Traveling to a new city can always be a bit daunting. Unfamiliar streets, unfamiliar restaurants, unfamiliar landmarks and, possibly the worst, no knowledge of where to go for a good cocktail to calm your nerves.  Cocktail Town takes the guess work out of that problem and shows you around the cocktail hotspots.
This is the travel guidebook booze hounds have been looking for. The project isn’t all about books, though. It’s actually a combination of a website and a series of coffee table style books. The first book in the series covers the cocktail scene in San Francisco. Starting first with a look at the local distilleries (Distillery 209 and St. George) and followed by a look at classic ingredient producer Small Hand Foods.
Then the book gets into the meat of the topic, the cocktail hotspots of the area. Each spot has an overview of the atmosphere and the feel of the cocktail menu (i.e. classic cocktails, twists on favorites, etc). In addition, Cocktail Town includes a signature recipe from each spot. The photography and recipes alone were enough to keep me flipping through this book. The photos are stunning and the recipes highlight the creativity of the bartender’s craft.
If you’re looking for an introduction to the cocktail hotspots in the San Francisco area and some great recipes, Cocktail Town is well worth a look. The web site includes the same info as the book and supplements the recipes with how-to videos, so that’s where I’d start.
†The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.