Cooking Lesson #148 Fantastic Fall Cocktails

X-Rated Spicy Cocoa & Mezcal Cocktail

How you doin’? To many people fall is the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves on the trees begin to turn from green to all colors of the fall rainbow. There is the scent of fireplaces in the air. And then there are the aromas of the foods we eat and the drink. They are something altogether different from summer barbecues and cookouts.
 
An early fall cocktail straddles the seasons and bridges over to the holidays that we love. Great happy hour cocktails must have a jigger of summer—something light, bright, and refreshing—and it must also offer a little warmth of autumn spices and flavors—making you feel all cozy on the inside. 
 
Looking back on the past year, you deserve a little something special. It has been one of the strangest times of my life. Let’s put it all behind us and enjoy a few weeks of cocktails. The drinks in my early fall collection may sound fancy, but they’re not—just a little something special to take you from now to the end of the year and hopefully to the end of the pandemic.
 
                                X-Rated Spicy Cocoa & Mezcal Cocktail
 
This is hot cocoa all “growed-up” and ready for prime time. It has flavor notes of the mezcal, ancho chile, cinnamon and semi-sweet dark chocolate blended to create a flavor reminiscent of your childhood. It’s like a hot cocoa that’s been cooked on an open fire—slightly sweet and a touch smoky heat. It’s made with both cocoa powder and melted chocolate, making it more thick and chocolaty than the ‘Quick” stuff—that’s for kids. Don’t let it fool you it packs a wallop with a shot of mezcal.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  12 minutes
Yield:  4 cocktails
 
Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (salt enhance the chocolate flavor)
2 cups whole milk
6 cinnamon sticks, divided
1 whole dried ancho chile pod, split
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 64%), chopped
5 ounces mezcal
 
Garnish with whipped cream, chile powder and dark chocolate shavings
 
Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk, 2 of the cinnamon sticks, ancho chile pod and bittersweet chocolate. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is hot.
2. Lower the heat and simmer the cocoa, whisking occasionally, until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
3. Strain and discard the chile pod and the cinnamon sticks.
4. Return the cocoa to the pot, add the mezcal, and whisk the cocktail over medium heat until hot.
5. Divide the drink among four pre-warmed mugs.
6. Garnish with whipped cream, chile powder, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon sticks.
7.  Serve immediately.

 
ChefSecret: The mezcal is added late in the process. If one of your guests is abstaining, it’s easy to leave the alcohol out. The spicy hot cocoa makes a nice sippin’ dessert all by itself.
 
                                            Pear Pomegranate Mule
 
It’s not a Russian conspiracy. A Moscow Mule just kicks you in the butt like, well, a mule. This year I’ve taken this classic cocktail and twisted it all up in fall colors with the addition of pear nectar and unsweetened pomegranate juice. The pomegranate zips up the pucker power, giving it some sweet, tangy depth while balancing out the ginger beer and sweet pear notes.
 
Pear Pomegranate Mules is perfect fall cocktail for any happy hour. This cocktail is stirred, not shaken, so make a small pitcher of them. At our restaurants Mules were always served in a copper or pewter mug, which sets it apart from an ordinary cocktail.
 
Plus, vodka is much less controversial than tequila or bourbon. Pretty much everyone loves a mule, and it’s very slyly boozy — all the business of the day will slide away in no time.
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
3 ripe pears, any variety, peeled, cored and chopped
1-1/2 ounces unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/2 lime, juiced
2 ounces vodka
6 ounces ginger beer
Ice cubes
Garnish: pomegranate seeds and a pear slice (optional)
 
Directions

1. Purée the pears in a blender until smooth.
2. Transfer the purée to a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and use a rubber spatula to push the purée through to yield pear nectar. Discard the excess pulp.
3. In a copper mug, combine 4 ounces of the pear nectar with the pomegranate juice and lime juice, stir to combine.
4. Add the vodka and fill the mug with ice.
5. Top with the ginger beer and garnish with pear slices and pomegranate seeds.

 
                                       Aperol-Cranberry-Spice Cocktail
 
Here is the perfect cool weather cocktail to carry you through the fall and into the year-end holiday celebrations.
 
Aperol is a semi-dry apéritif from northern Italy that tastes like a combination of bitter grapefruit and a sweet, melted Orange’sicle. We’ve muddled it with light, floral Lillet Blanc, tart cranberries, fresh orange slices and candied ginger. It’s a classic spritz, you’d normally top-off with Champagne, but in this recipe, I used a dry hard cider, which imparts subtle fall apple notes. It’s the perfect light, pre-meal cocktail that you can carry into the dining room for dinner.
 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1/4 orange wedge, peeled
13 fresh cranberries, divided
2 one-inch pieces crystallized ginger, minced, plus 1 slice for garnish
2 ounces Aperol
1 ounce Lillet Blanc 
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Ice
4 ounces dry hard cider, such as Angry Orchard Crisp Apple
 
Directions

1. In a bottom half of a cocktail shaker, muddle the orange wedge with 10 of the cranberries and the minced crystallized ginger.
2. Add the Aperol, Lillet Blanc, bitters, and ice. Shake well.
3. Double-strain the drink into an ice-filled rocks glass and top off with the hard cider.
4. Garnish with the 3 remaining cranberries and a slice of crystallized ginger skewered on a toothpick.

 
ChefSecret: Aperol is an Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant red-orange hue. Its name comes from the French slang word for aperitif, which is apero.
 
Lillet is made from Bourdeaux grapes along with macerated fruit liqueurs, which gives it a pleasantly fruity, but not overly sweet, character. While Lillet Blanc (the white version) is delicious on ice, with a twist of orange or lemon and a splash of soda, it's also a brilliant cocktail ingredient.
 
                                                Bourbon Apple Fizz
 
What do you do with all those leftover apple peels from making apple pie? The heart of the Bourbon Apple Fizz is a bright pink simple syrup made with thyme, lemon juice and Honeycrisp apple peels. It is as bright and sweet as a perfectly ripe apple. The thyme adds a welcome savory note well played. 
 
I start with apple-thyme syrup laced with bourbon, a little more thyme and lemon juice, and then top it off with ginger beer. The bourbon and apple-thyme syrup with the ginger beer gives this drink a light and fizzy taste. If you like an Old Fashioned, you’ll definitely love this cocktail.
 
What do I do with leftover apple-thyme syrup? Depending on how many fizzes you make, you’ll have leftovers of the syrup. Use it to make other drinks, like Old Fashioneds or even iced tea. It’s also great drizzled over vanilla ice cream.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
Ice
2 ounces apple-thyme syrup (see recipe below)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 ounces American bourbon
2 fresh sprigs thyme
1-1/2 ounces ginger beer
Garnish with an apple slice and a sprig of thyme
 
Directions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
2. Add the apple-thyme simple syrup, lemon juice, bourbon and thyme.
3. Close the shaker and shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
4. Strain the cocktail over a glass filled with ice.
5. Top with ginger beer and garnish with an apple slice and a sprig of thyme.
6. Here’s looking at you, kid!

 
                                                  Apple-Thyme Syrup
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  about 10 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
 
Ingredients
4 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled (reserve the apples for another use)
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups water
4 sprigs thyme, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
 
Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the apple peels, sugar, water, thyme, and lemon juice, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Strain the syrup into a jar with a lid, reserving the liquid and discarding the peels and thyme.
4. Allow the syrup to cool.
5. It will keep for two weeks refrigerated.

 
                                                   Negroni Cocktail
 
As the story is told the Negroni Cocktail was invented by Count Camillo Negroni in 1919. Cocktail historians say that Count Negroni, a gambler and a bit of a rogue, liked to frequent the Caffé Casoni in Florence, Italy, and drink Americanos—apéritifs made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. Perhaps the drink was too sweet, fizzy and light because the count asked the bartender to fortify the drink by swapping out the club soda for gin—the Negroni was born. The count was so fond of his invention that he would drink up to 40 Negronis a day.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 colossal ice cube
Garnish:  orange twist
 
Special equipment: large ice cube tray and funnels available on Amazon for under $10.
 
Directions

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, stir all the ingredients together.
2. Strain the cocktail into a lowball glass filled with ice.
3. Garnish with an orange twist.

 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “There is new information about coronavirus almost every day. It’s so confusing! It’s kind of like the iPhone—as soon as I get COVID-19 they’ll just release COVID-20 and it will start all over again.”
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