Editorial
San Francisco has been the West Coast cocktail reference since Bourbon & Branch opened in 2006 and Erick Castro and others reset what American bars could be. The 10 below span the Mission's neighbourhood-style places to the Tenderloin's serious speakeasies. The compactness of the city — most of these are within a 15-minute Lyft of each other — makes SF a genuinely walkable bar town.
The bartenders trained in SF rooms have spread to every American cocktail city. Trick Dog and Smuggler's Cove are the world-format-list institutions. The neighbourhood places (Comstock, Vesuvio) bring the warmth. Don't miss The Interval at Long Now — it's the most original cocktail-and-time-philosophy bar in the world.
West Coast Editor — Los Angeles to Mexico City. Casual luxury, never aspirational.