Negroni Week 2015 Kicks Off Today: Classic cocktails for a good cause

It's that wonderful time of the year. Starting today, bars across the country put out their best negroni to support a good cause of their choice.

Negroni Week first started in San Francisco two years ago, and now Austin, Chicago, New York are just a few of the other cities participating this year. Each bar spotlights their own take on a negroni and a portion of the proceeds go to a charity of the bar's choice. Last year more than 1,300 bars globally raised more than $120,000 for good causes. This year there are over 3,500 bars taking part globally.

Negronis are one of the most classic drinks, traditionally made from just three ingredients: gin, Campari, and vermouth plus an orange garnish. Learn more about which bars are participating this year on the Negroni Week website.

Here are just a few of the drinks being offered in San Francisco this year. We'll update this list as we learn about more.

Aaxte
The Drink: Pup-groni - Campari, Aperol, Big Gin House-Infused with Saffron and Orange Peel, Alessio Torino
Charity: ASPCA

ABV 

The Drink: Negroni Rosa - Campari, Brooklyn Gin, Imbue Petal & Thorn Vermouth, Dolin Blanc Vermouth
Charity: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Benjamin Cooper 

The Drink: White Negroni - Campari Caviar, London Dry Gin, Gentian Aperitif, Blanc Vermouth, Lemon Bitters
Charity: Doctors Without Boarders

Bluestem Brasserie
The Drink: The Downstroke - 2oz St George Botanivore, .75oz Campari, .75oz Carpano Bianco, dash Regans Orange, dash angostura. The negroni is stirred and served up and garnished a flamed orange peel.
Boxing Room
The Drink: Frogroni - Campari, Cocchi Americano, House-Made Grapefruit Cordial
Charity: SF-Marin Food Bank

Burritt Room 

The Drink: Burritt Negroni - Campari Sorbet, Dry Gin, House Rosé Vermouth, Strawberry Shrub
Charity: Sprouts Cooking Club

Cafe Claude
The Drink: The Pastèque - Bombay sapphire, Giuseppe Carpano sweet vermouth, Aperol, Campari and watermelon bitters  

Charity: CUESA.

DOSA
The Drinks: 

• Classic Negroni - Campari, Beefeater Gin, Carpano Antica
• Barrel-Aged Negroni - Campari, St. George Dry Rye, Punt e Mes, White Peppercorn, Vanilla, Cardamom, Licorice, Marshmallow
• South Indian Negroni - Campari, House-Made Vermouth, DOSA-Spice Mix

Charity: Katherine Delmar Burke School

Gitane
The Drink: Sheroni - Gin, Sherry, Vermouth
Charity: CUESA

Jasper's Tap Room and Kitchen
The Drink: Smoked, aged negroni with chinato on tap

Perbacco
The Drinks: 

• Umberto’s Negroni - Campari, Four Roses Bourbon, Cocchi Americano, Meletti Anisette, Peach Bitters
• Negroni Fumé - Campari, Beefeater Smoked Gin, Antica Formula Vermouth
• Lisbona-Milano - Campari, Plymouth Gin, Tawny Port
• Sloegroni - Campari, Spirit Works Slow Gin, Carpano Bianco

Charity: Meals on Wheels

Poggio Trattoria
The Drinks:

• Tony's Negroni - Bombay Sapphire gin, Campari, Vya red vermouth
• Negrosky - Negroni with vodka
• Dirty Negroni - Negroni with dry vermouth
• Negroni Sbagliato - Negroni with sparkling wine

Charity: Willow Creek Academy

Loló
The Drink: Loló Negroni - Campari, San Juan del Rio Mezcal, Cocchi di Torino
Charity: SF-Marin Food Bank

Cockscomb
The Drink: Negroni on Tap and Negrowlers (Campari and beer cocktail)

The Charity: Charity: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Above image caption: Negroni from Tosca

Meet the Cocktails: Half Step in Austin, TX

Austin's newest cocktail bar, Half Step, is now open on Rainey Street. And it's awesome. Chris Bostick, native-Texan and the guy who used to manage the Varnish in LA, brings you this new bar, along with some help from his infamous friend Sasha Petraske, the Milk & Honey dude. Every aspect of this bar was meticulously planned––from the intensive bartender training regiment to the elaborate ice program to the chill interior and lively exterior. Take a look at how beautiful this interior is:





If you choose to sit inside, you'll be treated to table service and, if you're lucky, some music:



If you prefer the freedom to roam, or just want to enjoy the weather, there's an outside bar, which, unlike the inside, will never get too full:



Ok, now on to the good stuff. The cocktails are spot-freakin'-on. Take a look at the menu:



It's nothing but classics, and all of them are made to perfection. Much of that is thanks to a group of bartenders who care a lot about what they're doing, Christ Bostick and Sasha Petraske's meticulous oversight, and an overall ridiculous attention to detail. Take a look at this Negroni:



I brought it back to my table, had a few drinks, and then took this picture––and the glass is still frosty! Half Step takes their mixing seriously. First, every piece of mixing equipment is chilled, all the serving glasses are chilled and their clinebell ice machine spits out perfectly (and I mean perfectly) clear blocks of ice. I cannot stress how clear and cold this ice is. It's beautiful.. Here's Justin prepping a Remember the Maine, note the mixing glass:



The Remember the Maine itself was perhaps one of the best I've ever had. The cherry heering was noticeable but not too strong, the sweet vermouth adds depth without too much sweetness, and the absinthe adds a nice spice to the finish. I think I liked it because it was a little drier than the usual:



The Prescription Julep is a mixture of cognac and rye. It's more refreshing than your average julep, thanks to the cognac. It's almost peachy:



If I haven't made it clear, Half Step is a gem. It's definitely worth a trip to Rainey if you're a habitual avoider. If you often find yourself there, you just met your new favorite bar.

Half Step
75 1/2 Rainey Street
512.391.1877

Tuesday-Sunday, 7pm-2am.
Outdoor bar open weather permitting.

Sneak peek: Diep9 Genever

There's a new spirit on the way to San Francisco, care of Belgium. It's a Genever, not to be confused with Genever style gin. According to European Union regulation, Genever can only come from Belgium, the Netherlands, two German states and two French provinces. Moreover, Genever must be distilled from malt wine (a grain mash consisting of some combination of malted barely, wheat, rye, or corn) and neutral alcohol; regular gin doesn't have malt wine. Both spirits, however, use juniper and other herbs and spices. Diep9, San Francisco's newest Genever, uses these spices:

Diep 9 is a tiny Belgian brewery that produces both young and old Genever. In the case of Genever, these labels have nothing to do with aging. Rather, young Genever is in the style of post-Industrial distillers, and thus has more neutral spirits, which are easier and cheaper to produce with more technically advanced stills. This young genever carried a distinct taste of barley—rather like the tea you find at Korean restaurants. (For a long time, we had wondered about how barley tea could be incorporated in a drink. Daniel Hyatt at Roka Bar currently has one on the menu; but we were curious about how barley could become a more dominant flavor. This young genever seems to hold the key!)

Old Genever is made with pre-Industrial methods, and therefore it has more more malt wine, which was regularly made before the Industrial Revolution. Compare the young Genever (below) with the old (at the top of the page). More neutral spirits make for a lighter color. Because of the age, the Old Genever delivers softer and rounder barley flavors and makes for easy sipping.

Apparently, both old and young genevers are commonly found in bars in Belgium, along with some other more fruity varieties. People will swing by bars and enjoy a glass during the afternoon.

The bottles in these pictures are handmade out of clay in Germany, by one of the last guys in the world to do that sort of thing. They also have this special seal, indicating the Belgian crown's approval of the brand:

Noelle and I were both impressed with this spirit, both on its own and in cocktails. If your only experience with Genver is through Bols, then you definitely want to try this out. As the ancestor of gin, there are some clear similarities—but don't be fooled into thinking it tastes the same. Comparatively, Diep9 Genever has much less of a malty flavor, which allows you to taste the juniper, citrus, and other flavors. Diep9 is particularly citrusy, which pairs well with the malt wine. I found both young and old enjoyable on their own.

A fun—and very tasty—thing to do is to use the Diep9 as a gin substitutes in classics. We tried out a few. First, a Negroni:

The malt wine makes Genever slightly sweeter and more viscous than gin, so the recipe needs to be adjusted. Instead of equal parts, try dropping the sweet vermouth and Campari by 1/4 oz. We also subbed young Diep9 in a Mint Julep and were actually stunned with how well the drink turned out. 

I think this spirit is going to take off when it hits shelves (bars for now, hopefully commercial spots too) in September. 

Please Don't Tell's Jim Meeham was at 5th Floor! [photos]

This past week, Jim Meehan of New York's infamous speakeasy Please Don't Tell was in San Francisco. For one night, San Francisco's Fifth Floor (a bar in the Hotel Palomar) turned into PDT, and it was awesome. Here are some photos from the event:

It was packed and dark, so it was hard to get good pictures but we tried our best:







This bartender was a champ. There were so many people at his table, and he didn't even break a sweat.



This East India Negroni (Banks 5 Rum, Campari, Lustau East India Sherry) was from Meehan's own hand. I loved this drink. Switching the gin out for rum is brilliant, and subbing sherry for vermouth is sheer genius. Such an interesting flavor profile.



Smoked Potato Tots to fuel the tanks.



The man himself, Jim Meehan.



I love this image of him because while everyone around him is in motion and his hands are everywhere, his face is perfectly concentrated.



If you want to visit the normal Fifth Floor, it's at:

Fifth Floor
12 4th St
San Francisco, CA 94105

(in Hotel Palomar)