We’re pretty solidly into spring, which means new spring cocktail menus. And, boy, there’s a bunch. New spring menus, plus some recent additions to the craft cocktail scene (joining the excellent Curadero), means there’s a lot to write about in the next few weeks. Let’s begin with some highlights from three new menus, plus a spring-cocktail-themed soirée.
Polite Provisions
The Adams Avenue cocktail bar released an epic new menu a couple of weeks ago featuring more than 80 cocktails laid out in a coloring-book format. The menu includes old(er) favorites—like one of mine, the slightly savory Rite of Passage (London dry gin, bianco vermouth, basil eau-de-vie, sea salt)—little-known classics from the 1930s, and a section called “Hometown Heroes” that honors San Diego’s cocktail scene with drinks like Christian Siglin’s Eastern Prospector (bourbon, lemon juice, orange tea, and honey) and David Kinsey’s Kinsey Cocktail (Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and orange bitters). If you can’t find a cocktail to love on this menu, there might be something wrong with you.
Coin-Op
The North Park arcade-themed bar introduced several new drinks (though, I was stoked to see La Migra, one of my favorite cocktails—which recently got some love from the New York Times—is still on the menu). Try the smoky, spicy Sunset Riders (El Silencio mezcal, Ancho Verde liqueur, lemon, and cinnamon syrup) or The Great Fairy Fountain (Tequila, lime, house passion fruit syrup, and an absinthe rinse). It’s garnished with thin-sliced cucumbers that you’ll want a whiff of with each sip.
It’s Springtime for San Diego Cocktails
Grass Skirt’s Professor Feathers
Grass Skirt
The popular Pacific Beach tiki bar releases its new menu tonight (April 26), when all cocktails will be $8. The six new drinks check all the tiki-cocktail boxes. You can’t go wrong with Aloha Beaches (pineapple-infused rum, coconut rum, lime, vanilla, demerara syrup, and banana), or Professor Feathers (Jamaican rum, overproof rum, pimento dram, lime, pineapple, coconut, banana, cinnamon, and mango). For folks who don’t do the rum thing, there’s the Melbourne Manhattan (bourbon, sweet vermouth, coffee-infused bitters, and tiki allspice bitters).
US Grant Hotel
A new Grant Grill cocktail menu’s on the way, but the hotel is hosting a one-off spring cocktail soirée is happening Thursday, April 27, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $60 and include vegan cuisine by executive chef Mark Kropczynski. “Chef de Bar” Cory Alberto’s cocktail menu (click on the link above to see all the offerings) features clever concoctions with ingredients like a purée of roasted golden beets, finger limes, rosehip liqueur, and oro blanco grapefruit.
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It’s Springtime for San Diego Cocktails
Coin-Op’s Sunset Riders | Photo: Kelly Davis
