From my travels to California in 2016, I consumed my fair share of beer, wine, and cocktails. Here are 5 of my favorite drinks from the year:
Favorite New Beer Bar
Taplands – my new favorite taproom, bottle shop, and neighborhood brewery next to Santa Clara University. The shop pours over 20 different craft beers on tap along with bottled beers, snacks, and sandwiches. The one thing I don’t like about this place is that I wish they opened sooner when I was still in school and living nearby
Taplands
1171 Homestead Rd #110
Santa Clara, California
Monday to Wednesday, 3pm to 10pm
Thursday, 11am to 10pm
Friday and Saturday, 11am to 12am
Sunday, 9:45am to 10pm
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink
Shrub drink at SHED’s Fermentation Bar. Shrub is made of fruit juice, sugar, and yeast made into a vinegar syrup. The drink combines the syrup and soda water which makes for a refreshing drink. At SHED, the Fermentation Bar makes their own shrub syrups according to seasonality of local ingredients
SHED Fermentation Bar
25 North Street
Healdsburg, California
Monday, 11am to 9pm
Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 9pm
Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 9pm
Closed Tuesdays
Favorite Pre-Dinner Cocktail
Mio Mao at Pizzeria Delfina. Gin, Aperol, lemon, cucumber, mint. After my 2015 trip to Venice, I fully appreciate a refreshingly cold glass of Aperol spritz. This drink combines my appreciation of Aperol and preference for gin-based cocktails into one perfect pre-dinner refreshment
Pizzeria Delfina
4 Locations in San Francisco, Burlingame, and Palo Alto
Favorite Happy Hour Cocktail
The Mortar & Pestle at Mortar & Pestle. Eagle Rare 10 year bourbon, Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, honey syrup, basil, ginger, sumac, and Jamaican bitters. A refreshing cocktail for those who prefer bourbon-based cocktails. At the bar, you can also order snacks from the Curry Up Now menu featuring Indian inspired bites
Mortar & Pestle Bar
2 Locations in San Mateo and San Jose
Favorite Classic Cocktail
House Negroni on tap at Zero Zero. Hendrick’s gin, Carpano Antica, Gancia Americano. There is something magical about Italian cocktails that start a meal with excitement and open up your appetite for a hearty feast. Zero Zero’s negroni has a depth in every sip because of the on-tap system and their in-house blend
Zero Zero
826 Folsom Street
San Francisco, California
Sunday to Thursday, 11:30am to 10pm
Friday and Saturday, 11:30am to 11pm
