Personalities

H. Joseph Ehrmann

H. Joseph's Links:

Elixir

H. Joseph Ehrmann, better known as H., started his career in 1986 as a cook on the beaches of New Jersey, under New Orleans’ renowned chef Duke Locicero. He went on to cook, serve, manage and bartend in Boston, Orlando, Washington DC, Vail and Phoenix before completing an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird (where he also bartended). That degree landed him in Geneva, Prague and Madrid where he spent several years traveling and studying the flavors, agriculture and traditions (as well as the distilleries, wineries and breweries) of Europe. After the completion of his MBA, he worked in several countries, industries and positions, building small and medium-sized companies as both an employee and consultant. In January 2003, he left the corporate consulting world to return to his passion, the bar business. By November he had restored one of the oldest saloons in San Francisco and reopened it as Elixir.

Since the heyday of the Barbary Coast years, San Franciscans have been whetting their whistles on the corner of 16th and Guerrero under several owners, and under this proprietorship, they’re doing it with some of the finest beverages in contemporary California. On that corner, the second oldest saloon location in this Wild West town, H.’s Elixir menu revives the pre-Prohibition cocktail culture of the Barbary Coast while incorporating a focus on utilizing California’s abundant agricultural resources and San Francisco’s infamous creativity and artistic vision. As the first Certified Green bar in the United States, Elixir’s expansive cocktail menu and spirits collection focuses on the vintage, the organic, the local and the original, all while remaining a friendly corner bar. The bar has won numerous accolades for its cocktails, marketing programs, and atmosphere.

H. and his cocktails have appeared in numerous media outlets including ABC-TV, TV20, KRON 4,Telemundo, Sirrius Radio, NPR, The Tom Leykis Show, GQ, Esquire, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Health, Food and Wine, Imbibe, Valley Lifestyles, 7x7, San Francisco Magazine, Smoke Magazine, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, Beverage Media, Benefit, Restaurant Industry News, Cheers, Food Arts, Sommelier’s Journal, MSNBC.com, Tablehopper.com, CocktailTimes.com, ArdentSpirits.com and TheLiquidMuse.com. In addition, he was listed in Food and Wine’s “Top Tastes to Try in 2008”, was featured in the June 2008 cover story for Nightclub and Bar Magazine, his “Bloody Elixir” was named “The 20 Best Cocktails in America” by 2008 GQ Magazine and Elixir was mentioned in the 2008 Esquire Magazine’s “Best Bars in America”. 2009 began with H. receiving a Cheers Magazine Rising Star Award for his innovative work in mixology and his “commitment to the ‘greening’ of the cocktail and the planet, while still being on top of the importance of great taste and flavor demands by the guest”. He was a finalist for “Operator of the Year” at the 2009 Nightclub and Bar (NCB) Magazine 5 Star Awards and Elixir was listed in the Food and Wine 2009 Cocktail Book’s Top 100 Bars list. For 2010 he was named the 2010 NCB Bartender of the Year and was on the cover of the March issue and Elixir was listed in both Esquire Magazine’s “2010 Best Bars in America” in the June issue and “The Top 25 Cocktail Bars in America” in GQ Magazine’s August issue.