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.

Served over crushed ice and garnished with a stick of sugar cane, this makes for a tasty and original warm weather beverage.

The Root of All Evil

2 oz. Old Smuggler's Scotch
1/4 oz. Root liqueur
1/2 oz. cinnamon syrup
Two orange wedges

Muddle the orange with the cinnamon syrup in a shaker. Add ice cubes, scotch, and Root. Shake vigorously, and pour over crushed ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a stick of sugar cane.