The Bar, Bartender and Cocktail Guide 2007 2007

Given all the cocktail discussion within my London travel posts and our intense cocktail geekery over the last year, it seems time to start pulling it all together in one place.

Bars:

San Francisco:

Absinthe, Hayes Valley
[Not to be missed; recommended bartender: Jonny Raglin; recommended drink: consider whatever's up on the chalkboard tonight]

The Alembic, Upper Haight
[I need to give this one another try; had a suboptimal first experience, but am assured that's not typical]

Bix, Financial District
[recommended bartender: Bradley]

Bourbon & Branch, Tenderloin
[Gorgeous space, fantastic drinks]

Citizen Cake, Hayes Valley
[recommended drink: The Bravo]

Nopa, Divisidero & Hayes
[recommended bartenders: Neyah White, Matt; recommended appetizer: the flatbread]

Range, Valencia Street/Inner Mission
[recommended for dinner as well; recommended drink: 1794; recommended bartender]

Rye, Nob Hill
[Need to visit again - only tried once at a very quiet time and think it may not have been a lead bartender on duty]

New York City:

Campbell Apartments
[lovely atmosphere]

Pegu Club
[not to be missed and a serious contender for my Best Bar in the World vote - certainly by far the best cocktail/food pairings in the world, try the Little Italy; recommended drink: 19th Century]

WD-50
[recommended drink: Rye & Quince]

London:

Artesian at the Langham Hotel, Regent Street
[recommended drink: Jerry's Medicine]

Baltic, Southwark
[nice enough, but not top of the list]

The Bar at the Dorchester Hotel, Mayfair
[not to be missed; recommended bartender: Paulo; recommended drink: Martinez with Old Tom]

Lobby Bar at 1 Aldwych, Strand
[recommended drinks: Caraway Maker, The Gentleman; appetizers merely adequate as of Nov 2007]

Montgomery Place, Notting Hill
[not to be missed - my current vote for best bar in the world; recommended bartender: Marian Beke]

 

Favorite drinks of the year:

The Bravo [invented by Matt of Citizen Cake & Nopa in San Francisco]

The Gentleman [invented by Giovanni, formerly of Lobby Bar at 1 Aldwych in London]

Old Potrero Hotalings & Carpano Antica Formula Manhattan

Cynar-washed Negroni [specialty of Kevin of O'Reilly's Holy Grail in San Francisco]

Martin Millers & Carpano Antica Formula Negroni [called by Joe Gratz and now my favorite version]

Bars on the to-be-tried list still:

London: The Blue Bar at the Berkeley (NYT recommended), Claridge's Bar (NYT recommended), Cocoon (bartender recommended, but just for drinks), Connaught Hotel (NYT recommended), Dukes Hotel (Negroni recommend by Jonny Raglin), Fat Duck (mentioned in NYT article), Green & Red (bartender recommended), Hakkasan (bartender & NYT recommended), Library Bar at the Lanesborough (bartender recommended),The Lonsdale (NYT recommended), MatchBar (NYT recommended), Nobu (bartender recommended), Roka (NYT recommended), Shochu Lounge at Zuma (NYT recommended), Trailer Happiness (NYT recommended), Whisky Bar at the Atheneum (bartender recommended).

New York City: Employees Only (friend & bartender recommended), Flatiron Lounge, Milk & Honey (bartender recommended), PDT (consultant Jim Meehan tends at Pegu Club).

San Francisco: Cantina (recommended on eGullet forum), Elixer (keep running into barkeep H at various cocktail geek events)

***
[Edited Dec 24th, 2007, after finding that Matt is back behind the bars at Citizen Cake & Nopa and that the Bravo is indeed his creation]