Mouthing Off

Whitehall's No. 10 Courtesy of Whitehall

When it comes to cocktails, it doesn’t get much simpler than the old fashioned: spirit (typically rye or bourbon), bitters, sweetener and citrus. The uncomplicated nature of the drink makes it a fantastic blank canvas for bartenders. “The old fashioned is arguably one of the oldest cocktails,” says John McCarthy, the beverage director of New York City’s Scotch-centric Highlands and gin-focused Whitehall. “What’s great is that you can change all the elements and just mix and match.” McCarthy created three riffs on the old fashioned for his fall menus. »

© Frances Janisch

Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, the stuffing, the sweet potatoes. But for F&W editors it wouldn’t be complete without the perfect cocktail, beer or wine. Here, expert suggestions for terrific Thanksgiving drinks from a bracing vermouth cocktail to a rare late harvest zinfandel that will go perfectly with the holiday spread. MORE »

Dale DeGroff's Pimento Bitters. Photo by Phil Jimcosky / Mutineer Magazine.

A pioneer of modern American mixology, “King Cocktail” Dale DeGroff is best known for his turn as head bartender at New York’s Rainbow Room, which recently was granted landmark status. Inspired by a Jamaican liqueur he loved that’s no longer on the market, DeGroff just unveiled a new product: Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters. The infusion of distilled high-proof alcohol with pimento berries (a.k.a. allspice), orange peels, demerara sugar and a top secret strain of anise makes a super-aromatic cocktail component that’s richly spiced and comforting, especially in cold-weather drinks. He’s producing the bitters in France, and the product is now available in signed 250 ml bottles with his kitschy tuxedoed portrait on the label. Here, DeGroff talks about his path to bitters and how to use them in a delicious Thanksgiving punch. >

The Tahona Smash ©Paul Wagtouicz.

If fall fruits were superheroes, pears would be Robin to Batman-like apples: terrific, but occasionally left behind. But this season bartenders are spotlighting the sweet, fragrant fruit in cocktails made with a range of spirits from brandy to vodka. »

© Antonis Achilleos

Tasting 30 or 40 wines in the course of an afternoon is no big deal for me anymore, but when faced with tasting 50 gins (for “An American Gin Renaissance” in the November issue), I had to take my time. I found that at most, I could taste about six different gins in one sitting—the alcohol was too strong, the juniper too palate-walloping. Read more >

The Hudson cocktail. Courtesy of Northeast Kingdom.

In fall, when overzealous apple-picking excursions and trips to the farmers’ market end with piles of the crunchy fruit overflowing from kitchen bowls, most people make pies, slice them for salads and do lots of fiber-rich snacking. Here’s a tip: Use fresh apples to create fantastic of-the-moment cocktails. More >

Prime Meats © Simon Watson

Like many people, I used to think that a gin and tonic was one of the world’s most simple and refreshing drinks, consisting of two ingredients: gin…and tonic. OK, maybe a third ingredient, too: a lime wedge. Although there’s certainly a beauty in such simplicity, I have recently learned that I was being way too closed-minded about one of my favorite drinks. In fact, by making this beverage infinitely more complicated, it can attain supreme excellence. Read more >

Whiskey Smash © Dusan Vuksanovic

With lightly sweet flavors and a soft fizziness, hard sparkling ciders from American craft producers are a fantastic fall alternative to sparkling wine or soda water in cocktails. At Woodberry Kitchen, the Whiskey Smash calls for cider that is made in the same way it was during colonial times. »

Courtesy of Manresa

Bartenders familiar with the dark, medicinal Italian liqueur Fernet Branca as a digestive or hangover cure are now using it in fantastic, herbaceous cocktails. The long-standing industry favorite earned extra buzz last month as the main component in San Francisco Cocktail Week's signature drink: The Black Lily with Fernet, citrusy Cointreau and fresh lime juice over ice. Just south of San Francisco in Los Gatos Manresa is serving a Fernet-and-Coke-inspired cocktails. »

Crushed Nun cocktail at The Modern. Photo by Leah Herman

Ehren Ashkenazi, bar director of The Modern at the New York Museum of Modern Art, often collaborates with Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery on specialty brews (like the French painter–inspired Paul Saison), but he recently unveiled the restaurant’s first project with exhibiting artists. The two avant-garde filmmakers behind "The Quay Brothers: On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets," which runs through January, worked with Ashkenazi on a cocktail called The Crushed Nun (Light on the Veil). Its name comes from a scandalous portrait, by 19th-century painter Jean-Jacques Lequeua, of a nun exposing her breast. The dark, herbaceous riff on a Champagne cocktail combines absinthe, fresh blueberry syrup infused with Strega (an herbal liqueur similar to Chartreuse), sparkling rosé and Angostura bitters. Here, Ashkenazi discusses what it’s like to make drinks with artists >