Meet the Maker at Kuleto’s
Kuleto’s successful “Meet the Maker” Series continues this Thursday, from 5 pm to 7 pm. For $15, guests can sample South American wines hand-chosen by TasteVino Selections, expertly paired with small noshes from Kuleto Chef Bob Helstrom.TasteVino Selections is an online wine retail store and club that features the favorite South American wines of its co-founders, Irma and Morgan Robinson, a husband-and-wife team living in Napa. Along with Argentinian businessman and wine aficionado Julio Suarez of Buenos Aires, they bring an array of distinctive brands, blends and varietals of South America’s finest wines to friends, colleagues and community in the United States. Ticket proceeds benefit the San Francisco Food Bank. 221 Powell Street @ O’Farrell.
Cotogna Puts the Whole Hog on Sunday Supper Menu
This Sunday, October 27, Cotogna restaurant is offering pork lovers a chance to go hog wild from 5 pm to 9 pm. Cotogna’s Whole Hog Supper ($55) starts with a Charcuterie plate, then continues with Tortelli alla Carbonara, Mixed Roast of Wolfe Ranch Pork, and a cheese course with sheep’s milk Pecorino. Dessert is Seckel Pear poached in Riesling. Wine pairings are available for an additional $29, featuring St. Magdalena "Huck am Bach," Cantina Bolzano, Alto-Adige 2011; Ribolla Gialla, Ronchi di Cialla, Friuli 2011; Dolcetto d'Alba, Roagna, Piemonte 2011; and Moscato d'Asti, La Caudrina, Piemonte 2012. Make reservations online or call 415-775-8508. 490 Pacific Avenue, in historic Jackson Square.
Judge - or Just Watch - a Cocktail Competition at RN74
What better way to celebrate the release of two new Barrel Reserve Gins than a cocktail contest? Distillery No. 209 and Michael Mina’s renowned RN74 are hosting a cocktail competition on Tuesday, October 29. The fierce, bracket-style competition pits eight of San Francisco’s top bartenders against each other for a prize of $500 and a Napa Valley get-away. The first round begins at 3 pm and will feature No. 209 Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Reserve Gin. Round two will focus on No. 209 Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Reserve Gin. In the final round, at 5:30 pm, RN74’s Chef Adam Sobel will present three surprise dishes to the two finalists, who will then have to create and pair three different No. 209 Gin cocktails. The event is free and open to the public, with complimentary bites from RN74 and $5 No. 209 Gin signature cocktails. Cocktail enthusiasts will serve as judges, and “judgeships” are still available for the first two rounds of the competition, for a fee. Judge spaces include food and beverages; call 415-543-7474 or email lriemens@rn74.com for further details. 301 Mission @ Fremont.
Range Releases New Cocktails for Fall
Say goodbye to Summer and raise a toast to Autumn, this week at Range. Bar Manager Tayler Buffington has just rolled out a new Fall menu of $11 cocktails. The Wellington combines Bombay Gin with Madeira and Gran Classico for a fairly straightforward Negroni variation. Back to Babylon, made with Tito’s Vodka, pomegranate, Cocchi Americano, cinnamon, orange flower water and lime, is juicy and delicious. Sticks and Stones tastes a bit like a chocolate-covered blueberry, with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, blueberry-cinnamon shrub, Carpano Antica Vermouth and lemon. And the Autumn Sweater knits together Rhum Barbancourt, apple, Oloroso Sherry, Allspice Dram, lemons and bitters for a spicy, nutty, apple-y comfort cocktail. 842 Valencia @ 19th.
It’s Tea Time at Alembic
If your ideal Tea Partier looks more like Alice in Wonderland than Sarah Palin, Alembic has a cocktail for you. Bartender Danny Louis has created “high tea cocktails” that are served in classic tea pots and china mugs and are meant to be shared. Available Monday through Thursday from noon to 5 pm, the two tea cocktails are made with handmade shrubs from Bar Jars' Larry Piaskow. They include the Secondhand Smoke (lapsang souchong tea, Cardamaro, Laphroaig 10 year and pear cardamom shrub) and the Drunken Tea Leaf (Sutton Vermouth, Becherovka, chamomile tea and rhubarb vanilla shrub). A single tea cocktail is $10, and tea cocktails for two is $18. 1725 Haight Street @ Cole.
