To shake up your maverick mix-master within, get schooled at the Beverage Academy, one of the best things to do in San Francisco, a bona fide cocktail college served up by the acclaimed barmen at Bourbon & Branch. In the tavern’s sultry-smart library, up to 16 neophytes can get schooled in everything from the history of gin (“From bathtubs and back alleys to the upper class”) to the different processes of distilling booze and the accoutrements that work well with each spirit. It is a lesson in history and, admittedly, sounds a tad nerdy-there may be a PowerPoint presentation involved.