Just as summer can be defined by frothy blended drinks, autumn can be defined by ... well, nothing, really. Too cool for margaritas, too warm for toddies, fall can be a distressing time for imbibers. Here are a few drinks to help you make it until eggnog season officially opens:
Apple Cherry Liqueur
Make it now, enjoy it later. Or forget all about it and be horrified when you find it again in the spring.
6 16-oz cans tart red cherries
2 apples
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups Tennessee Whisky
Drain and pit cherries. Core and quarter apples. Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart jar, stir and cover. Place in a cool, dark place for at least eight weeks. Stir several times a week and strain before serving in liqueur glasses.
Ravishing Ruby
This requires a vodka infusion (and not the kind we keep asking our doctor for), but there's a cheat at the end. Don't tell!
1 1/2 oz rhubarb-infused vodka
1/2 oz cane syrup
Fresh lime
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and squeeze a lime wedge over top.
In place of the infusion, boil five sliced rhubarb stalks in 2 cups of water until soft. Dissolve 1 cup sugar and strain through cheese cloth. Use 1 1/2 oz vodka and 1/2 oz rhubarb syrup.
Five-Card Draw
Our editor tells us poker is going to be the next big thing. We're finally ahead of the curve!
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1/2 oz spiced rum
Splash of half-and-half
Combine bourbon and rum in a shaker with ice. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over ice. Drizzle the half-and-half and serve.
White Cosmopolitan
Miss Manners says your cocktail always should match your turkey. What we said back can't be printed here.
5 oz white cranberry juice
2 oz citrus-infused vodka
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
Lime twist
4 cranberries on skewer
Combine juices and vodka in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Add lime and cranberries as garnish.
Blitz
Because we all know what fall really means—men in tight pants slamming into each other and fumbling balls.
1 oz tequila
1 oz rum
1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1 oz cranberry
1 oz sour mix
Splash of tonic
Combine all ingredients except tonic in a shaker with ice. Strain into four shot glasses. Top with tonic. Can be enjoyed like straight tequila but with sugar lick rather than salt, followed by lime.