Fall Cocktail Recipes
An autumn view of the Castles, near Crested Butte, Colo. and Montanya Distillers.
Okay. We concede: Summer is giving way to fall. We’re not sure why it’s an adjustment—in the mountains, autumn brings so much splendor our way (just look at that photo!). And it’s a great excuse for fall cocktail recipes.
Maybe we all sometimes need a minute to adjust. We’re sharing three rum cocktail recipes below to help you embrace the season. Whether you’re watching football, heading to the local apple orchard, or looking to warm up on a cool night, these cocktails embrace the spirit of the season!
Taste of the Season: The Apple Orchard
In our corner of the Rocky Mountains, locavores head over the pass from Crested Butte to Paonia to pick apples in September. There’s nothing quite like fresh apple cider for a cocktail base. This recipe will hit the spot after a day of apple picking or a crisp autumn night that smells like fall.
In a shaker, place:
2 oz fresh apple cider
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp honey
1/4 oz ginger syrup
2 oz Montanya Oro Rum
Shake and stain over ice into a rocks glass, and garnish with an apple slice.
An Autumn Update: Fall Manhattan
Our founder and owner Karen Hoskin came up with this fun cocktail update for a partnership with the Women’s Cocktail Collective, a group of leading female spirits producers. In addition to Montanya Oro, it features products from two fellow members: Pür Spirits and The Bitter Housewife. We LOVE this cocktail, almost as much as we love our fellow spirits makers:
In a crystal mixing glass, place:
2 oz Montanya Oro Rum
.5 oz Pür Spirits Williams Pear
.25 oz Pür Amaro
5 drops of Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters
Stir until chilled, decant into a coupe or low ball rocks glass over a King Cube. Garnish with a slice of fresh pear, a few Cardamom Pods or a Luxardo Cherry.
Fall Manhattan Cocktail
“Oldie” But Goodie: Rum Old Fashioned
Karen has never been a Bourbon or Rye fan, but she does love the classics and bitters. There’s also something about the classics that just fits for fall. We went back to the first volume of Elevated Cocktails: Craft Bartending and Montanya Rum for this reimagined Old Fashioned. Sometimes the best part of a new season is the return of the familiar.
In the bottom of an empty rocks glass, stack:
A slice of fresh orange
1 Amarena or Luxardo cherry
Pinch of sugar
Muddle together with a wooden cocktail muddler. Add:
2.5 oz simple syrup (recipe below)
3 oz Montanya Oro Rum
5 drops of Montanya Citrus Bitters
King ice cube
(Simple Syrup: Bring natural sugar and water to a boil at a ratio of 1:1. Refrigerate for up to 30 days.)
Stir with a bar spoon until chilled (do not shake). Garnish with an additional Amarena or Luxardo cherry. Enjoy!