Cool Weather Cocktails

September 8, 2020

With Labor Day in our rearview mirror, and temperatures fluctuating, it’s time to think about all things fall – from pumpkins and autumn leaves, to safe Halloween celebrations. Oh, and don’t forget all the flavors of fall that land add zest to your favorite adult beverage. These seasonal recipes for cool weather cocktails will help ease the transition from summer!

All the Flavors of Fall

If a cocktail recipe gets 80 positive reviews (five out of five stars), THAT makes us sit up and take notice. Apparently, there’s lots to love about this Ginger Pear Snap cocktail. From the Larkspur restaurant in Vail, this fall favorite combines spiced pear vodka, ginger liqueur, lemon juice, fresh ginger, sparkling pear juice and a dash of rhubarb bitters. Now many of us grow rhubarb and we thought how hard can it be to make your own bitters? Well fairly difficult, as it turns out, but if you’d like to try, here’s a recipe!

Delish weighs in with 34 fall cocktail recipes all the zing from fall flavors. From the Apple Cider Mojitos (mint, cider and rum) and the Pecan Pie Martini to Pumpkin Spice White Russians and Caramel Apple Jell-O Shots, it’s easy to imagine settling in after dinner with one of these fall-in-a-glass treats during Sunday Night Football!

Candy Corn and More Cocktails 

Like candy corn? If you’ve never had a RumChata Candy Corn Jello Shot, 2020 is the year to try this concoction. Or maybe the creamy sweet Candy Corn Martini, might be more to your liking.  ManTitlement has a bevy of beverages for the over-21 set with autumnal savor and there’s no reason to save them until Halloween! You can break out these party pick-me-ups anytime you need a sweet cocktail that reminds you that the seasons, they are a-chainging. 

The Spruce Eats has a variation on the creamy candy corn theme – the Peach IZZE Candy Corn Cocktail made with whipped cream vodka (say, what?!), pineapple juice, grenadine and Peach IZZE. The grenadine naturally sinks to the bottom of the glass, like a tequila sunrise, and the star of the show – the effervescent IZZE makes what could be a heavy-on-the-cream drink, light and refreshing.

Substantial Seasonal Drinks

Esquire and Forbes approach adult beverages for fall a bit differently than cooking blogs and websites. Esquire opts for stiff drinks that are too over-the-top for hot summer nights, but perfect for enjoying when the temperatures drop. The 15 fall cocktails on their go-to list include the vintage Rob Roy (Scotch whisky, Italian vermouth and Angostura bitters); the Añejo New Fashioned (Casamigos añejo tequila, agave nectar, orange and Angostura bitters) and an Old Fashioned with mezcal, dark rum, Drambuie and Demerara syrup.   

Forbes says it’s time to jettison the sangrias and the summer spritzers with a few cocktails borrowed from famous restaurants around the country. Like the Salt & Smoke, concoction from ilili in New York City, which is a mezcal margarita with lemon, honey, pomegranate and sumac, and The Nightcap, from the STK Steakhouse in Nashville, made with cognac, port wine, lemon and cinnamon apple syrup.

Food and Wine always comes through and this time with a Hard Cider Sangria with apple brandy, the Stone Wall – an updated version with ginger beer and apple cider, and the Figa, with fig-infused vodka and tea. Bottoms up!

Autumn’s in the Air at Southshore

For more than a decade, Colorado’s leading home builders have been crafting some of the most beautiful homes in Aurora in the master-planned community of Southshore. Take an inspirational tour of the brand new homes from Taylor Morrison, Century Communities, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers for a taste of Life at the Lake. These stunning ranch and two-story designs are priced between the $400s and the $700s.