{"id":20450,"date":"2025-01-14T18:15:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T02:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crawlsf.com\/?p=20450"},"modified":"2025-01-14T18:17:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T02:17:04","slug":"cocktails-invented-in-union-square-and-where-to-try-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crawlsf.com\/cocktails-invented-in-union-square-and-where-to-try-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocktails invented in Union Square and Where to try them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with native San Franciscan, Will Herrera, owner of one of Union Square\u2019s coolest modern bars; Harlan Records. Union Square is the pulse of San Francisco\u2019s downtown. Historically it has been a hub for the city\u2019s nightlife. The greater downtown encompasses Union Square<\/a>, the FIDI (i.e. financial district), Jackson Square, Lower Nob Hill and The Tenderloin.Downtown was hit hard by the pandemic shut downs. It was a risky area to open a business, when restrictions were first lifted. Following the shut downs, Herrera was one of the early entrepreneurs to bet on downtown. He genuinely believes in the appeal of the neighborhood and put all of his money and time into creating his dream bar there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harlan Records is a remarkable space in many ways. It is the perfect balance of past meets present. Harlan Records is a modern vinyl bar. The place has a mid-20th Century Vibe and an approachable menu designed for every taste and budget. The spirits selection is curated by Herrera, with a limited selection of quality product that will appeal to a wide array of people. Bartenders at Harlan Record\u2019s also serve as the venue\u2019s DJ\u2019s. Herrera has collected a huge collection of vinyl albums throughout his life. They span many genres and decades of music. His bar staff is encouraged to choose music that fits their taste and to share it with the customers.They are allowed to show their personalities and connect with the guests over music. The staff strives to be welcoming to people from all walks of life and to use music as a common ground. The bar is not a dive. It is not a stuffy and pretentious high end cocktail bar. It is a place where you can get a simple bottle of Miller High Life or a nicely executed Old Fashioned, with an above average bourbon, and a large ice cube. Harlan Records really is the every man\u2019s bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foot traffic in downtown was fairly light, in September of 2022, when Harlan Records first opened. When I asked Herrera why he was willing to take such a risk, he replied that downtown is his favorite neighborhood- it is the soul of the city. He compared San Francisco to other great metropolitan areas, such as New York and Chicago. He explained that other cities have steadfast characteristics, that attract a certain type of person. These cities can be more easily defined. San Francisco, however, is defined by the people that live there. That is, the people that live there, in any given moment. It is always changing. This is part of what makes it so resilient. He opened his bar with a \u201cbuild it and they will come\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herrera\u2019s observation on the impact of the people on the city, rather than the city on the people, is quite astute. San Francisco has been nick named, \u201cthe Phoenix\u201d. No set back, big or small, has ever stopped it, from getting back on its feet and redefining itself. In less than 200 years San Francisco has seen great earthquakes, devastating fires, economic downturns, and two pandemics. The city always bounces back. It comes back better and stronger. From the days of the Gold Rush, to the modern \u201cTech Boom\u201d, the city has attracted risk takers, entrepreneurs and outside of the box thinkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco is a place where the past meets the present. Those born here and those who came here and adopted the city as their home, care about its past, its story and preservation of legacy businesses. San Franciscans are also great innovators. The city is full of trailblazers, who have brought many important ideas, creations and innovations to the world. The first thing that pops to mind, is the impact of the recent technology revolution. But even, in more subtle ways, such as our nightlife, this city and its people are trailblazers. San Francisco\u2019s bartenders, bars and cocktail creations have impacted the world wide bar scene from the late nineteenth century to modern day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union Square has been the most significant neighborhood, in regard to the city\u2019s nightlife<\/a> and bar scene. Some of the most important cocktail books, in history, were written by Union Square bartenders. Some of the most famous cocktails, in the city and the world, originated in Union Square. Some of the city\u2019s most important bartenders and mixologists worked in Union Square, early in their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below I have highlighted some of Union Square\u2019s most important original cocktail creations. I have listed spot where you should go to try them. I have tracked down the whereabouts of the creators that are still with us, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use this list to create your own Union Square Bar Crawl<\/a> experience. The venues are all incredible and the drinks are delicious. You will notice that many of the drinks, on this list, are whiskey cocktails and three are riffs on the king of cocktails; the Manhattan. Union Square is a neighborhood to drink Manhattans and other drinks in the Manhattan Family. See our article, top five Manhattans in Union Square to learn about more awesome spots to enjoy cocktails while in downtown SF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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