048 – San Francisco

A Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the 1937 ‘San Francisco’ cocktail.

Lock-down has inspired me to explore this lost cocktail, a celebration of Vermouth and Sloe Gin, strangely turning up in England in 1937 and mostly lost to time. With the renaissance in Vermouth, it’s time for the city-by-the-bay to bring it back!

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ #Locktail ‘San Francisco’. From the harbour-city to the city-by-the-bay.

METHOD – Add 30ml Sloe Gin (Plymouth Sloe style, I suggest Dasher & Fisher from Tasmania, Australia), 30ml Lillet Blanc (French Vermouth), 30ml Carpano Antica (Italian Red Vermouth) and 3-dashes each of Regans’ Orange Bitters No.6 and Bokers Replica Bitters (or similar Cardamon Bitters) into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake until cold (10-15 seconds) and strain into a chilled coupe, martini or cocktail glass.

HISTORICAL NOTES – First appearing in William J. Tarling’s 1937 ‘Café Royal Cocktail Book: Coronation Edition’, the recipe is a three-part Sloe Gin, Sweet Vermouth and Dry Vermouth combination. Very different to the more recent Vodka, Crème de Banane, orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine mix, which just isn’t a quality cocktail.

As mentioned above, there is a later (no clear date of origin) ‘San Francisco’ that calls for Crème de Banane, Pineapple Juice and more. Not a tropical, tiki or other cocktail class, it is not surprisingly a rare and unpopular cocktail. Time to bring back the 1937 version, I think, with great Vermouth choices.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘San Francisco’ is not on any of the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) official cocktail lists. Other than ‘published recipes’ there are no official ‘San Francisco’ cocktails.

TASTING NOTES – Firstly I tried the more modern Crème de Banane version, and I won’t inflict that on anyone. Going back to the 1937 William Tarling version, the selection of Vermouth (both Italian and French) and Sloe Gin (generally English) changes the cocktail so much depending on your selection. As you can see from the video above, even using great ingredients, this can move from a ‘middle-of-the-road’ cocktail to an exceptionally good one. My recipe above is an exceptionally good cocktail with great balance – sweet, sour, bitter and balanced.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – Changes are the selection of ingredients detailed in the recipe. A more ‘tart’ Sloe Gin if you can, like the Dasher & Fisher from Tasmania. Lillet Blanc (French) and Carpano Antica (Italian) Vermouth’s that just go so well together. Sometimes called a ‘Perfect’ when Italian and French Vermouth is combined in harmony, perhaps this is a ‘Perfect San Francisco’.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is the eighth cocktail of the 1931-1940 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.