Bitters + Bottles

I signed up for the subscription service as a Christmas present for my husband. What a great gift for a man who is impossible to buy for. And really, let’s be honest, it’s a gift for me too. The owners are SO helpful and nice. They actually respond to emails! like within the same day!!! The packaging is so upscale and the recipe cards are classy. This is the best gift I’ve purchased for my husband in a long time. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. .. Valentine’s Day? ;-)

It simply does not get any better than this.
You will just have to visit and see for yourself :)

What a great store and so unexpected. It is hard to find a place that has such an excellent assortment of spirits anywhere I can think of in the Bay Area. I would expect to find a store like this in San Francisco – but no.
If I had not be on Grand Avenue in South San Francisco I might have never discovered this great store. The bitters are delightful and all of the glassware and accessories are superb. I am very picky about my spirits and equally so with glassware and accessories. I looked at their price points and they are completely competitive.
Gin is popular but given its popularity it can be hard to find an assortment of greater than 10. I think there must have been 25 if my count was correct (update: there are 100 gins!) They were divided into old world (London Dry) to newer styles.
The sales person was superbly knowledgable and had a thought about everything I pointed at. I cannot wait to go back for their tasting.
A fantastic purveyor of fine spirits.

Super cool unusual liquor store — it is not large — but highly specialized. would be a great place to find stocking stuffers or unique liquor gifts for the hard to shop for person on your list. It is not a large store, but the salespeople are knowledgeable and can help you.

It’s a liquid candy store for adults! I just had to check this place out after I missed out on a gift exchange item that came from here. It was a pomegranate cosmo kit that looked so cool that I had to go get one. The selection here is amazing. If you are looking to expand your home bar and really impress your guests with some serious crafted cocktails, you need to go here to stock up. I saw everything from little known whiskey and bourbons, to a wall full of vodkas.
I was so close to getting a green tea vodka — must go back for that later. Staff are super friendly and want to make sure you get what you need. If anyone picked my name for Christmas, go here and make me happy!
Happy holidays!

I live on the East Coast and ordered several of the TSA travel cocktail kits to a tight holiday departure timeline. When it looked like the parcel wouldn’t arrive in time I contacted Bitters & Bottles; Meredith couldn’t have been more helpful. She worked her magic and my kits arrived with a few days to spare before departure. The kits themselves are inventive and beautifully packaged. They have great quality and unusual liquors. All that remains is to actually drink them! :)

Could you find a better liquor store? I doubt it. No beer or wine here just 100% liquor. Everything you would need for cocktailing and a solid selection of American whiskeys.
I found myself unable to find a particular brand of Pisco and had visited a handful of solid shops in SF. I’d followed Bitters and Bottles on Instagram for a while and decided to check it out and they had at least 5 different Pisco brands. The shop is a gold mine for any home cocktailer. The owners are super nice and welcoming as well. Highly recommended next time your looking for that bottle of whatever. Check this place out.

Their selection of bitters is one of the best I’ve seen. The liquor selection is no slouch, either. If Willy Wonka ran a liquor store, it would be not unlike this place! The two people running the store were friendly and helpful, without being smothering.

South San Francisco is rapidly becoming my new favorite place, in no small part to Meredith and Joe of Bitters and Bottles! I stopped in the other day, while staying in the area on business, to discover what Meredith calls, «an adult candy store!»
Meredith and Joe are super down to earth, warm and friendly people, not at all pretentious — which is rare enough in the fine spirits trade, but in the Bay Area? Freaking unicorns!
If you are at all into cocktails, you have got to get down here, stat. They stock a TRULY remarkable collection of spirits, mixers, and bitters from around the world. I say this as the part owner of the world famous Boozatorium, which has been twenty years in the making and curated from the kinds of trips anthropologists and archaeologists make on the reg.
I asked Joe what was a real highlight, and he pulled out of his hat sweet potato liquor! I had no idea, and believe me I have been soused on nearly every continent. I immediately bought it as a present for the Boozatorium co-​owner and host, my best friend Carol (don’t read this Carol, not till after tomorrow). I also bought some delicious cherries, a mixer that had the Colonel all over it (maple and smoke?)
I went back tonight for a tasting, held Thursdays and Saturdays, and ended up buying… curry bitters! I mean, where else am I going to find that?
The store carries tons of accoutrements for your bar, as well as books galore, which is just such a genius thing when you think about it, I mean who doesn’t like to drink and read? They also offer a subscription service, with curated spirits, mixers, and recipes to get you exploring. Seems like a great gift idea with the holidays coming up.
Finally, who can resist their literal doggie in the window, Imogene, a French bulldog who is also their director of marketing.

Not every time I write a review. but every time I do go to Biters + Bottles, I pick up something there. They just have a great selection, and mostly of the good stuff you will not find at the big stores.
The plus is the service. Walk in no matter what, and you will receive the same great attention that the staff, owners, provides. So do what wonder about what I picked up, cause these guys and girls will definitely help you find what you want to be sipping on…

EYE CANDY!
What initially caught our attention was a cute French Bulldog that lay in a comfy doggie bed in the window of this storefront. Okay, you got us there, as we love anything cute and with a wet nose!
Gazing up, we saw a curious display of what I thought to be antique bottles and such. Bottles all right! Amazing and beautiful bottles filled with libations galore, just waiting to satisfy all those who appreciate whetting their taste buds with some amazing liquor.
Having recently traveled to San Juan and the Grand Caymans, we discovered a new appreciation for rum. Quickly repress all those memories of your drunken college days with the cheap mixes of rum and coke, and appreciate all the wonderful subtleties of truly fine distilled rum that can be found here. We did, as we will be enjoying a 23-​year old Dominican rum, Kirk and Sweeney.
In addition to rum, one will discover a wonderful curated selection of: brandy, vermouth, vodka, whisky, bourbon, gin, scotch and cognac. Initially, I had thought that the liquor was arranged on the shelf by type, but it is not. They are arranged by flavor, so you may find rum in one area, but yet a spicier one elsewhere.
They also carry a selection of tools for mixing drinks, barware selections and a wonderful array of bitters. What’s amazing is that B&B offers tastings of any and all of their bitters. Just as Jack Rose Libation in Los Gatos can mix you a great craft cocktail, you can learn so too after visiting B&B. Meredith and Joe are there to assist you in finding that perfect bottle (s) or to get suggestions on mixing some of your favorite drinks!
My new «drink du jour» is the Dark and Stormy. I discovered this drink while in the Caribbeans and am now trying to duplicate this refreshing drink made of dark rum, ginger beer and lime. Joe recommended that we use Fever-​Tree ginger beer, just as a very nice bartender at Gary Danko uses. Of course, B&B would carry one of the best!
Another reason to pay a visit to this wonderful shop is for their tastings on Thursdays. Samplings vary depending upon the distributor or liquor merchant serving that week.
What an amazing little gem of a liquor shop that sits along this popular South San Francisco street. We had visited this downtown restaurant and shopping area many times, as some of our favorite restaurants have made a home here, and thank goodness Bitters & Bottles has as well.

Love the floor tile and wall display of beer/​wine/​spirit accessories.
I am not a heavy drinker but coming into this shop reminds me of stepping into a shop in SF but now it’s in SSF (way easier parking) for one thing.

Whatever you need they probably have it. Great customer service! This is where it’s at!!!

This place is COOL. The store is beautiful and the owners are informative, chill and their dog is sooooo cute. (Heart eyes)
They have a huge selection of specialty liquors and distilled spirits. The bitters selection is ridiculous! They have a tasting bar for the bitters. They had flavors like saffron and cardamom. I’m in heaven. They host tasting on the weekends. I will be back for one of those or all of them. Haha

I enjoy whiskey. Sometimes I crave a fine single malt scotch, sometimes an american craft bourbon, once I was in the mood for some obscure japanese whiskey. The selection here satisfied whatever random desire I’ve had.
The prices here varies. For that common stuff that you can find at say bevmo, you’re probably better off not buying that here. Unless they’re having a sale, which seems rare, but I’ve found decent deals. The more obscure stuff is similar compared to other stores. It never hurts to be an informed shopper. Overall, I feel the prices are quite competitive.
Very pleased to have this place on Grand ave.

A great place to go for hard-​to-​find mixers. A great selection of shrubs, simple syrups, liqueurs, and of course bitters. Their liquor selection appears to be expertly curated as well, and bear repeated trips for further investigation.
Prices are quite reasonable; despite the classy interior and obvious care that’s gone into selecting their stock, they don’t charge a premium.
Service is friendly and knowledgeable. Extremely helpful if you need a hand making a selection, or if you want to brainstorm cocktail ideas.

This small but spacious shop is located on Grand Ave took over Frank Griffa & Son Hardware Store (diagonally across the street from Bank of East Asia). There’s only street metered parking available that can be difficult to find on the weekends. Evenly spaced products on the shelves with wooden creaky floors that adds to the appeal of the place. Cool drink hardware on the front table and hanging on the wall on the right. Assortment of bitters by the cashier.
This place is heaven-​sent for my BF who loves whiskey. They carry his favorite Japanese Whiskey and was better priced than online, plus he can drink it right away. A lot of their business is from their online cocktail subscription. They also have tastings, just check their calendar. We came 30min too early and didn’t want to pay more for parking as we were in the area for dim sum earlier.
Our Purchases:
Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey 18: $ 168
Nikka Pure Malt Whiskey 17
Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer: Alcoholic
When we walked in, we were instantly greeted and offered assistance. The BF wanted to try other whiskeys and asked the gentleman of other recommendations. He suggested the Hibiki but the BF hasn’t been a fan so the gentelman suggested the Nikka. Still not as smooth as the Yamazaki but more pleasant than the Hibiki.
A lady employee there commented on the Jamaican Ginger Beer saying that it was better than Crabbie’s since it’s less sugar and has more of the spicy ginger taste. Went home to try it and she was spot on! Absolutely loved it.
Friendly people and love the setup. Definitely should check this place out!

I had some time to kill while I was waiting for Shakeel the iphone guy to fix my phone, and since we are having a party I thought I would check out this little shop. Boy, had I stumbled into an awesome place. They had an amazing selection of mixers and liquor in a beautiful setup, and I was super impressed. I talked to both people working their, and they were both fun and informative to talk to. I decided to get a small batch bourbon and some tonic syrup based on their recommendations. Even the prices were good.
Overall, this is an amazing place. I live in the city, and I’m sure there are places like that around, but I’ll be tempted to drive back just to go to this place again.

Bitters+Bottles!
What can I say? I stumbled across this hidden gem in South City on Wednesday
as soon I walked in Meredith one of the owners approached me and ask if I needed any help? We quickly started talking food+drinks it didn’t take long for me to figure out that Meredith has great taste just like her store. So if you are in need of great Spirits/​cocktail ingredients/​barware come to Bitters+Bottles everything they have is of great quality and both the owners are so friendly.
P. s. Meredith if you ever need a baby sitter for Imogene call me. Oh yea they are dog friendly

Great little liquor store right off of Grand Ave. If you’re into making your own craft cocktails or just looking for a bit more variety, this is certainly one of the places to go. Since opening, the owners have expanded their offerings to items that are typically hard to find. Whether you’re just curious or want to learn more, their staff is very open.
Some of the more typically available whiskeys etc. are more expensive than your wholesaler, but that’s expected. I can’t really speak much to the bitters and other less common liquors though. If I spent more time mixing my own drinks… this is definitely a place to go.