Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco
DAVID H. CARRIERE / GETTY IMAGES ©
Cocktails
Cocktails have been shaken in Northern California since San Francisco's Barbary Coast
days, when they were used to sedate sailors and kidnap them onto outbound ships. Now
hip bartenders all across the state are researching old recipes and inventing new cocktail
traditions. Don't be surprised to see absinthe poured into cordial glasses of Sazerac, or hol-
iday eggnog spiked with tequila and organic orange peel. Originally made in Mexico, mar-
garitas (made with tequila, lime, Cointreau, ice and salt) have refreshed sunny SoCal since
the 1940s.
Legend has it that the martini was invented when a boozehound walked into an SF bar
and demanded something to tide him over until he reached Martinez across the bay - a
likely story, but we'll drink to that. The original was made with vermouth, gin, bitters,
lemon, maraschino cherry and ice, although by the days of Sinatra's Rat Pack, the recipe
was reduced to gin with vermouth vapors and an olive or two. The tropical mai tai (with
rum, Orgeat, Curaçao and lime juice) is another cocktail allegedly invented in the Bay
Area at Trader Vic's tiki bar in Oakland during the 1940s.
