Cable Car (cocktail)

Proof that spiced rum can make a serious drink. Tony Abou-Ganim built it in 1996 for the Starlight Room atop San Francisco's Sir Francis Drake Hotel, where the Nob Hill cable cars pass by. Those cable cars gave the drink its name and the bar its line about sitting "between the stars and the cable cars." Structurally it is a Sidecar with spiced rum in place of brandy: orange curaçao, fresh lemon and a little sugar, with a sugared rim. The spice reads as warmth rather than sweetness, which makes it a good pick for anyone who likes a citrus sour but wants something cozier than a Margarita.