One of our current favorite cocktail bars in San Francisco is the Blind Pig Speakeasy Lounge https://www.blindpigspeakeasy.com on Polk. Wonderful complex, yet delicious cocktails with often a strong asian twist. Also, loved their “roll-the-dice” cocktail “game” where you get a different cocktail (but you don’t know the overall selection) depending on the number you get with the dice. This time it was a fernet branca based one which was herbaceous, citrusy with hints of sweetness.
Hi-Lo also runs music Tues/Sun (jazz both nights, I think) and Wed (Americana/bluegrass). It’s definitely above average for cocktails and beer compared to most music bars.
You can also bring in food from outside. Common Sage is a block or so away and has omusubi/onigiri, pretty decent as bar snacks.
I’ve only ever gotten Martinis here. There’s a selection of vodkas and gins - I had mine with St. George Valley gin and a twist. It’s a very dry, ice cold martini - the vermouth is applied with a mister - and filled to the brim.
Now in its tenth year, Wildhawk is tucked away on a quiet corner of the mission. The gorgeous metal ceilings resulted in unfortunate accoustics on my first visit, which kept me away for a long while; but most of a decade later, I was due for a refresher.
The Far Too Long is, unsurprisingly, a long drink served in a collins glass. The blend here is understated and savory, the bright citrus drawing things out into an easy-drinking start to the night.
The n/a Ponche is an incredible approximation of a mulled wine, with rich stone fruit & baking spices producing the right combination of tanins and sweetness to balance the namesake drink.
I’m always keen to try a sherry cobbler, and so was delighted to try the Plum Cobbler next. Like most cobblers, the drink was rich and malty; but the plum added a deep stone fruit note, and the drink dodged the heavy sweetness of others in this category.
The Breakfast Negroni has been on the bar’s menu for (most? all?) of its history, and I can see why- it’s a brilliant variation on the namesake drink, with the salt, chocolate, and cereal notes rounding out the typical imbalance of the negroni beautifully.
Enjoying myself and reluctant to go, I finished with the n/a Arise & Shine. This is another expert mocktail, with coffee, citrus, and light cereal grain notes on the palate.
A strong showing overall, and a great experience chatting up the staff. I’ll definitely be back.
The Alembic https://alembicsf.com ,now open for 20 years, is one of the foundational cocktail bars in SF with its, at that time, strong focus on cocktails but also the food. Excellent cocktails - really liked the one with Fernet which is often difficult to proper integrate into cocktails, good food and laid back, dark ambience.
Alembic is also one of the limited number of places where you can get a Scotch egg. I guess Dingles has one now as well.
The only time I’ve ever had any of the Van Winkle bourbons is when Alembic had one in a $18 boilermaker with a Cellarmaker hazy. Bartender just shrugged and said they were clearing shelf space.
I tend to see a bit of a tourist crowd there on weekends, but I’m usually not there late enough for more locals to be around. They also do cocktail classes on Monday that look pretty interesting.
