Falling Down Drunk

To save you from heating up your beer, here are some cocktails just for fall

Martin Stein

Just as summer can be defined by frothy blended drinks, autumn can be defined by ... well, nothing, really. Too cool for margaritas, too warm for toddies, fall can be a distressing time for imbibers. Here are a few drinks to help you make it until eggnog season officially opens:



Apple Cherry Liqueur


Make it now, enjoy it later. Or forget all about it and be horrified when you find it again in the spring.


6 16-oz cans tart red cherries

2 apples

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. allspice

1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

4 cups Tennessee Whisky


Drain and pit cherries. Core and quarter apples. Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart jar, stir and cover. Place in a cool, dark place for at least eight weeks. Stir several times a week and strain before serving in liqueur glasses.



Ravishing Ruby


This requires a vodka infusion (and not the kind we keep asking our doctor for), but there's a cheat at the end. Don't tell!


1 1/2 oz rhubarb-infused vodka

1/2 oz cane syrup

Fresh lime



Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and squeeze a lime wedge over top.


In place of the infusion, boil five sliced rhubarb stalks in 2 cups of water until soft. Dissolve 1 cup sugar and strain through cheese cloth. Use 1 1/2 oz vodka and 1/2 oz rhubarb syrup.



Five-Card Draw


Our editor tells us poker is going to be the next big thing. We're finally ahead of the curve!


1 1/2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz spiced rum

Splash of half-and-half


Combine bourbon and rum in a shaker with ice. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over ice. Drizzle the half-and-half and serve.



White Cosmopolitan


Miss Manners says your cocktail always should match your turkey. What we said back can't be printed here.


5 oz white cranberry juice

2 oz citrus-infused vodka

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Lime twist

4 cranberries on skewer


Combine juices and vodka in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Add lime and cranberries as garnish.



Blitz


Because we all know what fall really means—men in tight pants slamming into each other and fumbling balls.


1 oz tequila

1 oz rum

1 oz gin

1 oz vodka

1 oz cranberry

1 oz sour mix

Splash of tonic


Combine all ingredients except tonic in a shaker with ice. Strain into four shot glasses. Top with tonic. Can be enjoyed like straight tequila but with sugar lick rather than salt, followed by lime.

  • Get More Stories from Thu, Sep 9, 2004
Top of Story