The Boozy Bay

One girl's dream to wet her whistle across the San Francisco bay and then come home and tell everyone about it.

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10 Best Low-Calorie Summer Cocktails

Want to keep your bikini body intact but don't want to spend the summer sipping light beer? You need to try these amazingly creative (and delicious) options

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Umbrella Drink // pineapple infused Wild Turkey Rye, cinnamon bark syrup, creme de banana, lemon, Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters, absinthe Finch & Fork, Santa Barbara CA

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Buckaroo // whiskey, creme de fraise, ginger beer, lemon (Also secretly gum syrup and bitters, I was there I saw) @ Natoma Cabana, SF

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Wagonwheel: bourbon, coffee, maple syrup, scotch cream Hopscotch Oakland

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Evad'O: Peach Ciroc, peach purée, pineapple juice, lime MUA Oakland

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Calcutta Collins: hendrick's, lemongrass, grapefruit, lemon

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Lavender Martini//Chambord vodka, lavender infused Bianco, pineapple

I asked the bartender about Bianco and learned that it was a sweet, pale vermouth-- he told me that he presses fresh lavender seeds over and over into his Bianco until it turns a light purple to make the lavender stand out. And stand out it certainly does-- drinking this martini was like sipping on providential France. Vodka is already hard to taste and the pineapple provided some tart to the vermouth's sweetness but was otherwise very subtle-- it's Ecco's signature drink and happy hour price made it an affordable $7. -2 shots because it was sweet as hell... which is maybe why I feel so terrible this morning?

8/10 shots

Burnt Rosa// Hendricks gin, cucumber, lime, rosemary

I only managed a few sips of this off Annie's drinks (and she got a second after swiftly downing the first one), but this is probably one of the most refreshing gimlet-variations I've ever had. If you're someone who edges away from cocktails with fears of sex-on-the-beach type judgy glances from the people around you, fear not-- this is a drink for you. There's little to no sweetness to this drink, just the natural flavor of cucumber in the Hendricks and the odd feeling of having swallowed a garden. But it's a delicious garden. Even the sprig of rosemary that garnished the drink had been seared with a blow torch to add a smokiness to the fresh lime and cucumber. Beautiful and delicious.

9/10 shots

Ecco Pizzeria & Bar, Costa Mesa, CA

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Hawker Fare: Jackfruit Daiquiri

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I can't find details of this online because my Flash player has specifically decided not to show me (only) the cocktail menu of Hops & Hominy. 

Porkchops & Applesauce

bacon-infused bulleit bourbon, apple schnapps, house made sour

Quite possibly the most interesting (and german) cocktails I've ever tasted. Also quite possibly the most manly drink I've ever had out of a long-stemmed martini glass. 

It's hard to resist the double-dog-dare that the menu presents when you see something like bacon-infused bourbon (and bulleit too! one of my favorites) in a cocktail, although I definitely wussed out a little when I got it. However, fear not, the bourbon tastes less like bacon and more like a campfire in the drink itself. The P&A is actually surprisingly sweet at first (bourbon cocktails, I've noticed, usually are-- bourbon's sweeter than other whiskeys so it only makes sense) but the smokiness really rounds it out. I'd say the applesauce is more like a crabapple-- it presents an unexpected bitterness that's balanced nicely by the sweetness and touch of sour. It's a heavy, ponderous drink-- prepare to sip, not down. Interesting idea and interesting execution. The presentation was a bit of a let down-- I'm not one for crazy garnishes, but with such an adventurous beverage I feel it could've looked a bit more appealing. Wouldn't say it was my favorite drink, but props to Hops & Hominy for trying something out of the box.

6/10 Shots

Hops & Hominy

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Cinchona Bubbles: Champagne, lychee, rose water.

If Keats had designed a cocktail, this might have been it. Deceptively beautiful, the champ keeps it so dry, avoiding the pitfall of sugar induced hangover. Lychee balances perfectly— gives it a hint of something curious without being too dramatic. Barely tasted rose water (but do I ever taste the rosewater?) but found it rounded out the Cinchona with a definitive floral aftertaste. Elegant and well poured.

8/10 shots.

Hops & Hominy. 1 Tillman Pl. San Francisco, CA.

http://hopsandhominy.com/

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Boot & Shoe Service: 3308 Grand Ave, Oakland, California 94610

Diablo Cocktail

tequila, lime, ginger, creme de cassis & cane syrup

the problem with going to a place with a lot of great cocktails is that I inevitably end up paying $8 for my pizza and $25 on my beverages. The promise of ginger AND creme de cassis, despite the pairing with tequila, made this one too tempting and I gave in. No regrets: the Diablo was probably my favorite of the night. Just as refreshing as the look-alike Hook&Hammer but the ginger really added a great rounding of flavor to the otherwise fruity drink. The only issue was that because lime, ginger, and tequila have really strong flavors, I could barely detect any cassis-- a shame, because that shit is delicious. 

8.5/10 shots

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Boot & Shoe Service: 3308 Grand Ave, Oakland, California 94610

The Whiskey Cocktail

bourbon, homemade gomme, angostura & orange bitters

Kirin's first and only needed drink of the night, the Whiskey Cocktail tasted like a solid old fashioned, only without all the frills of sugar and cherries and shit for all you weak sauce out there (i.e. me). At the time of order we did not know or care what "homemade gomme" was, but after a quick google search, gomme syrup turns out to be just a kind of sweetening agent made of traditional gum syrup-- the advantage of use being that it gives alcohol-heavy cocktails like this one a silky texture while bringing down the potency of the bourbon (which is basically 95% of this cocktail). 

Not being connoisseurs of gomme syrup, our first impression of this drink was "well, you asked for a whiskey cocktail"

6/10 shots

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Boot & Shoe Service: 3308 Grand Ave, Oakland, California 94610

Hook & Hammer

bourbon, lime, lavender honey, campari & angostura bitters

I saw this one on the menu and told Kirin, "DIBS"

The lavender honey is fantastic in this. Combined with the herby citrus taste of the bitters, it's almost like earl grey lime cocktail, if that makes any sense. It's fruity yet floral and extremely refreshing, and, as I discovered, extremely dangerous. 

8/10 shots