SF Cocktail Week celebrates the talented mixologists, craft spirits and cocktail bars in the Bay Area with dinners, classes, parties and general merriment.
It might seem like every week is cocktail week in a city like San Francisco, which has amazingly creative mixology bars in every part of the city.
But a couple of the city’s most respected bartenders – Duggan McDonnell of Cantina and H. Joseph Ehrmann of Elixir – thought there should be a special time to showcase the best the region has to offer when it comes to drinking. A great cocktail starts with a mixologist’s creative idea, but it takes a bar owner committed to using the best seasonal ingredients and locally distilled spirits and creating a space that’s suited to enjoying hand-crafted cocktails.
The San Francisco Cocktail Week celebration runs from Sept. 19-25 with a creative series of cocktail classes, dinners, parties and pub crawls.
Highlights include:
Opening Night Party: Around the World with Anchor Distillery’s spirits and brews on Sept. 19.
Stag Dining Group international dinner by underground chefs Ted Fleury and Jordan Grosser paired with world-inspired cocktails 15 Romolo on Sept. 20
Shaker & Flask – a cocktail event showcasing the science behind mixology at Big Daddy’s Antiques on Sept. 21
An Iberian dinner paired with Gin 209 cocktails created by Alex Smith at Gitane on Sept. 21
To get in the mood, try making McDonnell’s official SF Cocktail Week drink, the Oxley Refuge & Tonic.
The Oxley Refuge & Tonic is an East-meets-West cocktail starring gin, coconut, lime and cardamom.
Oxley Refuge & Tonic
1-1/2 ounces Oxley Gin
3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc
3/4 ounce Perfect Puree of Coconut
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Fentiman’s Tonic Water
ground cardamom
lime wheel, for garnish
Add everything to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, then shake until well-chilled. Pour into a glass over ice, adding a splash of Fentimans tonic, then dust with cardamom powder, a lime wheel and serve.
Follow these links for more SF Cocktail Week cocktail recipes, event schedule and to purchase tickets or a Gold Pass for admission to most events.
