My # 1 event for this week's festivities is this Friday's grand outdoor happy hour that SF Cocktail Week organizers are calling 'Bayou on the Bay.'  'Boozin' by the Bay' sounds better to me, though, and is much more descriptive of what really will be going on.

Taking place at Epic Roasthouse's little slice of the Embarcadero (just south of the Ferry Building), some of San Francisco's best mixologists will be mixing up their unique creations as the sun's rays grow long. (Although—please!—the SFCW website calls them "legendary:" First of all, they're not legendary, they're real. Second of all, let's not get ahead of ourselves—they're bartenders, most of them quite young.) It should be a lovely way to close the work week and usher in a relaxing and sunny weekend. After witnessing some of the partying that has already been going on, I'll be curious as to the states of certain people come Friday evening.

But, anyway, I'll be there, slurping up a few Barbary Flips, the official and, dare I say, most delicious cocktail of Cocktail Week, which features Sagatiba Velha cachaca, Sky Pineapple vodka, Benedictine, egg white, lime, and Driscoll Farms strawberries for garnish. See the recipe here.

Proceeds from the event are to benefit New Orleans' Museum of the American Cocktail, hence the Bayou in the official title.

Here's the official statement from the website:

SAN FRANCISCO COCKTAIL WEEK PRESENTS:

“WORLD COCKTAIL WEEK HAPPY HOUR; BAYOU ON THE BAY”
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
$30 per person. Admission includes two drink tickets and snacks prepared by Epic Roasthouse. Additional drink tickets will also be available for sale.
Epic Roasthouse, 369 The Embarcadero, San Francisco

Join us for Friday afternoon cocktails and celebrate Bayou on the Bay as we share a toast to World Cocktail Week and enjoy San Francisco’s best ambiance, swilling at the best cocktails shaken up by some of San Francisco’s world-renowned bartenders. Legendary local mixologists, such as Duggan McDonnell, Jon Santer, Dominic Venegas, H. Joseph Ehrmann, Jeff Hollinger, and Epic Roasthouse’s own Camber Lay will be mixing one-of-a-kind cocktail creations, which they will individually develop for this event.
Proceeds from Bayou on the Bay will benefit San Francisco Cocktail Week partner, the Museum of the American Cocktail, a Big Easy institution that has helped to define today’s cocktail culture and heritage.

This event will also double as Drink Me Magazine’s second issue release party. Those of you who are familar with Drink Me (and even those of you who have yet to learn about the magazine) should head to the Drink Me website and sign up for their mailing list in order to learn how to qualify for an additional drink ticket at this event.

All guests must be 21 & over, please.
Tickets for this event are available through Snag Tickets. Additional drink tickets can also be purchased in advance through the same link for $7.00 each. Drink tickets purchased on the day of the event will be $9.00 each.