gin – new amsterdam, hendricks
rum – flor de cana gold, el dorado 5 year, or appleton vx
cachaca – not sure yet, maybe boca loca
dark rum – cruzan dark aged
vodka – monopolowa
bourbon – benchmark old number 8 and eagle rare single barrel or four roses single barrel (not barrel strength)
rye – sazerac or wild turkey russell’s reserve
brandy – osocalis or cardenal mendoza. would be nice to find something slightly less expensive.
tequila – zapopan reposado and/or jose cuervo tradicional
applejack or apple brandy – lairds bonded or clear creek 8 year apple brandy

luxardo maraschino
bols triple sec
giffard curcacao triple sec or clement creole shrubb
j pear liqueur, hangar one spiced pear, rothman and winter pear, or clear creek pear liqueur or brandy
brizard apry or rothman and winter apricot liqueur
aperol, gran classico, or amaro montenegro. i know, they are all pretty different, i just want something tasty and bitter. maybe will start with one and eventually end up with all three.
ikea elderflower syrup or giffard litchi liqueur (already own)

angostura bitters, orange bitters, peychaud bitters, grapefruit bitters, peach bitters. already own all these. might pick up more if i find anything i like in my liquor store crawl.

kept in freezer (? is this ok?): grenadine, orgeat, falernum

martini and rossi red vermouth
dolin blanc
noilly prat dry vermouth
lillet blanc
madeira – blandy’s 5 yr verdelho, or something from rare wine company

amarena cherries

4 oz aged rum
4 oz dark rum
4 oz 10 cane rum
4 oz vodka
3 oz sugar
1 1/2 oz cherry liqueur
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
4 oz lime
4 oz lemon
2 oz orange juice
4 oz celestial seasonings bengal spice tea (strong)

more cleaning of the booze cabinet.

i’ve been craving tiki drinks lately…need to haul my ass back to smuggler’s cove. anyway, i made this for a sibling party. we first convened at starbase for some old school video games. like wizard of wor. which btw is a really shitty game. joust on the other hand is kick. ass.

also got in some area 51 and maximum force which is the one of the few, and the most recent, video games i became addicted to.

anyway, the above recipe is excellent. but then i made it worse by adding:

2 oz vodka
2 oz pineapple
3/4 lemon

still drinkable, but it tasted more like a generic, pineapple-heavy rum punch. and the vodka was definitely a mistake, took away some of the delicious richness.

2 oz gin
1 oz meyer lemon
2 tsp d’arbo raspberry-rhubarb jam
3 dashes peychaud bitters

great, would def make again.

2 oz rum
1 oz lime
1 oz simple syrup
3 dashes peychaud bitters
1 pinch ground coffee

next time i would go 3/4 oz for sweet and sour with the rum i used (10 cane). i like the coffee element, though ruined the drink as a refresher. instead added smokiness, complexity, funkiness, savory.

1 1/2 oz J pear liqueur
3/4 oz rittenhouse rye
1/2 oz lime

excellent.

2 oz gin
1 oz lime
1 1/2 oz aqua perfecta pear liqueur
tsp of honey syrup

this was a tart/dry drink, not a great sipping cocktail but good with food.

as one last gasp i will mention some experiences in the past two months:

comstock saloon. i had a great experience here with some other people. tasted a great sazerac and a manhattan that reminded me, somehow, of lake tahoe. something alpine. maybe a little green chartreuse? also a pisco sour which them madcats had infused with magrut lime leaf as a nod to a traditional coca leaf infusion. or something. at any rate, it was perfumy and delicious and complex. i myself had the pisco punch which was ‘merely’ very good, and the hop toad punch (rum, apricot brandy, lime, bitters) which was unexpectedly dirty and savory in all the right ways.

15 romolo. i am prepared to say that scott baird is a genius, i have had many of his drinks at the cuesa event and have been wanting to come here a long time. he may be my favorite drink creator in the bay area. stockholm syndrome, a great spirit-based drink using amontillado sherry as the sour component and leopolds apple as the sweet. then the los altos sour which on paper sounds like a typical sour variant but is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.

clyde common. much has been made of the barrel-aged cocktails, and i can’t say i loved the negroni. on the other hand, i don’t care much for the non-aged version so i’m not the best judge. a generally good drinking experience overall, but not better than anywhere i’ve been in the bay area. i will say that without exception, every person in that place, male, female, customer, or staff member, was better looking than me.

…

some experiments of late:

1 oz rye
1 oz bourbon
3/4 oz meyer lemon
3/4 oz giffard blueberry
1/4 medium strawberry, muddled
2 mint leaves
1 dash ango

(a variant/ripoff of the blue and red smash at rickhouse)

2 oz brandy
1 oz lime
1 oz triple sec
1 magrut lime leaf, muddled

(a variant/ripoff of the aforementioned pisco sour, or perhaps a sidecar)

1/2 oz tequila
1/2 rum
1 oz grapefruit vodka
1 oz lime
3/4 oz giffard lychee
1/4 oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes grapefruit bitters

this was the using up of some odds and ends, tortured into a strawberry hemingway variant. really good.

now, i have lost my notes on drinks, and so am mostly constructing from memory. but here are some drinks that stood out:

five stars – calvados with a little lemon, caramel liqueur, and scotch. the idea was ‘apple roasted over a bonfire’ good, but smelled better than it tasted.

montenegro manhattan. montenegro is a delicious amaro. this drink was awesome paired with braised beef.

unknown – tequila, lemon, falernum, jasmine. your basic sour type drink, but the aromatics were insane. would drink this all day every day.

the zorak – brandy, cherry liqueur, lime, maraschino. a freestyle david wolowidnyk concoction. delicious, not at all cough syrupy, which is what you might expect.

while i was up there i picked up some giffard liqueurs; blueberry, and lychee. have since made a great drink with the blueberry:

1 1/2 oz blueberry liqueur
1 oz rye
1/2 oz meyer lemon

…

come on! be a fan of random cocktails!

i entered all the double gold winners, and any single gold winner with a list price of less than $20.

partial list of sf spirit award winners

i tried to follow some rules:

• very tasty!
• easy to make, not too many ingredients, no difficult techniques needed; infusions and homemade syrups optional.
• easy to find and inexpensive ingredients and brands
• no exotic ingredients (that will take you forever to use up because it only works in one cocktail and only if you use a dash. i’m looking at you, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse, and absinthe.)

some terminology

neat. from the bottle to the glass. also known as straight up, though if you use this term, the bartender will probably think you are a noob or tard.
on the rocks. served with ice cubes.
up. chilled, but served without ice.

equipment

• muddler of some kind. the end of a dowel-type rolling pin should be fine
• juicer of some kind. this style is recommended.
• shaker of some kind. 16 oz mason jar? sure why not.
• reasonably fine strainer
• reasonably large ice cubes
• peeler for twists (optional)
• something to measure fluid ounces in half- or quarter-ounce increments (optional, if minding ratios, and/or making large batches)

technique

ice. use a lot, enough so there is some peeking (not floating) above the surface
simple syrup. 1 part water + 1 part sugar (organic preferred, imo the flavor is superior). heat or shake until dissolved. for flavored syrups, use juice instead of water, or a sweetener other than sugar.
stirring. 40 seconds.
shaking. 20 seconds.
garnishes. twists are optional, but they add a lot to a drink and are easy to make. watch a video about them here. you can make twists from lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit for any drink. whatever sounds good to you.

be sure to scrub and rinse the fruit before peeling.

brands

i am not an expert. the following are brands that i personally like and/or are recommended by bartenders or writers i respect, and aren’t too expensive. there are plenty of other good brands, and plenty of not-good brands, so do your cyberbahn research.

[edit: i put together a spreadsheet of partial list of sf spirit award winners]

bourbon. bulleit, buffalo trace, jim beam, benchmark, wild turkey
rye. rittenhouse, old overholt, sazerac
dark rum. goslings, cruzan
vodka. svedka, sobieski
rum. appleton gold or vx, barbancourt, flor de cana, el dorado 5 year (more on rum)
tequila. azul reposado, jose cuervo tradicional reposado (but not the cheaper stuff)
gin. plymouth, hendricks, beefeater, new amsterdam
brandy. paul masson vsop
sweet vermouth. martini and rossi, noilly prat, carpano antica. vermouth (including lillet) needs to be refrigerated after opening. quality declines rapidly, but you can probably still drink it three months later and not get sick.
champagne. roederer brut
triple sec. cointreau, luxardo, brizard, hiram walker, bols. note that proof and flavor vary a lot between brands, and so each will yield a different but still tasty drink.

recipes

busdriver
2 oz lillet blanc, chilled
3/4 oz vodka or gin
one or more of the following:

• infuse the spirit for at least a day (longer is ok) with grapefruit zest and cut-up fruit (no pith) (one grapefruit is enough for a fifth of booze)

• 1/2 oz fresh red grapefruit juice or muddled 1/8 of a red grapefruit
• a couple dashes of grapefruit bitters

stir with ice, fine strain. serve up.

sidecar
2 oz brandy
1 oz lemon
1/4 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz triple sec

shake with ice, fine strain. serve up. sometimes served with sugar rim, but this is superfluous. and messy. some might say detrimental.

margarita
2 oz tequila
1 oz citrus (lime, or up to 50% lemon)
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz triple sec

shake with ice, fine strain. served up or on the rocks.

pineapple-jalepeno variant: add one slice of muddled jalepeno. and sub simple syrup with pineapple syrup: 3 parts pineapple juice + 2 parts sugar. if you have some fresh pineapple, muddle a piece or two as well.

pseudo manhattan
2 oz bourbon, rye, or combination (i prefer 1 oz of each)
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
1 tsp fruit syrup or liqueur (tart is good. so, cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry. maybe aperol, or triple sec. probably not pineapple, ginger, or elderflower, but you could try.)

stir with ice, fine strain. serve up. if you have angostura bitters, use a couple dashes. it will taste good without, but it won’t be a real manhattan.

dark and stormy
2 oz dark rum
1/2 oz lime
sweetener*
two slices of ginger

*1/2 oz falernum, or 1 1/2 oz ginger ale, or 1/2 oz simple syrup.

muddle the ginger, add remaining ingredients (except ginger ale) shake with ice, fine strain, serve on the rocks. if you’re using ginger ale, add it now and stir gently. otherwise, add soda water (optional).

falernum recipe here. note, the key flavor is clove. the remaining flavors are optional. in order of importance: lime zest, ginger, everything else.

french 75
1 oz gin
1/2 oz lemon
1/2 oz simple syrup*
2 to 4 oz champagne

*variant: use a syrup like elderflower from ikea or d’arbo, pineapple gum from small hands, or maybe the syrup from a can of lychees. or any fruit liqueur.

shake all ingredients, except champagne, with ice, fine strain. top with champagne.

modified bourbon sour
2 oz bourbon
1/2 oz lemon
1/2 oz sweetener*

shake with ice, fine strain. serve up or on the rocks.

*dissolve 1 part honey in 1 part water or orange juice. or dissolve 1 part maple syrup in 1 part water or orange juice.

variant: add one egg white. increase lemon and sweetener to 1 oz each. shake without ice, shake with ice, fine strain

optional: orange twist, orange bitters, angostura bitters, peychaud bitters, muddled orange slice or kumquat (deseeded)

mai tai
2 oz rum
1 oz lime
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz orgeat*

*if you don’t feel like making or buying it: 1 part unsalted almonds, muddled + 3-4 parts simple syrup. or 1 part sugar + 1 part almond milk.

shake with ice, fine strain. serve on the rocks.

optional: substitute 1 oz of the rum for dark rum, either mixed into the drink or (better yet) floated on top. also optional: sprig of mint, spanked.

smugglers cove:

puka punch – rum and a lot of other stuff
three dots and a dash – rum and a lot of other stuff

so i have now had three drinks from there and though they were all really great, i don’t think i could distinguish one from another. they all read similarly on the menu, so i guess that was to be expected.

sebo sushi:

wasn’t cheap, but possibly the best fish i have had anywhere. and i got a bunch of things i’d never heard of before, much less tasted. new things to me: katsuo (bonito), kohada (gizzard shad), ainame (greenling), kuromutsu (bluefish), shirauo (ice fish), hotaru ika (firefly squid).

then i decided to check out range since they’ve got a new menu since i was last there. i tried to get there by bus, failed. resorted to a cab.

ran into my brother at range which was pretty cool and lucky, since neither of us are in sf very often.

range:

the b-line – bourbon, lillet, bergamot, honey, bitters. this was superb. a bourbon sour variant made silky smooth with the lillet.

‘cocktail of the day’ – i missed the name and also what was in it, except lime, guava, and sparkling rose. delicious, but maybe on the dry side for me.

kamilia – basically a margarita with guava. excellent. guava and tequila are perfect complements.

the bartender did something interesting: measured the citrus and the syrup, but free poured the brandy. i’m not a fan of the free pour, but this hybrid technique makes more sense. still inferior to a measured pour, of course.

…

inspired me to make a sidecar of my own with the leftover five-spiced syrup. it decants nicely.

1 1/2 oz rum
1/2 oz mandarin-tangerine infused vodka
1/2 oz meyer lemon
1/4 oz lime
3/4 oz chinese five spice + kaffir makrut lime leaf syrup
muddled kumquat (seeds removed)
muddled tangerine slice
dash orange bitters
lemon twist

five-spice-makrut-leaf syrup

1 T five-spice
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
10 lime leaves, chopped

toast the spices over medium-low heat. add remaining ingredients, bring to a low boil. turn down to a simmer for five minutes. take off heat, let cool for a few minutes, strain out solids.

this drink is really excellent. flavors are well represented and balanced.

the five spice syrup would make a nice alternative to falernum.