By Dina Novarr–
In the heart of San Francisco’s vibrant nightlife scene, behind the bar where rainbow lights dance across bottles that cost more than most people’s shirts, Sabatino stirs more than just cocktails. He’s mixing hope, community, and decades of hard-won wisdom into every drink he serves all while sporting stubbles of glittery silver that scream, “I survived.”
As Pride Month bathes the city in its annual celebration of authenticity and love (and now losses of corporate sponsorships), Sabatino’s story stands as a beacon for trans youth navigating their own journeys. He is living proof that you can, in fact, make it as a trans person despite what certain politicians would have you believe.
“When I was 13, I started my transition journey,” Sabatino reflects with the calmness of someone who’s survived a lifetime of explaining himself to strangers. “Throughout the decades, what I come back to is not only the support and love of my family and friends, but also the trans adults who guided me and led the way for me to become my authentic self.”
His sense of calm and strength in occupying his space is pure Pride, the kind that comes from outlasting your critics through sheer “white walker”-like persistence.
Those trans elders who showed him the path forward now live on in his approach to community building. Every young trans person who walks through his bar doors sees in Sabatino what he once desperately needed to see: proof that a future exists beyond the comment sections of news articles.
The cocktail Sabatino has crafted for Pride isn’t just a drink—it’s liquid San Francisco, distilled into something you can swallow and sniff. Meet Sab’s San Francisco Sour.
Each ingredient represents a facet of the city that embraced him. San Francisco’s legendary acceptance of queer, trans, and multi-careered individuals created the perfect environment for someone like Sabatino to build both a life and a legacy, assuming you can afford the rent.
“I’m so grateful for San Francisco nightlife and to be a part of queer and trans joy for a living!” he exclaims, managing to make “joy for a living” sound like the dream job it actually is. “To see smiling faces and glittered dancers, vibrant colors, and unapologetic queerness. My cocktail is a little love letter to this city that allowed me to be me, and to be celebrated for it.”
Beyond his craft behind the bar, Sabatino is also a talented costume designer, and helps bring the art of drag to glittering life, creating garments that allow performers to transform into their most spectacular selves. His workmanship doesn’t just clothe bodies; it armors spirits, providing the visual poetry that makes drag the revolutionary art form.
In an era where drag faces political persecution (because apparently democracy dies in sequins and wigs), Sabatino’s needle and thread become instruments of defiance. Every sequin he sews, every feather he places, every piece he designs stands as a testament to the beauty and importance of gender expression in all its forms. His costumes allow drag artists to take the stage not just as performers, but as living, breathing celebrations of authenticity and joy—which, coincidentally, terrifies fascists. His very existence—successful, celebrated, and surrounded by community—becomes an act of resistance and hope that no amount of legislative tantrum-throwing can erase.
When young trans patrons see those silver hairs behind the bar, they’re not just seeing age. They’re seeing achievement, survival, and the beautiful possibility of a life lived authentically. “I hope that the young trans people that come through my bar feel welcomed and see that trans longevity exists!” he says, because apparently existing past 25 as a trans person is now a political statement. “I hope my gray hairs give them hope for their future in this world, though we still fight tooth and nail for our existence.”
So, let’s raise a glass to Sabatino and the countless trans elders who paved the way, and to the young people bravely carrying the torch forward into an uncertain future. After all, a cocktail tastes better when it’s mixed with decades of earned wisdom and just a hint of righteous indignation.
2 oz bourbon (because you need something strong)
1/2 ounce hibiscus simple syrup (pretty and pink, like the city’s politics)
1/2 lemon (for all the sour faces you’ve endured)
1 egg white (frothy like the ocean)
3 dashes peach bitters (life’s bitter, add peaches)
pinot noir float (the Sonoma touch that says, “I’m fancy now”)
In a bar tin with ice, combine bourbon, hibiscus simple syrup, half a squeezed lemon, peach bitters, and one egg white. Shake for 20 seconds like you’re shaking off decades of other people’s opinions. Strain into a rocks glass. With a bar spoon, float pinot noir on top like your dreams floating above reality. Garnish with a lemon peel and serve with a knowing smile.
San Francisco-based Dina Novarr enjoys sharing her passion for fine wines, spirits, non-alcoholic craft beverages, and more with others.
Cocktails with Dina
Published on June 26, 2025
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