Monday night marked the closing of San Francisco’s First Cocktail Week Celebration. The event took place at Absinthe, the wonderful Brasserie in Hayes Valley. The bar at Absinthe has become ground zero for great cocktails in San Francisco.
The front bar featured Manhattans, the Bengali Gimlet (made with Tanqueray Rangpur Gin and muddled lime leaves – yum!) and the house special version of the Sazerac (made with rye, simple syrup & Peychauds bitters in a herbsaint-rinsed glass). Mixing drinks along side the proprietors was none other than the Cocktailian, Gary Regan! What a show. The drinks were magnificent.
The back bar, featured a trio of champagne cocktails. I tried the Rum Quant (made with 10 Cane Rum). It was tasty, but a bit sweet for my tastes these days. I much preferred the tasty French 75, although I did find myself returning to the front bar for another Gimlet.
The proceeds of this event went to support Tales of the Cocktail an organization focused on the revitalization of New Orleans’ Hospitality Industry.
