June 16, 2009

This Saturday June 20th is the ~ST. GEORGE SPIRITS SUMMER OPEN HOUSE~! They open up the hangar doors, fire up the stills, and let you get a close-up look at the distillation process in action. Your entry includes three cocktail tasters, food from La Cocina and 4505, Absinthe root beer floats with a custom root beer sorbet, live music, shuttle service, and a few cool surprises. Also included: tastings of most of their spirits.They are providing shuttle service between the West Oakland BART station and the Alameda Main Street ferry building to and from the distillery. Shuttle service from West Oakland BART starts at 12:30pm and continues every half hour until 5pm. Yes, the shuttle is free, just show the driver your Open House ticket and get on! Main Street ferry service at 12:15pm, 1:50pm, and 3:45pm. Tickets are available in the distillery store and by phone for $35 (during tasting room hours). Call 510-864-0635 (Wed–Sat noon–7pm) to order your tickets. Tickets will be $45 at the door. Cash only at the door. This is a 21 and over event. Please bring your picture ID! 1pm–6pm. St. George Spirits/Hangar One Distillery, Alameda.

Ay, dios mio, this event may get you into trouble: Duggan McDonnell of Cantina and Joanne Weir are doing a ~TEQUILA TASTING~ in honor of Weir's newest book, Tequila: A Guide to Types, Flights, Cocktails and Bites. You'll get to learn about the brewing, distilling, and aging process, how to appreciate Tequila in a vertical tasting, plus how to make a couple drinks in the cocktail portion of the class, and there will be fantastic Mexican food from El Huarache Loco. AND you get to leave with a copy of the book. It all goes down on Thursday June 25th at La Cocina from 6pm–8pm. $60 per person. 70% of all ticket sales are tax-deductible. Buy tickets here. 2948 Folsom St. at 25th St., 415-824-2729.

~FARALLON~ has kicked off a happy hour program called 6 until 7, which features six bites and six drinks for $6 each from 4:30pm–7pm every night. They're serving fried oysters with lobster relish, wild mushroom gnocchi, and the Jack Rose cocktail, just to name a few items. (These items are only available in the bar areas.) You can peek here at a PDF of the menu. Farallon is also celebrating their 12th anniversary for the rest of June with a four-course menu of Farallon classics for $65, and an additional $35 for wine pairings. 450 Post St. at Powell, 415-956-6969.

Who knew? ~LIMON ROTISSERIE~ in the Mission has a new lounge downstairs that is open on the weekends (serving wine and bites). Read all about it in Urban Daddy. Looks like it would be a perfect party rental space. 1001 South Van Ness Ave. at 21st St., 415-821-2134.

From June 24th–June 28th is the fifth annual ~PINOT DAYS~, culminating in the Grand Tasting, featuring 200 acclaimed pinot producers and their spectacular 2007s. In an effort to share the weight of the %$#$ economy, they reduced their Grand Festival ticket price by $15, so it's only $50. The tasting event will run from 1pm–5pm on June the 28th. There are special talks, tastings, dinner and more: check it all out on the site.