Embrace the season with these winter rum cocktails in San Francisco

Finding your way to Bar Nonnina is part of the fun. Step inside Fiorella, a modern Italian spot in the Inner Sunset, and you'll be greeted with a welcome cocktail as the host walks you upstairs, past the rooftop bar, into this intimate space. Bar Director Dan Burns crafts an impressive cocktail menu incorporating seasonal ingredients and isn't afraid to be playful. This winter, he's debuting the Chaianna, a hyper-local drink full of warm spicy holiday notes. The cocktail pairs Oakland's Wright & Brown rum – full of caramel, oak and vanilla notes – and Chico Chai’s original chai recipe. On top, a heavy whip infused with Brucato's "Orchards" amaro, gives it more nuttiness, cinnamon and orchard fruit notes. "We think you should drink it in front of our fireplace on a really cold day," Burns says.

Step back in time into the historic, art deco-inspired Redwood Room inside the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel, which has been a go-to spot for sipping cocktails since it opened the day after prohibition was repealed. Warm up among walls paneled in redwood and order the Velveteen Dream, a more complex take on a classic espresso martini. Bartenders replace vodka with a cacao-infused rum, paired with Mr. Black Coffee liqueur, vermouth, and a unique combination of bitters to offset the sweetness. The drink is served over one large ice cube, making it all too easy to tilt back.

If the name of this cocktail intrigues you, run don't walk to Members Only, a new two-story bar and restaurant in Lower Nob Hill. Don't let the name stop you – it's supposed to be satirical. This playful and rich drink includes a donut-washed rum mixed with cold brew, NOLA liqueur, cream de cacao, as well as cinnamon and chocolate bitters. “It tastes like dunking a chocolate glazed donut into a cup of fresh coffee,” Jae says Bar Director Candice Jae.

Ernest Hemingway forever changed the history of the daiquiri, so the story goes, by asking a bartender to make a double daiquiri with no sugar. The bartender replaced the sugar with floral marasca cherry pit liqueur and a bit of grapefruit, creating what's now known as the "Hemingway Daiquiri." At the Cavalier downtown SF, their take uses a Nicaraguan-aged rum with a dash of cachaca (sugar grass distillate) from Brazil for structure and vegetal character. The result: the Papa Doble, which you can sip all winter long at this London-inspired brasserie, located next to Hotel Zetta.

The iconic Tonga Room in Fairmont Hotel is an institution in San Francisco — and you'll find delicious rum cocktails here all year long. One in particular to give a whirl this winter is the "Hurry Kane," an ode to their namesake bar and Tiki god who "protects all who gather here." The drink mixes Barbadian and Overproof rums with cognac, lemon, passion fruit and port. 

Situated in the Van Ness corridor, the Madrigal is a favorite local spot for artisan cocktails and shareable plates. The cocktail menu is constantly rotating based on season, and this winter, the Pliny's Potion offers diners a rum-based drink that infused with fig cordial, Nocino – a sweet and slightly bitter Italian liqueur made with unripe walnuts – Oloroso sherry, and Blackstrap bitters.