Pumpkin Spice Martini? Seasonal cocktails can be creative Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Apple pie! Pumpkin spice! Buttered rum! This is how we embrace the season at our home bar.

Despite the drop in temperatures, cocktails flavoured for fall don’t need to taste deep, brooding or heavy.

There are plenty of ways to harness the ingredients we associate with the season to craft cocktails that remain light and bright, yet also richly satisfying. It’s also an excellent opportunity to explore liquors you might not normally be drawn to.

One of the fascinating aspects of cocktails is the unexpected ways that liquors can be transformed depending on how and with what they are mixed.

These transformations give us the space to experiment and discover drinks we never knew we would enjoy. This is where “I don’t like rum” becomes “I like rum when…”

Consider the Pumpkin Spice Martini. Vodka can be harsh, but in this cocktail — flavoured by apple cider, chocolate and orange bitters, and, of course, pumpkin pie spice — it’s as rich as it is sweet.

Pumpkin Spice Martini

This is your pumpkin spice latte of cocktails. A quick reduction of apple cider provides sweet and tangy notes that play perfectly with pumpkin pie spices.

Naturally sweet bourbon is excellent in this cocktail, but vodka also is an excellent choice. Keep a close eye on the cider during the final five minutes of simmering.

As it reduces to a syrup, it can quickly go from thick and delicious to burned and smoking. The combination of chocolate and orange bitters is wonderful, but if you only have one, the cocktail still will be delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup apple cider

1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

3 oz vodka

Dash chocolate bitters

Dash orange bitters

6 to 10 granules kosher salt

Ice cubes

Method

In a saucepan over low, simmer the cider and pumpkin pie spice until thick and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely, then pour into a cocktail shaker (use a silicone spatula to scrape the pan to get all of the syrup). Add the bourbon or vodka, chocolate bitters, orange bitters and salt. Shake with ice cubes. Strain into a coupe.

By J M Hirsch

The trio of seasonal cocktails (from left) a spiced apple cocktail, a pumpkin spice martini, and a buttered rum cocktail. Stay tuned for next week’s recipe of the spiced apple cocktail. (Photo: Callum Duffy via AP)

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