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Writer's pictureTara Wilson

Cozy Up with Fall Cocktails

It's the first day of October and there are so many things I'm excited about! About to watch a bunch of Halloween movies, bake a lot of different pumpkin pastries, hopefully wear more fall clothing (it is currently over 90 degrees in Southern CA and definitely not sweater weather yet), and make some delicious fall cocktails!



This fall I decided on two main flavors: pumpkin spice and spiced pear! I put together a super rich pumpkin spice cream and delicious spiced pear simple syrup and created a bunch of cocktails that are sure to give you all of the fall vibes this season.


Spiced Pear Simple Syrup

For this simple syrup, you will need:


-Two Pears (any pears are fine. I decided to use one Bartlett pear and one Red Bartlett pear because that's what my grocery store had, and I've read that they're pretty sweet when ripe)

-Three Cinnamon Sticks

-1 cup of Brown Sugar

-1 spoonful of Honey (totally optional; I had raw honey near me and decided last minute to scoop a spoonful into the mix and wasn't disappointed)

-1 cup + 1/4 cup of Water


First, peel your pears and chop them into little cubes and put them into a small sauce pan with your water, cinnamon sticks and honey. Cover the pan and bring it up to a boil, then once it's boiling, put it on low and let it simmer (still covered, so no water gets out) for 15-20 minutes.



After 15-20 minutes of simmering, turn the heat off and pour 1 cup of your pear liquid into a mixing glass. Add in your 1 cup of brown sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. It's alright if a few pear cubes get into your simple when you pour it into the mixing glass; I used my muddler to mash up the pear to give the simple a little texture. Transfer into a container that you can seal air-tight, and keep in the fridge for up to a week!


Homemade Pumpkin Spice Cream

This cream is pretty easy to whip together; I was able to make it, store it in the fridge and clean up the dishes while the pears simmered on the stove. For this, you will need:


-1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

-1 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

-3 tablespoons of Brown Sugar

-2 teaspoons of Vanilla

-1 1/2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice

-1/2 a can of Puréed Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)


**If you want to make this like a pumpkin spice liqueur, then add 1/3 cup of whiskey (for something like Bailey's, you'd use Irish whiskey but I had bourbon on hand so that's what I used). If you'd like to keep this non-alcoholic, I'd start by adding 3 tablespoons of a milk of your choice, and if you still think it's too thick, you can add more.


Whisk the first five ingredients together until they're blended well, then whisk in the pumpkin purée, and then after that, whisk in either your whiskey or milk. That's it!


**I highly recommend whisking by hand over using a mixer, only because even on the low setting, my batch foamed up with bubbles that never went away. If a cold foam is what you'd like, then that's fine, but I was looking to make a pumpkin spice liqueur to replace Bailey's in these recipes, so I needed it to be a creamer instead of a foam.


Spiced Pear Cocktails


Spiced Pear Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

  • 2.5oz of Bourbon

  • 1.0oz of Spiced Pear Simple

  • 3-4 dashes of Bitters

  • Garnish: Sliced Pear with Cinnamon Sugar

Add first three ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, then stir. Strain into a rocks glass with one large rock, and garnish with a thin slice of pear with cinnamon sugar.


**If you like your drinks less sweet, only use a barspoon of simple and add more if needed. For these, I wanted a prominent pear flavor, so I used one ounce.



Spiced Pear Kentucky Mule

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz of Bourbon

  • 0.75oz of Spiced Pear Simple

  • 0.75oz of Pear Nectar

  • Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

  • Top with Ginger Beer

  • Garnish: Sliced Pear & Rosemary Sprig

Fill a highball glass with ice, and then the first four ingredients. Dump everything into a shaker and shake, then pour it all back into your glass. Top with ginger beer, and add your garnishes.


Click here for the pear nectar used (it's usually $0.50 - $0.99 for a single can at a grocery store), and click here for the ginger beer used.


Spiced Pear Prosecco Mimosa

Ingredients:

  • 0.5oz of Spiced Pear Simple

  • Pear Nectar

  • Prosecco

  • Garnish: Honey, Cinnamon Sugar Rim

Dip the rim of your coupe glass (or champagne flute) in honey, and then dip it into a plate of cinnamon sugar to coat the rim. Then pour in your syrup, and fill the rest of your glass with half pear nectar and half Prosecco.


**This recipe will vary depending on the size of your glass. Mine to the left holds about 7.5 - 8oz of liquid comfortably, so the portions I used were about 4oz Prosecco and 3oz of pear nectar. As with most mimosas, you can eyeball the champagne & juice, and adjust the recipe to your liking as far as portions go.


Sparkling Spiced Pear Bourbon

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz of Bourbon

  • 1oz of Spiced Pear Simple

  • Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

  • Prosecco

  • Garnish: Lemon Twist

Add the first three ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake. Strain into a coupe, martini glass or champagne flute and top with Prosecco and a lemon twist.


I came across this recipe on Bon Appetit and definitely wanted to try it with my simple syrup, and loved it! Click here to see their recipe!


Pumpkin Spice Cocktails


Pumpkin Spice Irish Coffee

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz of Irish Whiskey

  • 1.5 - 2.0oz of Pumpkin Spice Cream

  • Mug of Hot Coffee

  • Garnish: Whipped Cream, Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pour the first two ingredients into your hot coffee, then top with whipped cream and a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice.


**I personally like to go heavy on the cream, so if you like your Irish coffees less sweet, start with a little cream and add more to your liking. Also, if you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand, just swap it for cinnamon, if you'd like!


Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini

Ingredients:

  • 1oz of Vodka

  • 1 shot of freshly brewed Espresso

  • 1.5oz of Pumpkin Spice Cream

  • 0.5oz of Kahlua

  • Garnish: Pumpkin Pie Spice, 3 Espresso Beans

Add first four ingredients into a shaker filled with ice & shake! Strain into a chilled martini glass, then garnish with a couple dashes of pumpkin pie spice and three espresso beans.


Alt. version: use a full double shot of espresso, nix the vodka, and do 1.5oz of pumpkin spice cream, 0.5oz of Kahlua and 0.5oz of Frangelico.


Iced Bourbon P.S.L. (Pumpkin Spice Latte)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz of Bourbon

  • 1.5oz of Pumpkin Spice Cream

  • 1oz of Kahlua

  • 1 shot of freshly brewed Espresso

  • Garnish: Cinnamon sugar rim, honey, Cinnamon Stick

Dip the rim of your glass into honey (or caramel) & then coat with cinnamon sugar, fill with ice. Add first 4 ingredients into shaker filled with ice & shake. Strain into glass, and top with another splash of cream (if desired) and garnish with a cinnamon stick.



Pumpkin Spice White Russian

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 - 2oz of Vodka

  • 1oz of Kahlua

  • Pumpkin Spice Cream

  • Half & Half / Cream (optional)

Add the first two ingredients into a shaker with ice & shake, then strain over ice into a highball. Top with pumpkin spice cream.


If you made your pumpkin spice cream with liquor, I'd recommend only doing 1.5oz of vodka or using half pumpkin spice cream & half regular cream/milk so it's not all liquor and tastes a little more balanced. Totally up to you!



Hope you enjoyed these fall cocktails, and if you try any of them out, I'd love to know what you think! Cheers!
 

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