Fall is here at last. When you start seeing signs for Oktoberfest, you can finally say goodbye to summer blender drinks and making some real drinks. As a bartender in New York City, I have come to loathe the use of a blender. Throughout the country, from the beach bars that surfers frequent in California to the boardwalk dive bars along the New Jersey shore, the blender is held in high regard. And while it does its job admirably – mixing and melding flavors perfectly as it pulverizes ice and fruit – remember this, it takes a real bartender to make a drink by hand. And now that Fall is here to stay, it is time to look forward to some of these traditional cold weather drinks and get far away from those blenders. Not a season has passed where, as an instructor of mixology, we have students circle up to quickly scratch down the recipes that are relics of an era when alcohol was an elixir and the world was an easier place to live in. For those who love the shades of brown, orange and red of fall; may I present ‘warm and fuzzy’ in a footed glass mug. Here are some of our favorite Fall cocktails:
HOT BUTTERED RUM 2ozs. dark rum 4ozs. boiling water 3 heaping barspoons of rum batter add a cinnamon stick To make rum batter – mix one stick of butter, two cups of brown sugar, a barspoon of cinnamon, half a barspoon of nutmeg, a pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of salt all together until creamy and smooth. RUSTY NAIL Put a single ice cube in a small rocks glass 1 ½ ozs. Scotch ½ oz. Drambuie
IRISH COFFEE 2 ozs. Irish whiskey 4 ozs. hot coffee 1 heaping barspoon of turbinado sugar Stir well Top with heavy cream. Sprinkle a few drops of green crème de menthe on top HOT SPIKED CIDER 2 ozs. spiced rum 4 ozs. apple juice pinch of cinnamon pinch of nutmeg Heat on low and stir well until piping hot before serving. Hot Buttered Rum Pic via Flickr Irish Coffee Pic via Flickr