A new study from UCSF shows that males whose sexual advances are rejected by the fairer sex were "driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied" males. Of course, the UCSF study was referring to male and female fruit flies, but apparently human drinkers are pretty similar to the alcoholic fruit flies, just with more brain cells to kill. more ›

Jardinière, Hayes Valley's white-hot spot for perfect food and all-around exquisiteness, is having another one of their local guest bartender series tonight featuring Frommer’s Travel Guides editors. David Lytle (whose photos regularly appear on SFist) will be serving up the rye based The Rytle while newly relocated SF resident Stephen Bassman will mix the bourbon based Manhattan Transfer. Each Manhattans will sell for $9.00 with all proceeds going to Family Builders, a local organization that works to place foster children in permanent loving homes. (Proceeds going to a worthwhile cause? Hippies.) more ›

Staying sober in the Castro is like trying to stay sober in the Castro. It's quite trying, what with all of the bars and dealers within hinged-wrist's length. Enter the Castro Country Club, a tiny clubhouse, if you will, located on 18th Street that allows sober addicts to socialize comfortably within a queer space without getting ripped to the tits. The building housing the space was sold this week. So, does the club once again stand in a state of peril? Not likely. more ›

Just as the navy blue blanket of holiday ennui prepares to envelope your carcass—remember: if you still single for the holidays, you're an abomination—Food & Wine releases its 50 Best Bars in America list. And what a list it is, liberally featuring noted San Francisco watering holes set to sooth your soul. (Think high-end bars, not delightful ratholes.) Which bars, exactly? Let's see: more ›

We know it's probably been a boozy few days for some of you, but this story kind of takes it: A couple of dudes attempting to shoplift two bottles of vodka after the cutoff hour of 2 a.m. at the Excelsior Safeway Friday night/Saturday morning made a run for it in a getaway vehicle, and in the process managed to strike and injure a police officer with their car, and crash into two parked cop cars before eventually getting arrested. more ›

Critically acclaimed bon vivant Jay Barmann will be mixing drinks behind the bar at Jardiniere tomorrow, November 1 from 6-8pm. Join him, won't you? more ›

Parents beware! Your teens have found a devilish new way of smuggling vodka on their person so that they can get drunk in math class! Leave it to the local news of the Central Coast to sound the alarm bells that teenagers have caught on to the fact that gummy bears, when soaked for a while in a vodka bath, absorb quite significant amounts of alcohol, which can then be ingested on the sly. Because everyone knows how awesome it is to be wasted in the middle of a school day! more ›

Thanks to a bill from State Senator Mark Leno and a big, loopy signature from Jerry Brown local bartenders, mixologists and artisan liquor fans will no longer have to live in fear of having their infused liquors confiscated by the ABC. (Not that anyone actually was, really.) The timing couldn't be better for grassroots organizers Josh Harris and Scott Baird, who also man the board of San Francisco's Cocktail Week, currently in full slosh. more ›

In honor of San Francisco Cocktail Week, which cracks open today and keeps pouring until the 25th, SFist asked its readers (that's you!) to nominate their all-time favorite San Francisco bar. We asked for you to pick two, actually -- the top drawers and the dives. Now, out of a stellar list of nominees, we need you to select your favorite high- and low-end watering holes. (By the way, if you're cross or wringing your paws over where some of the nominees have landed--e.g., Orbit Room and Cheesecake Factory landed in the "high-end bar" poll--well, tough luck. That's where we decided to put it. O mighty power! We are drunk with it!) more ›

MUSIC/ART:The Mission Cultural Center for the Arts presents Talking Art and Music with Pete Escovedo, in which Escovedo will talk about his esteemed musical career and his lifelong interest in the visual arts with radio personality Sterling James (often heard on KBLX). (6 p.m., Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission Street) more ›

Carlos Bar, one of the few watering holes in the Mission geared towards Latinos, closed its doors on June 30. Its alcohol license was suspended by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Why? Mission Local reports: "According to Danielle Shafer, supervisor investigator with the Department of Alcohol Beverage ControlA six-month department investigation, which began 2009 and completed early 2010, found bar owner Carlos Gutierrez and his employees guilty of profit sharing - that is, hiring cocktail waitresses to pressure patrons into buying drinks at a higher rate than normal." more ›

In an effort to curb violence at the Pink Saturday festival in the Castro, the city has banned booze at the annual precursor to the Pride Parade. Last year, if you recall, a 19-year-old male was killed and two others injured at Market and Castro by a gunman more ›

Just in time for San Francisco Gay Pride, Absolut Vodka has introduced a "limited" SF edition. Following on the heels of New Orleans, Loas Angeles, Boston, and (oddly enough) Brooklyn flavors, San Francisco is the fifth city to receive the company's boozy bottle honor. But does it taste good? Normally, flavored vodka taste like corn syrup-tinged diarrhea. (Some might say the same about plain vodka, but those types are usually pretentious mixologists. You need to ignore those people.) In an effort to review the allegedly hella-SF booze, we demanded a PR representative to deliver a free bottle of Absolut SF to our front door posthaste for immediate tasting. more ›

Why can't our drunk voicemails sound this fun? Our alcohol-infused voicemails are filled with vitriol, regret, and the occasional Sondheim lyric. They rarely involve home fires, debates over squirrel weight, and/or the Oregon Trail. Steve Rold's friend Evan, however, does leave such voicemails, which Rold conveniently sets to animation. The first video was an astounding success. The new follow-up could rival the first. Enjoy. more ›

Of course, says Joe Kukura of Exercising While Intoxicated, one should conceal sweet nectar while running this month's Bay to Breaker's race. Even though getting lit could land you in pretend jail (or, far worse, land you and your naked butt a cameo appearance on SFist), it might also result in loads of good times. For those of you who plan on imbibing during next week's zany race on May 15th, Kukura suggests the following: more ›

After turning his nose up at trend-piece drink Four Lokko, City Attorney (and mayoral candidate) Dennis Herrera now sets his anti-fruit-flavored-alcohol-seeking laser beams at Pabst Brewing Company’s Blast by Colt 45, a barfy booze beverage arguably aimed at the underage youth of America. "Herrera joined 17 attorneys general, including California’s Kamala Harris, in penning a letter asking Pabst to discontinue the malt beverage, which is 12 percent alcohol and comes in grape, strawberry lemonade, strawberry watermelon and blueberry pomegranate flavors," reports The Examiner. Which, yeah, that sounds gross. (While we're on the subject of banning vile alcoholic concoctions, does this mean we can do away with White Russians at local bars? Because dairy and vodka should never mix.) more ›

Speaking of Traci Des Jardins, she will be hosting Eye On The Bay's Liam Mayclem tonight for their monthly guest-bartender series. The Brit turned San Franciscan will be making cocktails from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. (Your editor did it last year, too. We had a drunken blast. We don't remember how we got home that night, but a good time was had by all.) Come on by to say hello to Liam and to try the Pegu Club Cocktail drink (described as "an old Brit classic) that he'll make for your thirsty liver. more ›

SFPD has alerted the media that they'll be setting up a DUI checkpoint out in this Richmond this Saturday night at Geary Blvd and 9th Ave. There's always a tiny moral quandary whenever we post these announcements, but if you absolutely must venture to or from the avenues to get hammered tomorrow night, why don't you just take the 38 instead? It'll be an adventure. more ›

The recent trend in high-end cocktails (in vulgar parlors: mixology) has made us long for the halcyon days of kegstands and saki bombs. For many, like San Francisco bartenders, it's gone too far. While barrels of artisan know-how has been imparted since the cocktail trend started a few years ago, aimless snobbery also ran amok. more ›

Today, Feb. 22, is National Margarita Day. We wish you all an evening filled with salt-rimmed pleasures! What's more, according to Good Vibrations, today is also Lady Porn Day. We wish you all an evening of, well, unsalted-rimmed pleasures. (Ow!) Celebrate accordingly. And, of course, beware: one observance could easily lead to the other. [Laughing Squid, SFGate] more ›

On Saturday night, Feb. 19, Pubcrawl-SF will host a pub crawl covering 10 bars in the Inner Richmond. Saturday night's roster includes: Happy Lounge - 2nd Ave & Geary (8 p.m.), Buckshot - 3rd Ave & Geary (8:30 p.m.), Ireland 32′s - 3rd Ave & Geary (9 p.m.), Fizzees Sports Bar - 4th Ave & Geary (9:30 p.m.) ... more ›

Beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday at Potrero Avenue and 23rd Street, a sobriety checkpoint will be enforced, running until Sunday morning. You've been warned. [SF Appeal] more ›

At 10 am today, tickets for Burning Man, the popular gala in the desert, will go on sale. While ticket prices can seem, well, price - they run anywhere from $210 to $320 - the event organizers do have a low income program available, which you can apply for on January 26. more ›

The Walnut Creek city council will contemplate a plan to crackdown on drunks and bars in the downtown area. Why? A few harrowing examples, as noted in this ABC 7 report: "recently a drunk woman spit in a police officer's eye," "people sometimes pee in the outdoor planters in..really nice downtown areas," and "sometimes fights break out." more ›

Starting out the new year by adding zest to crime blotters all over San Francisco, a man was arrested on Sunday for trying to break into Zeitgeist for a glass (or eight) of hooch. At around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Brian Jenkins, 33, reportedly used a razor blade to destroy posters at Zeitgeist after being being told to beat it since the bar was closed. more ›

Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed the fee on alcohol, Supervisor John Avalos' plan to charge booze wholesalers to help cover the city's costs to care for dunkards. The mayor's office sent out a press release with the following title, "Mayor Vetoes Unnecessary Alcohol Fee to Protect Jobs, San Francisco's Economy, which in part read: more ›

Every second, give or take, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors think of some new tax that will ruffle the feathers of its citizenry. Here's one folks are savoring like a fat Jolly Rancher: Supervisor John Avalos has proposed a booze tax as a means to payback the $17.7 million (or $18.1 million, per SF Appeal) "San Francisco spends yearly on emergency room visits, prevention programs, a sobering center, Fire Department ambulance transports and other costs linked to excessive drinking." more ›

Next year's Bay to Breakers race might be a tepid one. Booze, floats, and unregistered runners will be banned at next year's 100th marathon. The typically zany race has lost some of its nutty sheen over the last few years due to unruly behavior. (We can't imagine why.) So, organizers decided to officially nix alcohol in 2011. more ›

"Special Deals for You Drinkers Out There" by Troy Holden. more ›

by Jerry James Stone more ›