Have you heard of barrel-aged cocktails? No? Well, you're not alone, since there's only one bar in S.F. doing them at the moment, but you're soon to see plenty more if we had to guess. The current mini-trend started with Jeff Morgenthaler, bartender at Clyde Common in Portland, and from there it got picked up in the NYT, and spread to bars in New York, Boston, and here. The deal is this: a spirit-driven cocktail is pre-mixed and put into a used bourbon barrel for four to eight weeks. The result is something slightly smoother, mellower, with a lingering finish, and a touch higher in alcohol than what went in there, due to some natural evaporation. more ›

Ever since opening last summer, Blackbird (2124 Market Street) has been a welcome and busy addition to the Castro / Church Street environs, and one of the only truly mixed scenes in the neighborhood — though it remains mostly gay, especially at happy hour. Owner Shawn Vergara and bar collaborators Brent and Regina Butler are on the third iteration of Blackbird's house cocktail menu, and he's got one on the list now made with a relatively new spirit: Root liqueur, which is sort of a classier version of DeKuyper's Root Beer Schnapps, with rich spicy flavors that are still reminiscent of root beer. more ›

In opening a new bar in the space of the former Expansion (and, briefly, The Metro, 2124 Market Street), owner Shawn Vergara wanted to create an unpretentious neighborhood hangout that nonetheless served good cocktails. Blackbird transformed the previously dark space into a bright and hip lounge, and it fills a need in the Church/Castro area for a mellow, mixed bar where you wouldn't be ashamed to bring your mom. more ›

Swoops caught on tape! more ›