A lightly sparkling cocktail of Peruvian pisco, pineapple-infused gum syrup, lemon and a touch of cold water. The defining Gold Rush-era San Francisco drink.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Pisco Punch was made famous at the Bank Exchange Saloon at Montgomery and Washington from the 1860s through Prohibition, under bartender Duncan Nicol who closed the recipe to the grave. Rudyard Kipling drank it in 1889 and wrote it tasted of clouds. Modern bars reconstructed the formula using period accounts; Comstock Saloon in North Beach pours the canonical contemporary version, and most San Francisco classic-cocktail bars now feature it.
Tip from the editors. Stir, never shake. The original was prized for its clarity and lightly viscous body from the gum arabic; a hard shake aerates the drink into something else entirely.
Comstock Saloon in San Francisco is the North Beach saloon reopened to a 19th-century template, with the Pisco Punch made to the long-lost Bank Exchange.
Signature drink: Pisco Punch
Food: Bar snacks, full dinner menu
Tip: Order the Pisco Punch and a plate of Welsh rarebit at the bar; the back dining room takes reservations.
Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco is the Tenderloin Prohibition-style speakeasy, with a password door, a 200-page bourbon menu and a Sazerac that runs.
Signature drink: Sazerac
Food: None
Tip: Reserve a slot and ask for the password by email; the walk-in bar in the back room is easier than the front.
Pacific Cocktail Haven (PCH) in San Francisco is Kevin Diedrich's Union Square cocktail room, with a Southeast Asian flavour palette and a kaffir lime gimlet.
Signature drink: Kaffir lime gimlet
Food: Snack menu
Tip: Sit at the bar for Kevin's spec sheets; the room takes walk-ins after 22:00 reliably.
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