Exercise your 21st Amendment rights by drinking more than your fair share of booze this week.
Drink to the Repeal of Prohibition
Friday, December 5 marks the 81st anniversary of the 21st amendment, which repealed prohibition. To celebrate, 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco and FIVE Restaurant and Bar in Berkeley are commemorating the day with special treats. At FIVE (2086 Allston Way), you'll find a special 1930's-style Blood and Sand cocktail made with scotch, orange juice, sweet vermouth, and cherry heering, which you can get for $8 by mentioning the secret password, "Smoky." At 21st Amendment Brewery (563 2nd Street), the party kicks off at 5pm. Wear your favorite zoot suit or flapper costume (or not) and pick up a picket sign at the pub for the annual prohibition protest parade through the neighborhood. At 6pm, 21st Amendment co-founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O'Sullivan will tap special casks of beer and make speeches to the tune of a 7-piece Dixieland band. The upstairs mezzanine will be transformed into a Speakeasy for the evening, where high rollers can buy into poker, blackjack, and roulette games until 9pm, then cash in their chips for a raffle drawing giving away special 21A swag. You'll need a password to enter the Speakeasy, and you'll have to follow @21stAmendment on Twitter or Facebook to find it.
Barbary Coast-Themed Cocktail Pairing Dinner
If the Dickens Fair is a bit too family-friendly for you, The Soiled Dove might be just the ticket for your dirty mind. Described as a "circus-infused, theatrically presented, gourmet culinary extravaganza set in SF’s notorious Barbary Coast red light district," the cheeky cocktail dinner features Barbary Coast drinks that were popular in the 1800s, made from the published recipes of pioneering bartenders. Infamous cocktails such as The Barbary Coast, The Shanghai Kelly, and The Soiled Dove will accompany a five-course gourmet meal and a cast of commoners from the heart of San Francisco, circa 1890. Guests will mix and mingle with Emperor Norton, Shanghai Kelly, and a crew of 40 mostly shady characters as they transform the Mission space into a baudy brothel and refined drinking-hole. Tickets are available online for $120 per person (21+) for shows on December 4-6, and 11-13. 633 Florida Street
Drop Trou, Raise Awareness in the Santa Skivvies Run
Did you know you can raise money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation this Saturday by frolicking in the Castro in your most seasonal skivvies? The Lookout is once again sponsoring the annual Santa Skivvies Run, which invites everyone, naughty or nice, to don their gay apparel, or favorite festive costume, or just strip down to your undies to raise awareness and fight HIV/AIDS in the community. Show up in your knickers at the UN Plaza between 7:30 and 9am to enter the run, which will proceed down Market Street to Noe around 9am. Or just show up at the block party on the street next to The Lookout and drink hard hot chocolates flavored with chocolate raspberry, salted caramel, and coconut espresso liqueurs for $5 each, served in a souvenir Santa Skivvies mug. 3600 16th Street
Drink Like a Stark at Blackbird
Winter is coming, and Blackbird is ready with a long line-up of Game of Thrones-themed cocktails for $9. Bar Manager Matt Grippo and his entire staff are die-hard fans of the mad kings and gruesome battles, and they know they're not alone. They're inviting all you local lovers (and haters) to warm your toes by the fire with a stiff drink in hand, providing you don't expect an actual fireplace and you don't take your shoes off. Choose from several Game of Thrones-inspired cocktails, including Milk of the Poppy (Mexican style eggnog, cognac, cinnamon mulled wine), The Red Wedding (gin, cranberry doug fir shrub, sparkling wine), and the flaming (really!) Mother of Dragons (scotch, Amargo Vallet, yellow chartreuse, red blend wine, honey). Unlike the dark, chilly taverns of Westeros, Blackbird now accepts credit cards. 2124 Market Street
Robert Mondavi Winery Hosts Idyllic Holiday Scene
If your fantasy Christmas card involves a horse-drawn buggy, hot apple cider, and a bottle of wine, you'll want to bring your camera to the Robert Mondavi Winery Annual Tree Lighting Celebration in Napa this Saturday. Starting at 3pm, guests can taste wine and other holiday beverages, snack on Italian cookies and cheese and charcuterie appetizers, sing along with carolers under the arch, and take horse and buggy rides through the To Kalon vineyard. The tree lighting ceremony begins at 4:45pm, with 89-year-old Mrs. Mondavi herself lighting the tree. Admission is $25 for adults, or free with a canned food donation for the Napa Valley Food Bank. 7801 St Helena Highway 29, Oakville
Send drinking suggestions to renee@grassrootspr.com.
