Drinking in SF

We managed to hit up a few great bars in San Francisco.

We went to the Slanted Door for two lunches, but I'll post those later with photos.

Bourbon and Branch is a bit of a pain in the neck if you want to sit at the main bar, since you have to make reservations, but the woman I talked to never called back. However, the library didn't require reservations, and was a nice room through the back of the bar. Lots of dark wood, old books, and candles.
We started with the traditional Revolver and a tequila drink (El Diablo). Then, we got an old fashioned and a Genevieve drink that also had lemon juice, orange juice, sweet and dry vermouths. Finally, we finished with a negroni variation: aperol, gin, and lillet. All were really good, but I think our favorites were the Genevieve drink and the "negroni".

On another day, after a long walk through the city to Golden Gate Park, we stopped at The Alembic for some refreshment:

Perfect Storm: Goslings rum, tawny port, and beer, served in a tea cup with a clove-studded lemon. Cute presentation, and very tasty.
Bolo tie: silver tequila, miso white peach puree, sparkling wine. Interesting twist on a bellini.
Macanudo: anejo tequila, apricot eau de vie, Qi smoked black tea liquor, and agave. This was soooooo good and very complex.
Vow of Silence: Wild Turkey rye, benedictine, creme de griotte (like cherry), and bitters.
Boutonniere: Scotch, nocino, and orange bitters.
Old Fashionista: aged cachaca, smoked maple syrup, house-made sasperilla bitters, soda, and lemon. Very funky and interesting.

We then went off-menu with excellent bartender Thomas Waugh, and got a drink with stone pine liquor, an attempt at a Hierba Buena (his entry in the Averna competition that won him a trip to Sicily--the glass wasn't right), a different Averna drink with simple, lemon, ginger beer, and mint (so delicious), a vieux carre, and a nightcap whose ingredients I can't remember.

At Alembic, we also snacked on za'atar potato chips, crispy tripe, octopus carpaccio, beet salad, and tomato burrata avocado salad. Yum.







Of note was that despite SF's reputation as an expensive city, we found food and drink prices to generally be lower than Boston, and certainly lower than NY.