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Just posted our review of the California Rum Festival 2018. Pictured here are some rare vintage rums from Smuggler's Cove that we were able to sample!  #rumfestival #rum #rhum #pirates #rumfest #smugglerscove #californiarumfest #distilleries #spirits


✅Samaroli 2008 Review  1⃣TASTING
Overall: This is a complex whisky that transforms during a tasting. It’s very hard to place a distinct flavor, and the ethereal taste seems to meld into different flavors while you sip. The first note for me is always a soft smoke but it turns toasted marshmallow-y and a bit like strawberry balsamic. Sometimes, I taste dark chocolate. The end tends back toward smoke, with a pop of peat and ginger.  2⃣FUN FACTS ABOUT SAMAROLI:
First non-Scottish and non-English independent Scotch whisky bottler  One of the early pioneers of bottling cask strength whiskies in the 1980s and also one of the first to embrace no age statements transparently  Samaroli is known for their Laphroaig bottlings, including one that went for 60,000 British pounds in a recent auction  Silvano Samaroli recently passed away in 2017. Although he had given over management to Bleve, he was still heavily involved in the blending until his passing, thus catapulting many pre-2017 to collector’s items.


Just published the Japanese cocktail on our site. Despite its name, there are no Japanese ingredients. Instead, the cocktail was named after a young interpreter for the first Japanese delegation to the US. 
2 ounce cognac
0.5 oz orgeat
2 dashes angostura


✅ The Golden Tuxedo is a malty take on a Martini with a dose of sweet golden raisin and a splash of sea salt. The drink is an adaptation of the Tuxedo cocktail, itself a riff on a martini - but using sherry instead of vermouth. 
In this version, we used Genever instead of London Dry Gin and a mix of PX and manzanilla (a sherry made in the same way as fino sherry, but is aged by the ocean) sherries instead of fino sherry.  The tuxedo was originally published in Albert Stevens Crockett's 1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days, and the cocktail was invented in 1880s at the Tuxedo Club near Jersey City. 
1⃣ Ingredients
2 oz Genever (Bols)
.75 oz Manzanilla Sherry
.25 oz PX Sherry  2⃣ Time
3 Minutes  3⃣ Instructions
Add all ingredients to a glass with ice, strain and pour into cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lime twist


Our first spirits review is up... Clynelish 14. As you can see, we sampled it amply before reviewing. Dessert whisky with orange marmalade, honey, marshmallow and faint smoke. The base of Johnny Walker gold  #smoke #drinks #scotch #alcohol #dram #review #whisky #whiskey #clynelish


The conundrum at Mystic Room and Tavern in San Francisco. Slightly hidden hotel room bar with an impressive back bar and housemade and house barrel aged spirits. 
Conundrum features shitake infused scotch and cynar. @mysticroomsf  #cynar #scotch #mixology #sfbars #sanfrancisco #hidden #underrated


Best thing to do in SF on a Saturday? The $20 tasting at K&L (today is vintage champagne) and the free tastings at whisky shoppe. 
@klwines 
#wine #whisky #bubbles #brunch #champagne #flight #drinkstagram #sanfrancisco


Doing a 209 Gin tasting, including some wine barrel aged gins. Am loving the sauvignon blanc barrel aged one.  #209gin #gin #tasting #whitechapel @whitechapelsf @distillery209 #polkstreetirregulars  #psi #sfevents #bars #distillery


The display inside @rambler_sf hotel lobby. Someone really likes @stgeorgespirits's terroir gin... #beautiful #gin #stgeorge #lobby #art #bottles


Enjoying the Red Corvette at The Rambler in Union Square SF. Never knew this place existed until @giltcity
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.
Ingredients
Macallan 10 year fine oak
Carpano antica
Fruitlab orange liqueur
Cherry
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#greatcocktails #macallan @fruitlab_usj #fruitlab #carpanoantica #whisky #giltcity #sfrestaurants

Featured Articles

5 Recommended Single Malt Scotch Whiskies under $50
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5 Recommended Single Malt Scotch Whiskies under $50

2020-11-10 Michael L 0

We’ve tried a few hundred single malts at this point, so we finally feel qualified to recommend whiskies. Before we

We Tried Cocktails To-Go During COVID-19
Bars Best Cocktails San Francisco 

We Tried Cocktails To-Go During COVID-19

2020-04-01 Sylvia L 0
What to Make with Laphroaig
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What to Make with Laphroaig

2019-09-24 Sylvia L 2
Cocktail in front of a mirror with a lemon garnish, the mirror reflects the cocktail
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Cocktails to Make with Cognac

2019-06-03 Sylvia L 0
Lagavulin Vertical Tasting: Which Lagavulin Bottling is the Best?
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Lagavulin Vertical Tasting: Which Lagavulin Bottling is the Best?

2019-02-16 Sylvia L 2
Several leather couches in front of beautiful, multi level bar with art on the walls and a painted cieling
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Top 3 Cocktail Bars in Singapore for Dates

2019-02-05 Michael L 0

About the Authors

We are a San Francisco-based duo of cocktail and whisky enthusiasts. We're always happy to connect! You can read more about us here and get hold of us here.

Sylvia and Michael

Recent Articles

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