San Francisco

[Edward Hamilton]

I leave a little piece of my heart in San Francisco every time I leave.

The list varies but here's a start, in no particular order-
Slanted Door - pretty hard to beat for a drink and an appetizer even if you don't have time for dinner.
Presidio Social Club - a few good rums in a nice atmosphere and good drinks
Rye - unless it's a weekend when it's too busy for my taste
Del Posto - the bartenders are interested in more and new rums
Absinthe - very good rum selection and knowlegable staff.
John Collins - great spot for an early, or late, drink with an improving selection of rums.
Starlight Room - good rums, good staff and an incredible view of the city

and east across the Bay
Forbidden Island - one of the best rum selections in the country and they know what to do with them

[Scottes]

I stumbled across this page for Hobson's Choice, a bar that states they have the largest rum selection of any bar in the country. They list 121 rums.
http://www.hobsonschoice.com/rums.html

[Edward Hamilton]

Hobson's Choice does have quite a few rums on their shelf, I like the place. But when I'm looking for a rum bar I prefer a bar that specializes in more than a few core rums from one distiller. Just as a note, there weren't 121 rums on the shelf the last time I was in Hobson's a couple of months ago.

But don't despair, there is at least one new bar coming to San Francisco which will be pouring more than 50 different rums with an emphasis on pouring all of them.

[woody9six]

Good ol' Alameda! I'll have to go check out Forbidden Island. That looks right up my alley.

[Edward Hamilton]

I finally made it to Cantina Bebidas (http://www.cantinasf.com/) yesterday and found a few old friends at the bar. There is no sign yet, not that they're trying to be cool they've just been too busy getting other things together, like the great drinks menu.

Definitely worth checking out while you're in SF though there is still a lot to more to come from this hard working staff.

[durty mick moon]

damn...just returned from a week in san fran...was looking for interesting bars, wish i had seen this post before i left...next time i'll know to check here before going somewhere...oh, and thanks for all your good work (writing, research, tasting)....we need more people with passion! (fav rums at present: Zacapa 23 yr. old, santa teresa 1796!!!!)....cheers

[martincate]

Thanks for the kind words, Ed.

If anyone is ever coming to the SF Bay Area, please drop me a note- we'd love to welcome you.

Best regards,

Martin Cate
Owner
Forbidden Island

www.forbiddenislandalameda.com

[RumBarPhilly]

I stumbled across this page for Hobson's Choice, a bar that states they have the largest rum selection of any bar in the country. They list 121 rums.
http://www.hobsonschoice.com/rums.html

Wow, looks like Ive got something to shoot for! Were getting close to 121, were at 103 or 104 right now, with 1 more on the way.

Interesting note, I see Hobson's Choice has rums from Manila. I didn't know the Philippines imported any rums to the U.S., my father in law (Filipino) is bringing me back a bottle of Tanduay on his trip in January.

[martincate]

Tanduay is in the US- I have seen it at a few retailers. May only be in places like CA with a big Filipino population.

Certainly RumJungle has more rum than Hobson's Choice. But more doesn't always mean better. Hobson's is a nice bar to visit, however- great people.

[Edward Hamilton]

It isn't nearly as hard to put together a large list as it is to know what to do with it. As sailors know, the size of the yacht matters, but it's the motion on the ocean that makes the difference.

[RumBarPhilly]

It isn't nearly as hard to put together a large list as it is to know what to do with it. As sailors know, the size of the yacht matters, but it's the motion on the ocean that makes the difference.

Well then as long as I continue learning about every aspect of rum and I continue to know the products offered, I should be fine. It's hard to find bartenders who are smart enough to learn the products they sell, even when their boss engraves it into their skull. I've got two amazing bartenders, who work most nights, but then there's the bartender at a nearby bar who, when my buddy asked about Oronoco, she told him it was a Brazilian cachaça, like Pitu or 51. I later whispered the difference to ...

I cringed when she compared Oronoco to Pitu, like comparing Magic Hat to Budweiser, because they're both made in the US. (Yes, I'm a big magic hat fan)

[ejellest]

I'm pretty excited about the recent opening of Beretta (http://berettasf.com/) in San Francisco.

Thad Vogler, who is the bar manager, has opened some of the best bars in San Francisco. Not only that, but he has worked at many of the rest.

It seems like he has taken the lessons he has learned at each and applied them to Beretta.

He has a fantastic selection of new world spirits concentrating on cane. He is only using fresh fruit for juice. I think all, or most of it, is organic. He has hired some of the best bartenders in San Francisco to execute the drinks.

His list of drinks is also impressive and very tasty.

Plus, special bonus, it is not that far from my house and pretty much along my commute home. Woo!

~Erik

[Edward Hamilton]

I've only heard of Baretta but not yet gone there. Thad was one of the first bar manager in the US to put rhum agricole in his well. While I didn't think that was really the way to go, who am I to argue with a guy that's bigger than me.

[Colin]

I love going to San Francisco. I'm from Santa Barbara originally, so it was only a few hours driving before I moved north. I went back a couple months ago. My friend took me to a spot in North Beach called Cigar Bar and Grill that was lovely. The two drinks I had were a passion fruit caipirinha and a margarita that had Hendricks gin and cucumber added to it.

I also found a great bar there a few years ago. I can't remember the name, but I think it was near the Mission district. The bartender was nursing a hangover when we arrived and was speaking in a fake British accent. She was excellent — she made a tasty pepper-infused Aviation and a classic mai tai, as well as an array of drinks involving blood oranges, the fresh ingredient she had on hand that day. I wish I could remember the name of the place.

[ejellest]

I've only heard of Baretta but not yet gone there. Thad was one of the first bar manager in the US to put rhum agricole in his well. While I didn't think that was really the way to go, who am I to argue with a guy that's bigger than me.

He's still at it. He's got an excellent Moscow Mule/Mojito type drink on the Beretta menu called the Agricole Mule.

I don't remember off hand which agricole rum he is using in it. La Favorite Amber sort of rings a bell. I'd have to double check to know for sure.

~Erik

[ejellest]

[...]
I also found a great bar there a few years ago. I can't remember the name, but I think it was near the Mission district. The bartender was nursing a hangover when we arrived and was speaking in a fake British accent. She was excellent — she made a tasty pepper-infused Aviation and a classic mai tai, as well as an array of drinks involving blood oranges, the fresh ingredient she had on hand that day. I wish I could remember the name of the place.

Given your description, that sounds like Alberta Straub at the Orbit Room.

Unfortunately, she's no longer there. Last I talked to her, she was in Brooklyn looking for a new venue. The Orbit Room can sometimes still be a good bar, but it is highly variable depending on who's tending.

~Erik

[Tiare]

If you want to know for sure if it was Alberta Straub you can check her videos here (http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/cocktails-on-the-fly/):

[Colin]

Given your description, that sounds like Alberta Straub at the Orbit Room.

Unfortunately, she's no longer there. Last I talked to her, she was in Brooklyn looking for a new venue. The Orbit Room can sometimes still be a good bar, but it is highly variable depending on who's tending.

~Erik

That's her (confirmed by the video)! I kept thinking Moon Room for some reason and couldn't find it on Google. She was an awesome bartender. My sister and I ended up ditching our plans for the afternoon and spent about six hours there. She had a few friends come in and was chatting them up while bitching about her hangover from partying too much the night before and inventing new drinks for me using her produce finds. She asked me what flavors I liked and then started mixing up drinks seemingly by intuition — as if guided by some spirit of spirits —*and they all came out great.

If I make a trip to New York, I'll have to check out her new location.

Tiare: Thanks for the video link. I'm going to watch all of those. :D

[primate77]

Some interesting videos... floating in and out of different accents and speaking about herself in third person kind of strange though.

Me thinks she's been doing a lot of sampling her own products while shooting video!!!:)

[Edward Hamilton]

It's a small world. I met Alberta Straub at the Pegu Club (http://www.peguclub.com) Tuesday evening. Her producer was with her, they're looking for some new sponsors, seems like that's the way of the world these days in the video business.

Alberta was surprised that I knew who she was, and I owe it to Tiare who posted a link to her website. She doesn't have any new material posted as of late, but is looking to do more in the future.