I'm sure I'm going to take a public flogging for this Old Fashioned video. Everyone who makes this drink has their own specific recipe, some folks have it down to the number of drops of bitters. That's not really my style. When I enjoy an Old Fashioned Cocktail, I don't want to agonize over the ingredients, so my recipe is relatively simple:
2.5 oz pretty good whiskey
.5 oz simple syrup
4 dashes angostura bitters
lemon and orange peel garnish
Don't use a phenomenal bourbon in this drink, it's a waste. Likewise, don't use a terrible bourbon––nothing in plastic bottles, for example. We use turbinado sugar for our simple syrup because it's richer than white sugar; some much prefer using granulated white sugar, believing it gives the drink an extra viscosity. I don't know if I buy that. Plus, simple syrup is way easier.
Josh and I were lucky to check out a sneak peek of new SOMA club Audio Discotech tonight, the latest project by San Francisco celebrity bartender Russell Davis. If you're thinking a stuffy craft cocktail bar, you best change your perception now. Audio Discotech, opening Aug. 16, is Russell's effort to bring craft cocktails to club bartending. As bar director, Russell is working with well-respected Yael Vengroff (winner of Speed Rack 2012) to bring fast, free pouring of fresh ingredients to a fun, club environment. No excuses.
"If you're going to order an AMF, it's going to be the best Adios Motherfucker in the galaxy," Russell said. "It's AMFs and old fashioneds."
And it totally makes sense. On one hand, you have mixologists who would dain to put away the jiggers and make anything resembling a neon club drink. And on the other, you have club bartenders who have never seen fresh citrus in their well. It's about time we saw the meeting of the minds. And yes, that includes flavored vodkas.
"I was a club bartender for 11 years," Russell said. "Why would I turn my back on them now?"
There is no menu for the two wells. Just what the crowd pleases. For us, we tried two recommended cocktails tonight. One which was a champagne cocktails and one with Dr Pepper.
In addition to two wells on either side of the room, the venue sports state-of-the-art audio and lighting equipment.
There are lounge sofas for high rolling.
"Sometimes I just want to order an old fashioned and dance my ass off," Russell said, speaking to his ambition in the club. Now we can too.
Meanwhile, the much anticipated Bergerac—also fronted by Russell and the same owners as Audio Discotech—is waiting in the wings. The craft-cocktail-focused lounge will be just below Audio Discotech, meaning that patrons can catch a meticulous drink there and then head up for booty-shaking fun upstairs. Something for everyone.
For myself, I had forgotten how long it's been since I actually went to a club. Other people showed up in their mini fur jackets, cocktail dresses, and heels. And there I was in my Toms. I had also forgotten the fine art of ordering in a club. I squeezed myself into the small spaces that I could and waited among suits and heels. This will be an adventure for all.
Besides sending a boat and crew to the America's Cup, New Zealand has also sent some food and drink. Waiheke Island Yacht Club is a popup restaurant housed in Pier 29. The cocktail menu looked interesting, so we thought we'd pop over and try some drinks. The interior is arresting; the cavernous space within the warehouse-like pier is softened with lots of wood and lambskin. Take a look:
The open kitchen makes it a more interesting restaurant experience. It gets drafty in the warehouse, but the heat lamps (see photo below) help keep things toasty.
As a vegetarian, I'm not sure how I feel about this seat. Poor lamb:
It's not loud inside, and there's ample space. Compared to some of the, erm, cozier restaurants in San Francisco, it's a nice change of pace:
Here's the menu:
We tried three of the cocktails. First, the Aviation: Gin, maraschino, yuzu, violet. It's a touch on the sweeter side, but not too much so. It's free-strained, so there's some ice on top, but I don't think that's the end of the world. The violet floats to the bottom, which makes this drink visually stunning:
Beached As: 42 Below Passionfruit (vodka), blood orange, pomegranate, passionfruit and yuzu foam. The yuzu foam alone makes this drink worth ordering, it's really fantastic. Rich, tropical, and luxurious. Not to mention very pretty:
Yeah Nah: Monkey Shoulder Whiskey, Creme Yvette, PX Sherry, Smoked Plum. I think I enjoyed this drink most of all because it suits my palate nicely. The Monkey Shoulder is rather peaty, and this matches beautifully with smoked plum. The sherry adds some nice depth.
There's also a New Zealand beer on tap called Moa:
I loved this beer. The Moa Pale Ale is floral, yeasty, and nicely bitter. The Special Reserve is a Belgian style ale. It's rich on the tongue, with a floral nose and slightly citrusy taste. It's still bitter, hoppy, and delicious.
Pier 29
1256 Embarcadaro
Restaurant seats at 11am for lunch, and between 5-10pm for dinner. Open every day.
Bar is from 11am to 2am, every day.
If a person’s character is to be judged by the cocktails they drink, ordering something sweet and low alcohol was a dead giveaway in the early days of craft cocktails. Telling a craft bartender that their cocktails were smooth and sugary could send them into existential crisis. A patron, on the other hand, could be judged as misled or disinterested in cocktails. As a result, it was hard to find low-alcohol cocktails.
But it seems we’ve evolved since then.
We get it, we’re serious about cocktails. But that doesn’t mean that you have to drink a stiff classic to enjoy yourself. In light of that, more and more bars have recently released menus with virgin, low-impact (low alcohol), and long drinks—AQ, Prizefighter, Rickhouse, and Novela, to name a few. And I love it. Just because you go out doesn’t mean you want to drink very much alcohol. Those who are driving don’t have to be left out of the party either.
We recently went down to Elixir, a famous neighborhood saloon in the Mission. The bar is respected as one of the early pioneers in craft cocktails in San Francisco, and today it’s still a great place to catch some solid drinks in a relaxed, unpretentious environment.
Check out their low-impact menu.
Here's the menu and a visual sample of each.
Matcha Mint Lemonade. This drink comes still or carbonated (using a Perlini carbonation system instead of just soda water. They don't use water/soda guns at Elixir because, frankly, they're gross). This was so good I could have ordered about fifty, and it's completely alcohol free.
Schpritzer Sister: Lillet Blanc, chamomile citrus tea syrup, lemon juice, soda, strawberries. The chamomile brings out the spice in the Lillet, and the lemon makes this drink dryer than you'd expect.
Kalimotxo: Mexican coke and red wine. This is an easy one to make at home: 50% red wine, 50% Mexican Coke (it's better in this drink because of real sugar)
Pimm's Cup: Pimm's No. 1, ginger ale, strawberry, mint, cucumber. The ginger ale gives this Pimm's a sweeter and richer consistency than most Pimm's Cups. It's nice if you're in the mood for something a little bolder.
Sutton and Soda: specially made dry vermouth by Carl Sutton, soda, lemon twist. Very dry, very simple, very tasty.
Menta Julep: Fernet, mint. If you like fernet, go get this drink right now. If you don't like fernet, at least give it a try. I'm not a huge fernet fan, and I actually liked this drink.
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.
The first time I had a Ramos was in 2007. Since no bar around knew what this cocktail was, some friends and I tried to put it together ourselves. Something went wrong, horribly wrong. Even though the three of us shared one Ramos, we each felt like we'd swallowed a hockey puck.
We've since practiced the Ramos, and while our rendition far from perfect, we enjoy this drink tremendously. It's rich, creamy, floral, and satisfying as all get-out. What's your recipe?
Most bars fall into one of two categories: neighborhood bar or destination bar. A neighborhood bar, like Shotwells, Dave's, or House of Shields, is a place you go to feel at home. A destination bar, like Bourbon and Branch or Rickhouse, is a special trip, a planned evening that had better deliver. Alembic is one of the rare places that falls into both categories. As soon as you walk in you can feel the neighborhood vibe. But since it's all the way out in the Haight, for most of us, it's a destination. The question is, does Alembic deliver? Is it worth the trip?
I often hear a lot of mixed things about Alembic––some respect its place in San Francisco cocktail history, others...not so much. Whatever the case, Noelle and I recently made the trip to Alembic from across town (not so bad, only $10 with UberX), and we truly enjoyed it. We tried a bunch of the cocktails that Ethan Terry and Danny Louie added when they took over the bar, and we were blown away. Without further ado, here's the menu.
The classics, which they call "The Canon."
"The New School."
Vasco de Gama: Bourbon, garam masala spiced apple syrup, and a bit of Islay scotch. This has a very autumnal feel, which is perfect for a San Francisco summer. The spiced apple syrup adds a nice bite to an otherwise crisp and fresh cocktail.
Army and Navy: Gin, orgeat, lemon, bitters. This is a well-executed classic. The orgeat makes it creamy, but the lemon helps make it tart at the same time. If you want to make this one at home: 1.5 oz Beefeater Gin .75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice .75 oz Small Hands Foods Orgeat 2 dashes Bitter Truth Decanter Bitters Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker. Shake, strain into chilled cocktail glass. No garnish.
Nine Volt: Gin, white Szechuan pepper, white grape juice, green tea. Both of us were shocked by this drink––and not because of the peppercorn. This is a surprisingly easy drinking and refreshing cocktail. The green tea gives the grape juice some depth, while the gin and peppercorn give the whole thing a bite.
Hoots Mon: Scotch, Punt e Mes, Kina L'avion D'or. I think this Savoy Cocktail Book classic was my favorite of the evning. The Kina L'avion and the Punt e Mes make this drink rather bitter, but the scotch helps balance it out if you're afraid of bitter.
Switchback: Anchor Hophead Vodka, strawberry, Zirbenz stone pine liqueur, lemon. Cocktail snobs are rolling their eyes at the mention of vodka, but Anchor Hophead is legit, and so is this cocktail. Go try this one while strawberries are in season. Fresh strawberries and stone pine liqueur make an incredible combination. If you want to make this one:
1.5 oz Anchor Hophead Vodka .75 oz Zirbenz Pine Liqueur .75 oz Fresh Strawberry Juice (Or Strawberry Puree) .75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice .5 oz Simple Syrup Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker. Shake, strain over rocks into chilled rocks glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Death and the Gulf Stream: Bols Genever, lime, sugar cane syrup, ango. This was on the Heaven's Dog menu awhile ago, but alas, Heaven's Dog is no more, so you can't find it. I may risk blaspheming, but I think I prefer this Death and the Gulf Stream to Heaven's Dog's. I think it's the Bols Genever that puts this drink over the edge for me. The maltiness blends with lemon nicely, and the sugar cane syrup gives the drink more viscosity than the usual Death in the Gulf Stream.
Charlie Chaplain: Sloe gin, gin, apricot liqueur, lime. Sloe gin an apricot, as it turns out, is an incredible flavor combination. The two give this drink and almost tropical feel. Loved it.
Noelle's favorites, from left to right:
My favorites, from left to right:
The food menu is impressive. We tried two dishes. The figs and burrata is a simple dish, but it's delicious and the ingredients are honored. This isn't your average pub fare, so don't expect that when you go. The style and portion size is similar to AQ (read: small and tasty as hell).
Chips
On a weeknight, this is the vibe you can expect. A simple, relatively mellow neighborhood bar.
Be prepared to make friends with the people around you, including the bartenders. Cheers.
Alembic 1725 Haight St (415)666-0822
Hours: 12pm-2am, every day.
Dinner 5pm-11pm, late night menu till 1am.
