San Francisco is celebrating cocktail culture this week as bars and restaurants honor a city whose mixed-drink heritage dates back to Gold Rush days.
Festivities for San Francisco Cocktail Week, September 21-27, commence today with the inauguration of the Boothby Center, a “beverage lab” and cocktail community center in SOMA.
Mission District events include an after-party at Laszlo tonight, a pairing lunch at Hog & Rocks tomorrow, a guest appearance at Beretta by New York bartending great Alex Day and multiple parties at Elixir Bar.
The San Francisco Bay Area is perhaps best known for its wine, but it is arguably the birthplace of some of the world’s most iconic cocktails, including the martini and the pisco punch.
“True to our philosophy, we’ve created something entirely original for San Francisco,” said Duggan McDonnell, the owner of Cantina and one of the event’s organizers, in a press release.
San Francisco Cocktail Week is organized by the Barbary Coast Conservancy of the American Cocktail, a nonprofit group founded by local mixologists, including Elixir’s H. Joseph Ehrmann.
For a full list of the week’s events, visit the website.