The bitter shakeup on fall cocktail menus this year is the result of a confluence of two trends, one longstanding and the other much more recent.
The first is that exotic spices have long been in holiday treats from puddings to wassail bowls. We’ve become accustomed cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and vanilla as cold weather comforts—never mind that these ingredients come from the distant tropic zones. But a recent interest in amari (bitter herbal liqueur) has also shaped our palates to appreciate an often-overlooked side of the flavor spectrum.
An amaro is a liqueur of distilled grain or grapes that contains, among other herbs and spices, strong bittering agents like gentian root or cinchona bark, the key ingredient in quinine used to treat malaria. These spirits have long been taken as digestives after dinner for their health benefits. The bitter herbs preserved wine-based spirits, and the alcohol preserved the flavor of the spices in a neat reciprocal relationship. Now that more people are accustomed to these flavors and crave heavily hopped beer, curiously bitter vermouths in negronis, and amari, they are finding that these flavors go well with traditionally fall ones.
“I think that with these flavors we are drinking, with amari, we’ve gotten used to some pretty out-there flavors,” says mixologist Remy Canario of Stanton & Greene (319 Pennsylvania Avenue SE). “When you look at it, myrrh is pretty tame in comparison.”
He’s talking about a Bombay Sapphire martini that’s flecked with gold leaf, scented with frankincense and bittered with myrrh. It’s the 1st amendment—Freedom Of Religion—in cocktail form, part of a series of ten cocktails representing the Bill Of Rights. The Capitol Hill bar’s cocktails range from $11-$15.
Canario enlists New England Distilling’s Gunpowder Rye for the 2nd amendment—The Right To Bear Arms. “It’s a 160-year old rye recipe distilled over open fire, with beautiful chocolaty notes,” he says. He augments it with black walnut liqueur and amontillado sherry for a taste of autumn in New England. “These are flavors we like for a reason,” Canario says.
He’s right: the nuttiness, smoke, and wood scents of this drink are comforting and familiar.
Other worthy mentions include the 9th amendment—The Constitutional Mule—a deluxe Moscow Mule bolstered with American ginseng and yerba mate, a South American herb with strong caffeine content and medicinal benefits.
Adam Bernbach’s $14-dollar fall cocktails at Proof (775 G Street NW) follow similar classic cocktail trends. The Ozark is a play on a Manhattan with Rittenhouse rye, Cynar (an amaro that uses bitterness of artichoke), and Bonal gentian amaro. It also gets a crispness that comes from Bitter Truth celery bitters.
It’s impressive how well calvados, Benedictine, green Chartreuse, and Angostura bitters go together to make a fall-like up drink in the Widow’s Kiss, an old classic. Distilled apple juice and Alpine herb liqueurs that together present hundreds of fruits, herbs, and spices combined, hint at autumn without the cinnamon or nutmeg. Finally, and best of all, the Seven Ten Split is a pecan pie-like cocktail with Pig Nose scotch, Cocchi vermouth, sweet amaro Montenegro, China-China, and chocolate bitters.
The Royal’s (501 Florida Avenue NW) beverage manager Lee Carrell makes his own pumpkin amaro for $7 that’s got more bitterness than a pumpkin spice latte. It’s made with real roasted pumpkin and sweet potato, a spirituous infusion of chincona and gentian barks, and a blend of fall spices.
The rest of Royal’s cocktails ($10 to $12) are worth a look, too. Carrell has transformed champagne cocktails into fall delights with rich spirit bases for the season. Old Nigel uses the wetter Hayman’s Old Tom gin, celery bitters, and white pepper tincture to give a sparkling cocktail a crackly pepper and herb kick. Carrell’s American 63 undergirds sparkling cider with Singani 63, Copper & Kings apple brandy, ginger, and allspice dram that make it a strong seasonal fizz.
Carrell also says he has the scotch drink that’s “approachable for the scotch haters out there.” His Newburn is made with Monkey Shoulder scotch, house tamarind syrup, and a cinnamon cardamom spice blend that’s “super fall.”
Homemade flips will be making a comeback right around the time eggnog season starts. Make a Pernod flip with bitter anise notes to set it apart from other seasonal dessert drinks.
• 2 oz. Pernod
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• 1 whole egg
• ½ tsp. sugar
• dash of nutmeg
Combine Pernod, egg, and cream in a shaker and shake like hell. Add ice and shake again to chill. Strain into a wine goblet or coupe glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
