Although it’s a little tough on the liver, we can’t help but love San Francisco Cocktail Week (SFCW). Last year we shared our favorite drinks from the festival and today we’re getting a head start by highlighting the freshly-released 2012 schedule.
Mark your calendars: SFCW takes place on September 17-23 at various locations throughout the city. The lineup includes parties with walk-around tastings and educational drink seminars taught by some of the Bay Area’s best bar folk.
Several of last year’s most popular events, like the Best of the West and St. George Spirits’ barbecue, return, and there’s also a selection of new and exciting festivities that include a food truck shin-dig at Soma’s Streat Food Park. The Bon Vivants pop-up bar, Rio Grande, will serve as the hub for SFCW and is where you can purchase early bird tickets. More parties and details will be added, so keep tabs via Twitter, Facebook, or the site itself. See the current full schedule from the press release below.
SF COCKTAIL WEEK 2012 SCHEDULE
The Artisan Tasting
Monday, September 17, 6-9 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door
Location: Anchor Brewing Company
(1705 Mariposa St., San Francisco)
Guests will explore the flavors of unique creations of locally-based distillers with an opening night bash, full of discoveries from the Bay Area’s world of artisan spirits and food pairings. This experience is dedicated to the local craftspeople who strive to make products of inspirational flavor and quality—the driving force behind the ever-evolving industry of the American cocktail.
Spirited Food Trucks: A Pairing of Deliciousness
Tuesday, September 18, 6-9 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door (Food available for purchase at trucks)
Location: SoMa Streat Food Park (428 11th St., San Francisco)
New to the 2012 lineup is this cocktail and street cart food-pairing event where guests can enjoy a wide array of bites and sips in the SoMa Streat Food Park. Premier bartenders have collaborated with truck chefs to concoct the perfectly matched beverage to accompany select dishes on offer, while guests enjoy mingling and stargazing during an Indian summer night in San Francisco.
Best of the West
Wednesday, September 19, 6-9 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door
Location: Local Edition (691 Market St., San Francisco)
Back again for another year of lighthearted competition and a showcase of the best bartenders up and down the West Coast, Best of the West will bring together guest bartenders from San Diego to Vancouver with the best their city has to offer in hand. Each bartender will present a signature cocktail that they feel best represents their city, and incorporates one or more of the challenge ingredients. Guests will also enjoy live music that best represents the west.
Totally Awesome East Bay to the Max!
Thursday, September 20, 6-9 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door
Location: The New Parish, Oakland (579 18th Street)
In this all-new, costumes-encouraged (like, duh!) event to the SF Cocktail Week lineup, guests will go back to the future and celebrate the time when greed was good, the Brat Pack was king and people drank Slow Comfortable Screws, Fuzzy Navels and Slippery Nipples. Re-imagined for contemporary attendees’ pleasure, the best East Bay bartenders will create “classic” concoctions from the 80s using today’s quality ingredients. The DJ will be spinning tunes from the decade, making each person’s champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true.
The Legends Awards
Friday, September 21, 7-10 p.m.
Tickets: $85 in advance & $95 at the door
Location: The Swedish American Hall, San Francisco (2174 Market Street)
The second annual Legends Awards will bring together a night of special table-side cocktails and punches, dinner and show for a 1960’s Vegas experience of joie de vivre and Bond-style swagger. Formal attire, gambling spirit and general Saturday night bravado will be on tap as guests recognize the true innovators, influencers, mentors and historians in the Bay Area. This fête will raise the glass to those who raise the bar for cocktails!
Cocktail Melee
Saturday, September 22, 2-5 p.m.
Tickets: $35 in advance & $45 at the door
Location: NWBLK art gallery, San Francisco (1999 Bryant Street)
Guests will get their fill at the Cocktail Melee—a lively walk-around event with different spirits and cocktail stations where they can explore their personal libation palate. A free-for-all liquid experience in which all brands are presented equally in front of the consumers, this is a rare gathering of spirits that offers the easiest opportunity to connect with brands and truly learn about preferred flavor profiles. With talent from the United States Bartending Guild (USBG), each tasting station will feature a local bartender as its ambassador. Guests will enjoy a leisurely afternoon walking down cocktail lane and taking in the fanciful delights of a San Francisco (Indian) summer.
The California Altered State Fair by Jupiter Olympus
Saturday, September 22, 7-10 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door
Location: NWBLK art gallery, San Francisco (1999 Bryant Street)
Fun for all ages (21 and over), cocktail consultants Jupiter Olympus will put the “u” in “fun” at the California Altered State Fair. A celebration of all the Golden State has to offer, the State Fair will feature carnival games, food, contests and, of course, cocktails inspired by local bounty. Guests can step right up to try their luck at one of the games, win prizes and celebrate an adult version of the fairs they remember from their youth. Costumes encouraged!
St. George Spirits Gets Bartenders Behind Bars
Sunday, September 23, 1-5 p.m.
Tickets: $45 in advance & $55 at the door
Location: St. George Spirits (2601 Monarch St., Alameda)
The annual summertime fiesta at St. George is back again for another year, only this time, there will be cops, robbers and bartenders where they belong: behind bars! Held in the distillery known for crafting fine gins and absinthe, this event will pit cocktail criminals against each other for a competition for your libation affection in the yard (ie: parking lot) of St. George’s beautiful facility overlooking the Bay. The closing event for SF Cocktail Week, guests will enjoy bites from food trucks, outdoor games like “catch the soap” and corn hole, a special prison tattoo station and other treats too controversial to share.
