro Pinot Noir, Amaro Ciociaro, House Black Walnut Bitters

A nice Manhattan variation with gold dust on top.

Nail in the Coffin
Yamazaki Whiskey, Dry Madeira, Liqor 43, Fernet

Sun Also Rises
House Spirits White Whiskey, Black Tea infused Vermouth, Peach bitters, Grapefruit

Sparrows in the City
Oro Pisco, Applejack, Pomegranate, Lemon

A delicious, juicy drink, and they "put a bird on it"

New Vieux
Cragganmore Scotch, Marie Daffau Armagnac, Ellestad’s Hercules, Velvet Falernum, Angostura bitters

Boston Tea Party
Greylock Gin, Meyer Lemon Cordial, Rooibos & Chai Tea

Aquamiel
Espolon Reposado Tequila, Lustau Sherry, Daron Calvados, Orange Bitters

Sherry and tequila, one of my favorite combinations. 

Red Dawn
Square One Vodka, Limoncello, Lemon, Pomegranate

 And for dessert, I tried the Fernet Three Ways - fernet ice cream, Jelinek fernet served neat, and a cocktail called the Fernet For All.

New Drink Menu at Heaven's Dog in San Francisco

Trevor Easter is the new bar manager at Heaven's Dog. The menu there has traditionally been drinks from Charles H. Baker's The Gentlemen's Companion, aka Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Glass. I wrote about that for the San Francisco Chronicle a few years back.

 

 

Easter has changed the menu, but tried to keep it in line with its previous theme. He says, "Some of the drinks on there are cocktails that I've come up with but my goal was to do two things:  The most important thing was I wanted the transition of me taking over the bar program the be seamless and almost unnoticeable, and also for the modern cocktails to seem old in the name and ingredients.  I used to fly up here from San Diego to get drinks from Erik Adkins at Heavens Dog and I really wanted to make sure I didn't change that feeling you get when you get a cocktail here... There is a sense of tasting history that I love."

Below is not only the menu, but more information from Easter - the drink background stories.