WHAT ARE THE 6 OLDEST BARS IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA?

San Francisco is really an iconic place on the west coast which greatly contrast with Los Angeles. You will not find much of anything old in Los Angeles whereas San Francisco offers an 'old world' feeling. Where to find to the oldest bars in SF I wondered?

(1) The Oldest is "The Embarcadero"
Old Ship Saloon was established in 1851
298 Pacific Ave., www.oldshipsaloon.com
The oldest bar in San Francisco (Elixir will have something to say about that), Old Ship Saloon is a bar made out of a ship hull that ran aground during a storm off of Alcatraz. It was later towed to the current location at the beach. Since renovated, the bar still preserves the memory of the ship.

(2) The second oldest is "Elixir"
Elixir was established in 1858
3200 16th St., www.elixirsf.com
Elixir has seen a lot going on since the Wild West days. In 2003, the bar was fully restored to its original glory by 'H', its new owner.

(3) The third oldest is "The Saloon"
The Saloon was established in 1861
1232 Grant St.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saloon
The oldest “saloon” in the city. Yes there are still saloons in the US.

(4) The fourth oldest is "Northstar Cafe"
Northstar Cafe was established in 1882
1560 Powell St., https://twitter.com/northstarcafesf
The oldest bar in the North Beach area with plenty of libations and free popcorns all day.

(5) The fifth oldest is "Shotwell’s"
Shotwell's was established in 1891
3349 20th St., www.shotwellsbar.com
Shotwell’s originally opened as a grocery store saloon by German immigrants with a backroom for beer drinking. Today it serves only beer, but many including craft beers from the Bay Area.

(6) The sixth oldest is Little Shamrock
Little Shamrock was established in 1896
807 Lincoln Way, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Shamrock
The oldest business in the Sunset-Little Shamrock area nearby the Golden Gate Park. The Shamrock first opened in 1896 to let people have a beer and play darts.

CALIFORNIA BRANDY IS COMING BACK: SAVE WHISKY DRINK BRANDY

Save Whisky Drink Brandy

California Brandy is coming back!

I have known it for a long time and it is starting to look like I was right.
Why I anticipated this revival?

When I came to California in 1996 for the first time I was surprised by the concept of 'single grape varietal'. A concept rather foreign to me as I was coming from the traditional blended grape varietals from the local appellation which is the way wines are presented in France. This discovery was later to become my impetus for producing Monteru Single Grape Brandyin 2008.

As I ventured into the wine world in the early 2000s in California and later into the distilled spirits it appeared to me that it was just a matter of time before California would reclaim the brandy category it once had.

===>The evidence were:

• California and its concept of wine and entrepreneurial way of life,
• California single grape varietal wine thriving business,
• Micro-brewery and later Micro-distillation boom,
• Spirits venturing into single ingredients such as Rye, specific type of Potatoes, wheat versus corn and etc. I noticed a real interest for studying the process and original ingredients,
• Regain and later explosion for the Mixology, combined with the search of better ingredients,
• People interests for organic, handmade, farm-to-table, sustainability, ... eventually culminating to local is better than far away things. A concept which is well executed by brands such as Tito's Vodka (starting from Texas) or FEW (starting from Chicago's suburbs) for instance.

All of these factors combined and symbiotically moving have increased my confidence in the return of brandy.

Recent Links:
The definitive guide to California brandy old and new
in San Francisco Gate
By Lou Bustamante, October 22, 2018
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-definitive-guide-to-California-brandy-old-and-13323980.php

California brandy is better than ever. Will consumers notice?
in San Francisco Chronicle
By Lou Bustamante, Oct. 20, 2018
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/California-brandy-is-better-than-ever-Will-13323976.php?fbclid=IwAR0hGYCS3fCwsy_yeChrX7DnTTvlvXvRxCjme1HK_fS35Yg1758euKLyQAU#photo-16334737

COPPOLA BRANDY MADE IN CALIFORNIA FROM DISTILLED DOLCETTO AND COLOMBARD GRAPES

After Gallo, the Coppola family is also getting into the brandy category.
What is going on!!!

"Maria Gaetana Agnesi 1799 Brandy from Francis Ford Coppola sourced by Family Coppola.
The grape based brandies for Agnesi 1799 are sought, sourced, and blended by The Family Coppola and our winery’s master blender from barrel stocks in California’s finest brandy distilleries.

Our initial brandy release is a blend of 2012 Dolcetto grapes from Russian River Valley and 2009 French Colombard grapes from the Central Valley. Agnesi 1799 is a true taste of California soil, ambient yeast, naturally filtered water, and warm climate of the Golden State. Through careful selection of barrels and delicate blending of water and spirit, our brandy assumes the best qualities of the artisanally-crafted individual spirits.

By sourcing brandy made in different types of stills, both Old World Alembic Charentais stills and modern column stills, and from various local grapes, we are able to craft a proprietary blend that we believe is greater than the sum of its parts." (from Coppola Website)

Small batch 5 years old Brandy!

TASTING NOTES

Nose

Layered cinnamon in front, small amount of tobacco. Hints of vanilla and almonds give it a well-rounded profile of oak characters.

Taste

Overall high complexity. Baking spices on entry. Small hints of clove. Toasted bread in mid pallet. Pleasant mouth coating, some sweetness in the mid-palate, and a silky smooth finish. Very clean overall, with some honey.

"Agnesi 1799 is as fine as any Old World sipping brandy, yet comes with no pretense that it’s above being mixed into your favorite cocktails" says Coppola.

Source & Photo: Francis Ford Coppola Brandy