Harvest season means something a little different depending on what part of the world, or the country, you happen to be in. Up north in Michigan, where Heather and I have a home, the weather has gotten a lot cooler, and once the apples are in, the work is done for a few months as the winter snows set in. In Mexico, cooler weather means a shift from apples and peaches to the winter produce that still grows in places like Sinaloa and Jalisco, the berries and vegetables that won't survive a Michigan or Wisconsin winter. These eight apple and harvest cocktails follow that same map.
Apple drinks come with confusing labels, and grabbing the wrong bottle changes both the flavor and the strength of a recipe. As you sip these, let them take you on a journey from warm-weather places like Mexico and Hawaii to the mainland United States, and take a moment to be thankful for a bountiful harvest. Several are built for a crowd, whether that's a guys night around the fire or the in-laws at the Thanksgiving table, so line up rides home before the batch drinks come out. Two of the Mexican brands here, Espolòn and Montelobos, also showed up in our spicy cocktail recipes earlier this year. Espolòn calls this a cross between a hot toddy and a margarita. Apple cider steeped with Earl Grey tea gets a spiced syrup and fresh lemon, and the reposado tequila from Jalisco keeps it from tasting like dessert. Discover smart ways to finance your next guys cruise trip without breaking the bank. From sinking funds to payment plans with Uplift and Virgin Voyages, learn how to maximize your budget for epic adve Essential tips for solo male travelers heading to Thailand, from safety advice and cultural norms to top destinations and transport. A 12-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand tour through Hanoi, Halong Bay, Angkor, Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai, ideal for culture lovers. We serve small groups to ensure service quality requirements
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Promoted by FlowAds Ingredients Method More at Espolòn. Why we picked it: a grill you can actually carry to the campsite, the tailgate or the cabin without borrowing a truck. Stainless, no propane tank to wrestle, and hot enough to cook for four guys rather than reheat for one. Promoted by FlowAds This is a mulled cider with a smoky backbone from Montelobos Espadín, a mezcal from Oaxaca. Piloncillo, the Mexican cone sugar, sweetens it along with clove, cinnamon, and orange peel, and it makes enough for a small group. Ingredients Method More at Montelobos. Milagro's pumpkin sour from Jalisco takes its cue from pumpkin pie. The oak on Milagro Reposado and the almond in the orgeat bring out the baking-spice notes in the pumpkin, and the lemon keeps it balanced. Ingredients Method More at Milagro Tequila. Kōloa Rum Company on Kauaʻi, Hawaii, sent this sparkling cider from mixologist Jennifer Bryant, who uses maple to sweeten the drink and bring out the Kauaʻi Spice Rum. Served in a wine glass, it can stand in for champagne at a holiday toast. Ingredients Method More at Kōloa Rum. Beverage manager Kendall Salgado at Current Charcoal Grill in Birmingham, Alabama, drew on her Honduran roots and her Alabama upbringing for this one. It's a horchata made with sweet potato, a nod to the Southern sweet potato harvest, and it's the most work on this list: plan to make the rice milk the night before. Ingredients Method For the garnish, glaze thin sweet potato slices in demerara syrup, dust with turbinado sugar, and dry them in a 200-degree oven for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, touch the sugar with a kitchen torch for a smoky aroma. More at Current Charcoal Grill. Bartender Aaron Pavo made this one for Tigress Restaurant & Rooftop Bar and Easy Tiger at The Perry Hotel in Naples, Florida. The drink stacks apple three ways, with Laird's applejack, apple syrup, and sour apple, and cranberry adds tartness and color. Ingredients Method More at The Perry Hotel Naples. Nashville pitmaster Carey Bringle's Peg Leg Porker bottles a Tennessee straight bourbon, and this mule needs no shaker at all. Bourbon, fresh cider, lemon, and ginger beer get built right in the glass, so you can make it from a tailgate cooler. Ingredients Method More at Peg Leg Porker Spirits. Sandra Lee teamed up with Wheatley Vodka, made at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, on this apple martini built from a real Granny Smith instead of green-apple schnapps. The apple gets muddled into a purée right in the shaker. Ingredients Method More at Wheatley Vodka. The harvest ends at different times in different places, and a little planning keeps good ingredients on your bar all winter. It's also a good time to think of ways to make life even better next spring, when we start all over again. Michigan's apple harvest runs from August into early November, and orchard stands sell fresh cider that beats anything in a grocery jug. A fall guys trip to Michigan's apple country, with an orchard stop and a cider mill donut, is a good excuse to stock up. While we retreat into the cold, growers in Mexico and South America are still picking. In Chile and Peru it's actually spring and summer, and somebody down there is mixing a warm-weather cocktail with the same berries that end up in our markets in January. That means fresh blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries are around all winter if you know where to look. Buy them fresh and freeze them in cocktail-sized portions instead of relying on a five-pound bag of frozen fruit that turns into one solid brick. Spread the berries on a sheet pan so they freeze separately, then bag them six or eight at a time, which is about one drink's worth. You can also muddle them with a little simple syrup and freeze that in an ice cube tray, then drop a cube or two straight into the Apple Ember Mule. The Montelobos recipe makes about 33 ounces, enough for eight 4-ounce mugs, and you can keep it warm over low heat. Pair it with a couple of our Thanksgiving cocktails and nobody has to play bartender all afternoon. Winter is when seed catalogs arrive, so pick your spring plants while these drinks are still fresh in your mind. Rosemary and pineapple sage both work as cocktail garnishes, and a few of the bug-repellent herbs I planted by the fire pit end up behind the bar too.Most guys I know think about planting herbs for seasoning their favorite foods, but earlier this year I expanded that concept to include herbs I could use in my cocktails too - mint, rosemary, basil, etc. When I go to the grocery store, I can usually only find one type of fresh mint, and god knows I hate using pre-made, processed mint - at home, though, I can simply go out and pick mojito mint, spearmint, and even pineapple mint, depending on what I'm mixing up. While mint tends to fade from the bar menu when the weather gets colder, my rosemary, sage, and tyme are going to come in handy and we're working on some plans to go aeroponic this year to keep those herbs fresh growing inside throughout the winter! Promoted by FlowAdsWhat Do You Call Your "Guys Trips"?
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La Cueva De Los Lobos by Montelobos Mezcal
Spiced Pumpkin Miracle by Milagro Tequila
Maple And Spice Apple Cider by Kōloa Rum Company
Horchata Cosecha by Kendall Salgado at Current Charcoal Grill
Crimson Orchid by Tigress at The Perry Hotel Naples
Apple Ember Mule by Peg Leg Porker Spirits
Fresh Apple Martini by Sandra Lee And Wheatley Vodka
Raise Your Glass to Carrying the Spirit of Fall Harvest Into Winter and Next Spring!
Buy From A Local Orchard While The Apples Last
Freeze Portions Of Fresh Berries To Use As Mixers All Winter
Create A Batch Of Pre-Made Cocktails For The Thanksgiving Table
Take Time This Winter To Plan Next Spring's Cocktail Garden Now
