Time for a Drink: Falling Leaves
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? Hit up the archives. Cheers!
While families across the country pop open bottles of wine next week to enjoy during their holiday meal—and couch quarterbacks make regular runs to the fridge for another beer—Thanksgiving is also an appropriate time for a good cocktail. But a simple vodka tonic or whisky on the rocks is much too pedestrian for the special occasion; you need something that takes a little thought but not too much work—there is, after all, so much preparation going on already—and that above all touches on the season. For my preprandial Thanksgiving cocktail, I'm fixing the Falling Leaves.
Created by New York mixological maestro Audrey Saunders, the Falling Leaves is a great autumn drink that works well as a conversation starter as guests arrive. Not only rich and flavorful, the Falling Leaves packs less of an alcoholic wallop than a typical cocktail, so you'll be able to enjoy your drink without throwing yourself off stride while putting the finishing touches on the meal—and maybe even mix a second round at halftime.
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
Falling Leaves
Ingredients
2 ounces dry Riesling (Trimbach is a recommended brand)
1 ounce Clear Creek pear brandy or other premium pear eau de vie
1/4 ounce honey syrup*
1/2 ounce orange curacao or Grand Marnier
1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
Procedure
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with cracked ice. Stir well for 20 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a whole piece of star anise.
* To make honey syrup: combine equal parts honey and hot water and stir until honey is dissolved. Store in the refrigerator.
View other entries from Cocktail Concoctions.
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3 Comments:
Your use of "preprandial" has me swooning, so forgive me.
Swoon, swoon.
If there's anything I love more than food, it's words.
Wait. Hmmmm. I think I do.
And I like food alot, so you are HOT.
Your cocktail, while sounding yummy, sounds a little sweet for an ongoing, daytime thing.
We go Mojitos (trendy now but fairly traditional in TX) or Mimosas w/Couantreau, by the pitcher(s).
Cranberry/champagne cocktails have also had their day.
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 1:35AM on 11/22/08
I like this! I'm going to link to you as a Thanksgiving drink in my blog, notanotheromnivore.blogspot.com.
I just love the name Falling Leaves...
NAOmni
NAOmni at 8:34PM on 11/22/08
Great drink! We'll be deploying this for new year's eve (Gregorian) ;-)
The first time I made this I had another of Paul's recipes up in a different window and by mistake substituted Port for the Reisling.
I'm here to report that the result was very similar to - and almost as good as - a nice drink from The Stork Club bar book:
Victory
1/2 ounce orange and lemon juice mixed in equal parts with several dashes of grenadine
1 ounce French vermouth
1 ounce Italian vermouth
Shake with ice, serve in a cocktail glass.
Here's to a great new year - keep 'em coming, Paul!
David_in_Seattle at 2:16PM on 12/31/08