We had a night of pumpkin carving, and pumpkin carving needs a drink. (Maybe it doesn’t need one, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.) So I made two fall-themed cocktails. They were both delicious.
The internet (and Grok) helped me pick out and tweak the recipes, but the drinks themselves were 100% human made.
Black Manhattan
Bittersweet and dark. Perfect for Halloween.
Ingredients
- 2 oz rye whiskey (bourbon works too)
- 1 oz Averna amaro
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
- a cherry for garnish
Method
- Put everything except the cherry in a shaker with ice and shake it until it’s nice and cold.
- Strain it into a chilled coupe glass.
- Drop in the cherry. Enjoy!
Notes
The recipe I started from said to stir it. I shook it instead, and it came out even better that way.
I used Penelope Rye, and it was excellent. You don’t have to use it, but it was a very good pick, and fairly affordable.
Maple Bourbon Old Fashioned
Simple, a little sweet, with some pumpkin spice.
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1/4 to 1/2 oz real maple syrup (not the pancake stuff)
- a pinch of pumpkin pie spice (about 1/8 tsp)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- an orange peel for garnish, if you want it
Method
- Stir the maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice together first.
- Add everything else to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled.
- Strain it over one big ice cube.
- If you’re using the orange peel, give it a squeeze over the top.
Notes
I used Buffalo Trace for the bourbon. Same story as the Penelope: not required, but a very good pick, and fairly affordable.
This one isn’t perfect yet. The spice doesn’t dissolve, so the drink gets a little grainy at the end, which is kind of unpleasant. My plan for next time: warm some maple syrup with the spice (warm, not boil!), then strain it into a bottle for homemade maple pumpkin syrup.