In between board meetings in San Francisco this weekend I was able to stop into Rickhouse (246 Kearny, 415-398-2827,
www.rickhousebar.com), one of my favorite places to enjoy a cocktail in the City. Rickhouse is a a venerable temple to the cocktail revival movement, with plenty of thirsty parishioners. I arrived a few minutes before the bar opened at 6 pm Saturday and there was already a short line. This isn't surprising during the week given the bar's location in the financial district, but on a drizzly Saturday this is a testament to Rickhouse's popularity .
My first cocktail was The Paper Plane (Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino and Fresh Lemon Juice )
Amaro Nonino is one of many different varieties of Amaro ("Bitter" in Italian) liqueurs. The base alcohol for Amaro Nonino is grappa, it is infused with herbs, grain alcohol, caramelized sugar, rhubarb, saffron, sweet orange and tamarind and aged for 5 years in an oak cask.
Burbon and Aperol always mix well together. The Amaro Nonino added a layer of bitter orange that mixed well with the sweet orange and fresh lemon. This has inspired me learn a bit more about the wide vairiety of Amaros out there and see what they bring to classic cocktail combinations.
