The Burritt Room (417 Stockton Street) just reopened this week after a brief remodel that now connects it to a full-service restaurant, the Burritt Tavern, from celebrity chef Charlie Palmer. The hotel where the restaurant and bar live is being renamed from the Crescent Hotel to the Mystic Hotel, and Palmer and his development team are marketing it as a chef-driven boutique hotel something they say they may be doing more of in San Francisco.
Bar manager Liam Gillmore has crafted a new drink list for the bar that includes a number of classic cocktails, like the Clover Club cocktail, and a few new ones as well. One of the new concoctions is this easy-drinking punch, with malty Bols genever as its base and a touch of peach liqueur and citrus. Just as soon as the weather warms up, make yourself a pitcher.
Basil Peach Punch
2 oz. Bols genever
3/4 oz. Mathilde peach liqueur
0.5 oz. honey
0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
2 large basil leaves
Muddle the basil with the honey and lemon in a shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and shake vigorously with ice at least 15 times. Strain over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with a basil sprig.
