Local libation: Angel's Blood

I'm still recovering from last night's festivities (which involved drinking too many cocktails at Palmer's Tavern.) And yet, I still felt compelled to make some sort of a bubbly drink in order to properly celebrate the dawn of 2014.

Craving a combination of Prosecco and Campari, I tracked down a recipe in NYC from Bond 45 called the Angeli Sangui--that's Italian for Angel's Blood. I modified it a bit, tweaking some of the ingredients and portions and I gotta say, it's a great way to hair of the dog it.

Serves two

1 1//2 ounces Campari
1 1/2 ounces simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar shaken)
1 1/2 ounces red grapefruit juice (or blood orange, if you can make it!)
Prosecco (I used Macaron) 
Sprigs of mint

Shake the Campari, simple syrup and juice with ice for a few seconds
Pour through a strainer into champagne flutes, filling about half way, top with Prosecco
Garnish with mint (or an orange peel if you use blood orange juice) 

Hungover or not, I had so much to celebrate in 2013 (including getting hitched!) and so much to hopefully toast to in the new year.

Local libation: The Hemingway daiquiri at Smugglers Cove

Ahoy, mateys! It's Cocktail Week here in SF and last night I stopped in at one of the 'about town' happy hours at Smuggler's Cove in Hayes Valley. Technically a tiki bar, it reminded me more of an alcoholic version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride - in a good way. They serve up more than 300 different types of rum here and the cocktail menu is Cheesecake Factory-sized!

So the drink you see above is their eponymous Rum Barrel, made with a secret 'barrel mix' which they remain tight-lipped about - the other ingredients are lime juice, pineapple juice and three types of Demerara rum. It is literally intoxicating. I felt like I had been transported to a Caribbean island almost immediately - this may be because I consumed it on an empty stomach...

However, they will reveal how to make their delicious daiquiris. The daiquiris I've had in the past have been frothy, blended, sugary concoctions. At Smuggler's Cove they make a clean, crisp, simple daiquiri that only has three ingredients so it really spotlights the rum:

1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces of rum - they were using Denizen last night - it's a relatively new brand that's a mix of three styles of rum from Trinidad and Jamaica that's making its debut in SF

They also put different twists on the daiquiri - my favorite is the 'Hemingway,' or the #3. Of course the history of the drink is a little hazy. One story goes that this was the way the renowned writer (and drinker) requested his daiquiri when at the legendary bar in Havana, Cuba called La Floridita. To make it, simply add a tsp of maraschino and a tsp of grapefruit juice. Shake with ice, strain if you like and serve in a stem glass.

Local libation: The Southside at NOPA

Fittingly, I'm a little tipsy while writing my first post! (You have to taste the cocktail before you write about it, right?) I figured the inaugural entry should be a 'local libation' - a drink I consumed in my new home of San Francisco - because living in this cocktail-obsessed city is a big part of what inspired me to start this blog. So last night I went to NOPA in the Western Addition (known for their local, seasonal California fare), sat at one of the communal tables and requested a light, refreshing beverage. The waiter served up one Southside - traditionally made with gin, he subbed in vodka for me (I am not a big gin drinker but I am going to make more of an effort to embrace the liquor- ever to excel!) 

A little backstory on the cocktail itself: It is rumored to have been born in prohibition-era Chicago where South Side gangsters invented it to mask the taste of the bootleg gin they were selling. Another camp claims it was created at Jack and Charley's speakeasy in New York City (which later became the '21' Club). A recent Wall Street Journal article did its best to debunk those origin stories and claimed the Southside was spawned at the super exclusive Southside Sportsman Club on Long Island.

My take? It doesn't strike me as a particularly snooty drink. Besides, it's delicious - and just the kind of crisp, light cocktail you crave during these dwindling days of summer. Here's how to make it:

Muddle a handful of mint leaves in the bottom of a shaker.
*I will be blogging about tools and techniques in future posts so stay tuned!

Add ice, around two ounces of vodka (I used Hangar One, which - in typical Cali style - is a 'farm to bottle' handmade liquor), one ounce of simple syrup (1/2 sugar, half warm water, shake it up), one ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Shake, strain and pour into a martini glass or a 'stem glass', which is what I used. Just check your teeth for mint slivers that may have slipped through the strainer before you flash a big smile. Cheers!