Santa Clara County’s mandatory closure of bars and restaurants has left a bit of a void for many. Some miss the food. Others, the socializing. For me, I miss the cocktails. While I am no stranger to executing high quality cocktails in a home setting, that isn’t true for everyone. The first week of quarantine showed just what lengths my friends on social media would go to in an attempt to create a passable drink with what was on hand.

However, fear not! Although our nearest hope to sit and order a drink in a bar is close to a month away, there is a new option for the home cocktail enthusiast. Within a few days of the shelter-in-place orders across the state, the California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control agency  relaxed some of its laws to help restaurants and bars stay afloat. This change included the option of cocktails to go, an option previously associated with mass produced products in aluminum cans rather than craft beverages.

These are some of the places in the area that are offering cocktails to go. Every week it appears that more bars and restaurants are creating to-go menus, but here’s what I’ve found as of this writing. Apologies to any establishments I have missed:

Haberdasher
43 W. San Salvador St., San Jose
haberdashertogo.com
Haberdasher is known for its high quality drinks and presentation, and their to go selection is no different. There are many items to choose from in both single serving and large format options. Other items available include small bites, cigars and private stock bottles of whiskey.

Paper Plane & Miniboss
62 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose
og-supergood-paperplane-miniboss.square.site
The sister cocktail bars of Paper Plane and Miniboss have combined all of their offerings, as well as the offerings from Original Gravity and Super Good Kitchen, in one location. All items can be ordered through one site and picked up at Super Good Kitchen. Original menu cocktails from both locations as well as special barrel selections of whiskey can all be purchased. Be sure to order early, as they have been selling out of their stock over the weekend.

55 South
55 S. 1st St., San Jose
A large rotating menu of cocktail options are available for pickup from 55 South. For the current menu, look for their Instagram feed and give them a call to order.

Braise
1185 Lincoln Ave, San Jose
braisewillowglen.com
Single serving, spirit forward classics are available at the moment with more cocktails to come in the next week. A rotation of house creations, tiki classics, cocktail kits and sparkling cocktails are available, as well as beer and shot combos, full bottles of wine and more. (Disclosure: I run the bar there.)

The Table
1110 Willow St, San Jose
thetablesj.com
The Table offers a list of several signature cocktails in formats that serve either 2 or 4. Open 5 days a week, at the moment, and offering brunch on Friday and Saturday, you have a large window to pick up drinks from The Table.

Black Sheep Brasserie
1202 Lincoln Ave., San Jose
bsbwillowglen.com
Although not specifically advertised on their Instagram food menus, there are a few choice selections available from the Black Sheep crew. Call in advance for their current offerings to pair with your to go dinner.

Aqui
aquicalmex.com
With many locations around the South Bay, there is one main reason why this is on the list: Industrial Swirls to go. Let’s not pretend like we haven’t all wanted this to happen at some point. There’s a hard limit and food is required for every order, but these are small obstacles to overcome.

Luna Mexican Kitchen
1495 The Alameda, San Jose
1875 S. Bascom Ave,
Suite #570, Campbell
lunamexicankitchen.com
Although limited to two offerings, the LUNArita and a house sangria, both locations of Luna Mexican Kitchen are moving cocktails and food seven days a week, with a large order and pickup window to keep everyone satisfied.

Zona Rosa North
1411 The Alameda, San Jose
zonarosadining.com
Zona Rosa is another quality Mexican food purveyor that is offering margaritas and sangria for to go orders. They have two locations to serve and are available for delivery through Door Dash so you can sit back and relax.

Sushi Confidential Campbell
247 E Campbell Ave, Campbell
sushiconfidential.com
Jason Seele of Los Gatos Sodaworks has teamed up with Sushi Confidential to serve up some award winning craft cocktails out of the Campbell location as well as Sodaworks itself. Do yourself a favor and try their barrel-aged Grand Larceny!

Orchard City Kitchen
1875 S Bascom Ave #190, Campbell
orchardcitykitchen.com
One of the juggernauts of the food and drink scene in the South Bay, Orchard City Kitchen has many cocktails available to go. Their famous OG Milk Punch and a few others are served in large-formats to satisfy those OCK cravings in the comfort of your own home.

Water Tower Kitchen
201 Orchard City Dr, Campbell
watertowerkitchen.com
Available through DoorDash, Water Tower Kitchen in Campbell is offering a few large-format drinks like their house Lily’s Rose Punch and a spicy margarita. And, come on, never pass up a few White Claws delivered to your door.

Lexington House
40 N Santa Cruz Ave ste A, Los Gatos
thelexlg.com
The sister restaurant of Black Sheep Brasserie, The Lexington House is not only serving up a myriad of house and classic cocktails, but bottles of house selected alcohol as well. The Herb Slinger and The Professional are among some of my favorites at the Lex.

The Bywater
532 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos
thebywaterca.com
A handful of New Orleans style classics and other favorites are available to add to your easy online food orders, including The Bywater’s excellent clarified ramos gin fizz. All cocktails will serve two.

Oak & Rye
303 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos
oakandryecatering.com
Oak & Rye was the first place I heard was doing to-go cocktails as soon as it was legal to do. They’re offering a half dozen items along with their food that can be picked up or delivered.

Sidecar
25 E Main St, Los Gatos
sidecar7.com
Four house cocktail options are available order through Sidecar’s online store. All cocktails serve two.

Hero Ranch Kitchen
14583 Big Basin Way, Saratoga
theheroranchkitchen.com
Bloody Mary’s, old fashioneds, and their awesome clarified piña colada are among the items available to-go from Hero Ranch Kitchen. They’re also very known for their selection of fine wine at great prices, so keep an eye out for those specials on their Instagram.

The Hut
3200 The Alameda, Santa Clara
thehutsantaclara.com
Currently offering their frozen cocktails to-go, this is a good stop if you’re sheltering in Santa Clara. Plus, you can’t pass up that BBQ.

 

While all of this is new and a little scary, the hospitality industry is doing what it can to adapt. As the Bay Area takes the necessary precautions to overcome the health crisis, we’re likely to see more and more options become available. Each one of them makes us remember what it was like to sit with friends at a bar or restaurant, but more importantly, every time you make a purchase from a small business—such as nearly every entry on this list—you support their chances of reopening strong when the shelter-in-place orders are lifted.

Hopefully we can all do our part by going out to get some great cocktails to take home and drink in the comfort of our respective homes. Never thought I’d get to say that.