When I first moved to San Francisco in 2013, I was immediately spoiled by warm weather, beautiful city views, delicious cocktails, and Latin American cuisine. The rooftop views at El Techo de Lolina, fish tacos from Garaje & The Taco Shop, and pisco sours from Limon Rotisserie became happy hour staples. If you are new to the City, I highly recommend all of these establishments and more. However, by the summer of 2018, I found myself doing the math, both financially and calorically, and I decided it was time to learn how to make some favorites myself. In this post, I am going to start with three happy hour basics: the margarita, the pisco sour, and guacamole.
Margarita
A simple internet search will yield thousands of variations on this simple classic. I have nothing novel to contribute to that discussion. However, if you are still under the misapprehension that margaritas are made with tequila and margarita mix, I wanted to offer a basic recipe to help remedy the misunderstanding.
- 1.5 oz tequila (or mezcal)
- 1.5 oz freshly squeeze lime juice
- 1 oz Cointreau
Simply shake all ingredients with ice and serve.
Additional Thoughts:
- If you want to be fancy, rub a wedge of lime around the rim of a chilled margarita glass and salt the rim before filling the glass with ice.
- You can adjust the sweetness by adding sugar or agave. You can adjust the tartness by adding or reducing the amount of lime.
- You can easily add some spicy to this cocktail by adding chipotle powder or infusing the tequila with jalapeño.
Pisco Sour
The first time I tried a Pisco Sour was in Lima, Peru. However, Pisco Sours are also popular here in San Francisco. Fortunately, with a little bit of practice, they are quite simple to make at home.
- 3 oz Pisco
- 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
- 0.75 oz simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- Angostura bitters
Thoroughly shake the Pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, and egg white with ice until the egg white gets foamy. Strain into a glass. Top with 3 drops of Angostura bitters.
Additional Thoughts:
- If you are a pisco sour enthusiast, I recommend procuring coupe glasses for serving!
- Simple syrup is easy to make at home. Simply heat 1 part water and 1 part sugar on the stove until the sugar is dissolved. Store it in the refrigerator.
- Shaking until the egg white is foamy is an art. If you shake too little, the cocktail will have a slimy egg white texture. If you shake too much, the ice in the shaker will water down the cocktail. I’ve read instructions that recommend shaking for as little as 20 seconds. I tend to be thorough and go for 400-500 shakes. I’m sure the correct answer is somewhere in the middle.
Guacamole
Since I do not recommend drinking on an empty stomach and hear that monounsaturated fats are a great addition to one’s diet, I have been on the search for the perfect guacamole. Fortunately, I recently found it.
- White onion
- 2-3 tablespoons minced serrano pepper (or jalapeño)
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- Kosher salt
- 4 avocados
- 1 lime (juiced)
- Queso fresco or cotija
First, follow Chef John’s Classic Guacamole recipe. Second, top with Cotija or Queso Fresco. Third, enjoy!
Additional Thoughts:
- If you are searching for a salsa pairing and live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I recommend Papalote’s Chipotle Salsa