Rickhouse (246 Kearny), the recently opened Financial District cocktail haven by the guys who brought us Bourbon & Branch, is already drawing crowds in the post-3 p.m. hours after the markets close. The drink menu is twenty-eight pages long and takes you through every category of classic cocktail, from a Daisy (the precursor to a daiquiri or Cosmo) to a Martinez to a Scorpion Bowl, each served with the appropriate form of ice (block ice in the Tiki punch bowl, crushed ice for the Julep, etc), as well as contemporary variations, all with fresh ingredients. more ›

Joel Baker, bar manager at the three-year-old speakeasy Bourbon & Branch -- which has already landed twice on Esquire's Best Bars in America list -- and bar consultant behind Future Bars, gives us this week's summer cocktail. It's a crisp, complex, slightly sweet concoction that looks like a deceptively simple, clear martini. Here's Joel on the origins: more ›

Your stalwart correspondents have been enjoying the opening events of SF Cocktail Week, and in particular last night's farmers' market drink event at the Ferry Building, co-hosted by the non-profit Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture. We don't want to be all annoying and "you shoulda been there" about it, but you shoulda been there (we would have warned you but it was sold out as of last week)! Bartenders from around town like provided little tasters of drinks made from rums and cachacas and seasonal fruit, and several restaurants provided delicious food things to cleanse the palate between beverages. Highlights included the Black Lavender cocktail from Alicia Walton of Elixir -- which was, if we remember correctly, a mix of dark rum, Tuaca, blackberries, raspberries, lemon, honey and muddled dried lavender (look for recipe on SFist later) -- and the Herb Cane from Duggan McDonnell's Esquire-honored bar CantinaSF -- which had muddled Thai basil, mint, lemon juice, syrup Cabana cachaca, Chartreuse, and an orange peel garnish. more ›