Winter Cocktails: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Today we get to try some Christmas rum drinks courtesy of one of the greatest rum bars there is: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco. This is one of the coolest bars I've ever seen, and has the biggest rum selection I've ever seen. The bartenders here, headed by Martin Cate, are Tiki masters, and the menu boasts some ancient, classic, and contemporary drinks with complicated and secret recipes. You can see a little more information on Smuggler's Cove here in a post during Amaro April.

Martin has kindly donated recipes for two of their delicious winter cocktails - the Spiced Manhattan and the Wilford Brimley. The former is familiar but uses both a Jamaican rum and a spiced one from St. Lucia that brings Christmas flavours like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla, and citrus. The latter cocktail employs a hot buttered rum batter, the recipe for which Smuggler's Cove keeps secret, but there are plenty of variations online that you can try. (Here is Zig Zag's recipe on the Small Screen Network, for example.) The finished product, as Martin puts it, "should look like a cappuccino. It gives you a white milk mustache when you drink it, hence the name. It's the ultimate caloric death bomb."

Cheers to Smuggler's Cove for the holiday recipes and for being an amazing bar! If you're anywhere near San Francisco, this has to be your next bar visit.


Spiced Manhattan – by Justin Oliver
1 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross rum
1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Bittermens Tiki Bitters

Stirred over ice and served with an orange twist.


Wilford Brimley - by Dane Barca
1 heaping barspoon of hot buttered rum batter
1 oz Coco Lopez coconut cream
1 oz  Lemon Hart 151 rum

Cream ingredients together in 6 oz irish coffee glass. 
Fill with hot water.
Float 1 oz lightly beaten and sweetened cream on top.
Top with grated cinnamon.

[ A note to Canadian drinkers: unfortunately we can't get Dolin vermouth nor Smith & Cross rum up here, so you'll have to substitute as you see fit. Of the sweet vermouths available, Cinzano Rosso and Carpano Antica are the only ones worth using. As lovely as Carpano is, it has a tendency to overpower certain drinks, so keep that in mind. For the rum, Chairman's is available though likely only through independent stores, and the Smith & Cross can be substituted by another Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate (the 12 year is my favourite for the price). ]


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]