I organized a happy hour for a group of ladies this past Thursday at Teardrop Lounge. One half of JnJ had mentioned it several times, raving about it, and I was glad to finally get to see that those reviews were so very well deserved. It was also awesome to get all these wonderful ladies who I knew worked downtownish together for some gushing over A’s recent engagement and catching up with each other- the time just seemed to fly by and I felt like I didn’t get to talk to everyone as much as I wished. I guess we’ll just have to do it again.

I started out with one of the three Happy Hour Special drinks for $5 (they also discount off of any wine or beer)- the “House Sake Sangria” of Junmai Ginjo sake, brandy, Oregon pinot gris, spice blend, citrus, and Viridian Farm berries. The fact they serve it with chopsticks for fruit picking is genius and thoughtful. As I watched them spoon it out of a punchbowl, I wonder why at all the sangria I’ve had this summer I have yet to see a punchbowl. Are punchbowls only for old fashioned people?

I also felt nurtured by the “San Francisco Swell” $10 (Brooke Arthur, Wo Hing, San Francisco), created from Appleton Reserve rum, lime, mint, blackberry honey, Angostura bitters, egg white, Chandon brut sparkling, and clearly touches of love. I believe the information in parenthesis is the name of the original mixologist, their cocktail place where they offer that recipe, and city, so I felt a bit like a fancy traveler doing sophisticated drinks around North America.

Next for me was “Beer & A Smoke” for $11 (Jim Meehan, PDT, NYC), a concoction of del Maguey Vida mezcal, lime, Cholula, Dos Equis Lager, Bitter Truth Celery bitters. This tasted both dirty and healthy at the same time. You have to like smokeyness… which I do.

Final beverage(s) of the night: Vuelo de Agave “the way they do it in Mexico, kind of” as recommended multiple times by Alyssa. This was a flight of Siete Leguas tequilas (helpfully all labeled- so there was from left to right the Blanco, Reposado and Anejo) and 3 house interpretations of sangrita made with heirloom tomatoes (Spanish Style which the bartender rattled off a long list of ingredients that made my head spin, Tomato Water, and a Roasted Tomatillo that called for a slow roasted careful roasting process). The tequilas gave me a friendly burn, but those sangritas were really kickass- I can imagine a life where I drink all those sangritas everyday. It took a lot of self-restraint to not knock down those sangritas and instead take little sips from each of the 6 glasses back and forth, exploring combinations of tequila and sangrita.

All the drinks here are beautiful and tasty. Because we are enjoying an Indian Summer the front wall was basically thrown open so we could enjoy the sunshine and breeze while we waited for our handsome bartenders in striped shirts and suspenders and bow ties to shake up and create the works of art that are our sexy drinks. You can’t help but feel the dedication to the liquid arts in every sip.