Fall has become synonymous with pumpkin-spiced everything, but gourds and squashes have no place in a bespoke cocktail.
Rather, bring your own feeling of the season to what you pour, says—The Way Back’s—Allison Widdecombe.
“As far as working with the seasons and cocktails, it’s really just your interpretation of what the season means to you, what flavors are synonymous with the season and what sort of drinks thrive during that season,” Widdecombe said.
Not being a spirits expert or seasoned bartender shouldn’t stop you from making a great cocktail, she said, so long as you’re willing to experiment. “Just go ahead and taste things and get creative,” she says. “I think that the easiest way to get to know more about combining flavors and ingredients is to taste things and smell things and start simple. Use one ingredient that you are not familiar with, combined with other items that you have experienced before instead of a few different things at once.”
Below, Widdecombe shares recipes for cocktails you can find at the bar but are just as easy to mix up at home. Whether it’s your first time pouring or you’ve built up a bit of a home bar, there’s a recipes here for your skill level.
