Get the Pitcher: Cocktails by the Jug

Enjoy your pre-dessert cocktails on the patio at this Palo Alto resto/chocolatier and pay just $20 for a pitcher of one of their signature drinks (Leo's Lemonade, Pineapple Mojito, Mai Tai, etc.) during happy hour, 5:30pm-7pm daily.

This Outer Richmond Mex restaurant is known for its epic tequila selection, so it's no surprise that the pitchers of margs are legit: Each jug has eight ounces of 100-percent agave tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

If you've ever wondered why the outside tables at this North Beach wine bar are packed with attractive (if somewhat sloppy) 20-somethings on the weekends, it's because they serve bottomless mimosas--made with uncommonly decent champagne--by the pitcher between 11am and 3pm.

Both Mission and Haight locations of this legendary tapas spot are great for groups, partially because of the tasty, shareable small plates, but mainly because the sangria (available by the carafe) is some of the best in the city.

FiDi workers head to this local bar for after-work drinks, but since single cocktails are a whopping $9 each--though totally worth it--save a few bucks by sharing a pitcher of blackberry cabernet caipirinha or five-spice margarita.

Part WiFi dessert cafe and part after-work bar, this Union Square joint serves its bottomless mimosas and strawberry-studded sangria in carafes--plenty of booze for a party of two or three.

The ambrosial cocktails at this hip Senegalese spot in the Mission feature exotic flavors like ginger, tamarind and hibiscus; even better, they offer a buy-one-get-one pitcher special from 5pm to 7pm.

This Brazilian cocktails-and-tapas place in SoMa rocks the caipirinhas like no one else--fresh-fruit drinks featuring Leblon Cachaca with fresh mango, raspberry and passion fruit, among others--and they're available by the glass or the pitcher.

While not technically a pitcher, the pisco punch at this swanky old-school Financial District bar (from the same minds, and cocktail geniuses, behind Bourbon and Branch) comes in a punch bowl big enough for four; after a really bad day, you may want to keep it all for yourself.