With colder temperatures and new seasonal ingredients creeping in, we’ve hit the lab to create easy-to make cocktails that your guests will love. As a bonus, we went through each recipe to find ways to pre-batch the cocktails for parties or large groups.
Decorative Gourd Season
Since August ended, you haven’t been able to check Instagram without seeing a pumpkin spice something-or-other. In honor of the delightfully offensive McSweeny’s article “It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherf***er,” we’ve created a cocktail to fulfill your pumpkin cravings.
Recipe
2 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
2 tsp pumpkin puree
.25 oz dry sherry
.5 oz cream
.5 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar:water)
1 oz vodka
1 oz rum
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously without ice, then add ice and shake vigorously until chilled through. Strain into a chilled rocks glass.
Fish House Punch
The single serving size of this cocktail was reverse engineered from a classic recipe by Saveur. Though it’s light and tasty, the rum and cognac make it a potent tipple, so enjoy—but keep an eye out for guests who might be enjoying it a little too much.
Recipe
1½ oz dark rum
¾ oz cognac
¾ oz simple syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
Heavy ¼ oz peach schnapps
Lemon wedge for garnish
Combine all ingredients except the lemon wedge in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, and shake vigorously until chilled through. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the lemon wedge.
Punch It: Yields about 12 cocktails
3 cups dark rum
1½ cups cognac
1½ cups simple syrup
1½ cups fresh lemon juice
¾ cups peach schnapps
Whole lemon for garnish
Combine rum, cognac, syrup, juice, schnapps, and 3 cups chilled water in a large punch bowl. Place a block of ice or ice ring mould in the punch to chill. Float lemon slices over top of punch and serve. Recipe sourced here.
The New York Cocktail
A few months ago, I was searching for some new whiskey cocktails to add to my repertoire and stumbled across this classic. After a few tweaks and some experimentation, the result is a lovely, easy-to-drink tipple. With bright, apple-y flavors and a dry finish, it’s not hard to see why it was named for the Big Apple.
Recipe
1 tsp grenadine
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz lime juice
2 oz rye whiskey (or bourbon, if you prefer)
Lemon twist for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled through. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Punch it: Yields about 12 servings
¼ cup grenadine
1¼ cup simple syrup
1½ cups lime juice
3 cups whiskey
Pre-made lemon twists for garnish
Combine grenadine, simple syrup, lime juice and rye whiskey and 2½ cups chilled water in a large punch bowl. Place a block of ice or ice ring mould in the punch to chill. Garnish with lemon twists and serve.
By Clair McLafferty
Clair McLafferty is a freelance writer, craft bartender and general nerd operating out of Birmingham, Ala. If she’s not mixing up vintage drinks or editing a story, she can usually be found reading cocktail history or science fiction. See more of her work at clairmclafferty.com.
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