I love to entertain. I don’t do it enough. Sometimes I just don’t know what to do when inviting people over. Tiger Lily told me that I had to up my game with drinks. You know. Dinner and drinks. Drinks and snacks. Some kind of an ice-breaker for fall gatherings.
I know, I know. For those of you who hate to see summer slip away, you can’t STAND the idea of fall slipping in. It’s just around the corner.
As usual, I don’t pretend to be an expert. I’ll share websites for drinks that look so delicious you will want to drink yourself into a stupor. (But don’t do that.)
Several websites share very similar websites, so I’ll try not to bore you with lists containing the same things. But I have to tell ya, every single website – and every single recipe – looked better than the last.
If you want to put your best foot forward, go to these sites and look at the pictures. They will turn your head, and give you great ideas. Drinks served in hollowed-out Granny Smith apples drizzled in caramel. Martini glasses rimmed with chopped pecans. Using apple cider to make mimosas, sangria, any number of drinks. Sprigs of fresh herbs decorating drinks. Smoking cinnamon sticks.
But enough teasing. I’ll start you off with the simple stuff.
Simple Recipes
I’ll share a couple of recipes for you, but this is what you’ll find on this particular site. The recipes are simple, and the ingredients are what you would use for other drink or recipes.
- Apple Cider Mojitos (lemon juice, run, apple cider, garnish with mint, apple slices and cinnamon sticks)
- Pecan Pie Martini (rumchata, crème de cocoa, bourbon) (garnish is made with caramel, pecans, cool whip, pecans, cinnamon)
- Apple Pie Bourbon Shots (bourbon, apples, sugar cubes, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger)
- Mulled Wine (red wine, orange, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, honey, brandy)
- Apple Cider Mimosas (sugar, cinnamon, apple cider, champagne)
- Pumpkin Spice White Russians (vodka, Kahlua, pumpkin spice creamer, with pumpkin pie spice and crushed graham crackers for the rim)
- Pumpkin Pie Sangria (white wine, sparkling cider, pumpkin pie vodka, pear, apple, sugar, pumpkin spice, cinnamon sticks)
- Apple Cider Old Fashioned (apple cider, whiskey, bitters, apple slices, cinnamon sticks)
- Apple Cider Sangria (3 kinds of apples, lemon, orange, apple cider, ginger beer, white wine)
- Caramel Apple Mimosas (caramel, cinnamon sugar, apple cider, caramel vodka, champagne, apple slices)
- And….and….there are over 30 recipes on this site.
Fancier Drinks…
From this site comes other recipes. Every single glass looked delectable! These recipes are more exotic, calling for ingredients that may be more difficult to find or use in other recipes. I didn’t recognize some of the types of liquor called for. Also, these recipes call out name-brand liquors and other ingredients. Since I’m a middle-class person, I usually substitute. Go with your best instincts!
- Autumn Fizz (gin, lemon juice, agave, sparkling apple cider, garnish with thyme & apple)
- The One With The Shrub (gin, carrot shrub, fernet branca – what’s that? – lemon juice, ginger syrup, garnish with rosemary sprig)
- “Two Guns” Miller (tequila, vermouth, pamplemousse – really? – cinnamon-infused tequila, cane syrup, mole bitters, garnish with smoking cinnamon stick)
- Apple Cider Mimosa (champagne, apple cider, sugar, ground cinnamon, dip champagne flutes in cinnamon sugar)
- Campfire Sling (rye, maple syrup, chocolate bitters, garnish with orange twist with scorched orange oil)
- Whiskey Sour (bourbon, lemon juice, sugar, garnish with orange slice and maraschino cherry)
- Thyme Will Tell (bourbon, maple syrup, lemon juice, thyme, garnish with lemon peel)
- Kentucky Mulled Cider (bourbon, hot apple cider, allspice, garnish with cinnamon stick and lemon slice)
- Maple Bourbon Old Fashioned (bourbon, maple syrup, water, bitters, garnish with orange peel and maraschino cherry)
- The Harvest (cognac, cinnamon syrup, apple butter or apple syrup, garnish with cinnamon stick)
- Caramel Apple Mule (vodka, caramel syrup, apple sider, garnish with apple fan)
- Boodles + Tonic of Arabia (gin, tonic water, garnish with date)
- Dr. Rieux (demerara syrup, lemon juice, orange curacao, Swedish punsch, VSOP Pale and dry calvados, rum (half-rim a chilled glass with lemon and sugar)
- Apple Hinny (vodka, green apple juice, ginger beer, dust with nutmeg and garnish with apple fan)
- The Marguerite (tequila, grapefruit juice, sherry, maraschino liqueur, soda water, garnish with grapefruit twist)
- Pear Sour (pear brandy, pear nectar or juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, garnish with pear slice, egg white is optional)
- High Fashion (gin, elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, rhubarb bitters, garnish with grapefruit peel)
- Grilled Peach Old Fashioned (liquors I know nothing about…..but it looks and sounds great)
- Peat’s Dragon (two types of scotch, marnier, lillet blanc, vermouth, black pepper)
- Pumpkin Spice Margarita (tequila, cream, pumpkin spice syrup, simple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, extra cinnamon for rim)
- Figa (vodka, tea, tangerine juice, garnish with fresh fig wedge)
- Ticket To Cuba (rum, yuzu juice, simple syrup, garnish with fresh mint)
- Port Old Fashioned (whiskey, port, maple syrup, bitters, garnish with orange peel)
- And….and….there are over 40 recipes on this site.
Why Would We Care?
We care because there are so many things we could be doing to have fun in the fall, and entertaining is one of those things. Or, fun fact, you can take some of these recipes with you the next time you go to your favorite watering hole, hand them over to the bartender, and watch the magic happen.