Fall is in the air, and it can also be in your cocktail glass. All of those great fall aromas and flavors can find their way into refreshing drinks just in time for the cooler weather.
Jenny Bradley, bar manager at Tulsa’s The Vault, offers three craft cocktails that are sure to chase away that chill in the air.
The first is the Gin and Jam. Gin and lemon juice are mixed with jam, which is served on a spoon and stirred into the drink. For the fall months, The Vault serves this using house-made cranberry orange and spiced apple preserves. To make it at home, simply combine 1 3/4 ounces of Broker’s gin, 1/2 ounce of lemon juice and a spoonful of desired preserves in a small rocks glass and stir.
The Sazerac, as Bradley describes, “is a classic New Orleans drink and one of the oldest cocktails, as well. It uses absinthe and bitters to highlight the flavors of the rye whiskey. The absinthe adds a lightly sweet licorice aroma to the drink without greatly altering the flavor.”
To concoct a Sazerac, chill a rocks glass and set aside. Add two ounces of Bulleit Rye, one sugar cube, two dashes of Peychaud Bitters and one dash of Angostura Bitters. Stir all ingredients over ice in a second glass. Add absinthe to the chilled glass and swirl it around to fully coat the interior, then dump out excess. Strain drink into first glass. Garnish with lemon oil by cutting a piece of peel and pinching between the fingers to expel the oil over the surface of the drink.
“The spice from the ginger blends nicely with the earthy sweetness of the apple brandy,” says Bradley of a cocktail called Raquel’s Spell.
To make it, combine 1 3/4 ounces of Laird’s Apple Brandy, 1/2 ounce of lemon juice, 1/4 ounce of Benedictine, 1/4 ounce of ginger syrup and two dashes of apple bitters in a shaker. Shake and strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with an apple slice.
