For the past 5 years my friends in Marblehead have hosted a “Friends Thanksgiving” party. They have their dinner a week or two before the official day and do it as a potluck event where friends can gather and catch up. Every year folks get assigned different dishes to contribute, and for the past two years I’ve been on cocktail duty.
Both years I’ve done some thorough taste testing before-hand to perfect my contribution to the event. I’ve developed a short list of go to cocktails (and drinks in general) for the fall. Each recipe is adapted to be made by the pitcher (click on the images below to get the original, single serving recipe).
What’s fun about exploring cocktails is that you’re really exploring local, seasonal and botanical ingredients. So, here are a few favorites!
Maple Bourbon Sour
This is probably my favorite of all. The key is to use really good maple syrup (I use Zock’s Maple Brook Farm Syrup crafted by a good friend in New Hampshire) and really good Bourbon (I love booth Woodward Reserve and Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Bourbon)
1 cup bourbon
2/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water (you don’t have the melted ice from the shaker, so you need a bit of water to dilute this strong one)
pour over ice
Cider Bourbon Cocktail
2 1/4 cups apple cider
1 cup bourbon
6 tablespoons lemon juice
a few slices of fresh ginger
poured over ice
The New England Express
2 cups apple cider
1 1/2 cups dark rum
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp Angostura bitters
Thyme simple syrup to taste (I double the simple syrup recipe and add a shot or two to the punch, for me the cider is sweet enough with out a lot of extra sugar, but the thyme adds a nice note).
poured over ice
Harpoon Craft Cider
Or, rather than making a cocktail, craft cider is a great and really easy contribution to the holidays. I took a tour of the Harpoon Brewery here in Boston this summer and tasted their cider. It’s amazing!
Easy to drink right out of the bottle, and also great to cook with (think hard cider gravy or pan sauce).
Enjoy!
