By Jennifer McKee
Is autumn getting you down? Whether it be the time change, the ever-changing weather, the stress of the election of just a general malaise, we’ve got the cure for whatever ails you: Cocktails! So be thankful for your family, your friends and your health and rejoice in these flavors that are perfectly fall.
Recipes
The Manzana
By Charlotte Voisey, Global Head of Ambassador Advocacy at William Grant & Sons
1.5 parts Flor de Cana 7
0.5 part Amontillado sherry
0.5 part agave nectar
2 parts apple cider
2 dashes apple bitters
Combine in a mug and heat or combine ingredients and shake well. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks or tall glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Cognac Frapin Plus Je T’embrasse
by @spiritedLA’s Hannah Chamberlain
2.5 parts Frapin 1270
0.5 parts cinnamon raisin syrup (recipe below)
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
Serve on a large clear cube
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass 3/4 full of ice. Stir 20-30 second before straining over a large clear cube. Garnish with orange twist and raisin (optional).
Syrup Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1.25 cups of Demerara sugar
1 cup of raisins
4 cinnamon sticks
Method:
Bring the cup of water to a boil. Next, stir in the Demerara sugar stirring constantly until it dissolves. Reduce heat to a low simmer, then add the raisins. Stir intermittently for 10 minutes. Add the cinnamon sticks and continue to simmer over low heat for an additional five minutes. Fine strain out the raisins and cinnamon sticks and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. Should make roughly 10 ounces of syrup.
Reyka Vodka Pumpkin Spice Latte
by Trevor Schneider, Reyka Vodka National Ambassador
2 parts Reyka Vodka
1 part coffee liqueur
1 part heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Glass of ice cubes
Pumpkin pie spice dust for garnish
Shake. Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Serve on the rocks.
Starlino Rosso Manhattan
from Starlino Rosso
1 part Starlino Rosso
1 part rye
2 dashes bitters
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with Starlino maraschino cherries.
Velvet White Espresso Martini
from Disaronno
1.5 oz. Disaronno Velvet
0.5 oz. Tia Maria coffee liqueur
0.5 oz. vodka
Chocolate flakes or coffee beans
Shake and strain ingredients over ice. Garnish with chocolate flakes or coffee beans.
Hardtack
from Grace O’Malley Whiskey
2 oz. Grace O’Malley Whiskey
0.5 oz. Homemade spiced red wine syrup
4 dashes of Fee Brothers black walnut bitters
Peppercorn garnish
Homemade spiced red wine syrup recipe: Take 1-750 ml bottle of red wine and 2 tbsp. black peppercorns and reduce over low heat to half. Add 8 oz. cup of sugar, stir until dissolved. Strain and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Stir all ingredients for 20 seconds and then strain into a rocks glass with one large format ice cube. Garnish with black peppercorns.
CraftStirs: Cocktails Made Easy
Get everything you need for great cocktails in one box from CraftStirs, a line of mixers designed to taste like your favorite bar-made cocktail. Each box contains three different sachets, their partner spirits and a CraftStirs-branded glass. While each flavor can be easily made by adding water and its spirit to the mixer, CraftStirs has just released some great new fall recipes that require only a few more steps. They are:
CraftStirs Autumn Margarita
1 CraftStirs tropical margarita mix
3 oz. water
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup tequila
ice cubes
Stir all ingredients together until blended. Serve over ice in sugar- or salt-rimmed glasses and garnish with fresh cranberries and lime wedges.
Champagne Melon Cooler
1 CraftStirs melon cooler mix
3 oz. water
1 shot of vodka
Sparkling wine
Splash of cranberry juice (1/2 oz.)
Fill a champagne flute with the CraftStirs mix, water, tequila and cranberry. Top the glass with champagne just before drinking. Float some cranberries in the glass or add them with a toothpick.
Apple Cider Pomegranate Mojito
1 CraftStirs pomegranate mojito mix
4 oz. water
2 oz. apple cider
1 oz. cinnamon simple syrup
2 oz. white rum
Diced apples, mint leaves, and cinnamon sticks
Combine the mix, water, rum, cider and cinnamon simple syrup in a cocktail shaker or glass measuring cup; shake or stir well. In a serving glass, muddle as much mint as you desire. Fill both glasses with ice. Throw in a small handful of diced apples and garnish with a cinnamon stick and extra mint leaves.