5 to Try: Classic Cocktails
By Patrick Heig, San Francisco Editor
Long before Appletinis, Sex on the Beach and Jaeger-Bombs, bartenders of the golden age of cocktails--roughly 1920-1960--invented the classics we still drink today. Here are five spots using old-school recipes and ingredients faithful to the highball's heyday.
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Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
398 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA
This Hayes Valley classic may have the city's most dedicated old-school bar program, using recipes and hard-to-find ingredients straight out of cocktail books from the 20s and 30s to make drinks like the Sazerac and Old Havana. -
Spruce
3640 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA
Try the Papa Doble Daquiri, Hemingway's signature drink, served up and faithful to a recipe from his favorite bar in Cuba. -
Rye
688 Geary St, San Francisco, CA
This airy, loft-like lounge serves specialty cocktails, such as basil-infused gimlets, to a well-dressed thirtysomething crowd. -
Farallon
450 Post St, San Francisco, CA
The Jelly Bar at this over-the-top, under-the-sea-themed SF restaurant serves a 1944 Mai Tai with hand-made orgeat and other classic cocktails from the 1930 "Savoy Cocktail Book." -
The Alembic
1725 Haight St, San Francisco, CA
This gastropub, a sister restaurant to Magnolia, serves small plates, classic cocktails (don't miss the Bourbon Old Fashioned) and artisan brews--and takes all three seriously.
