Spicy Fall Cocktails – Bourbon Spiced Latte & Silk Road
Cooler temperatures call for spicy drinks with brown booze. To help make the most of the chillier evenings headed our way, we tapped Andrew Larson, lead bartender of The Nolen, a destination rooftop bar and lounge in the iconic Gaslamp District, for seasonal cocktail recipes inspired by classic cold-weather beverages.
The first, a smooth and silky pumpkin-spiced, latte-inspired libation, pairs perfectly with holiday cookies. The second, a spiced cider sipper spiked with Fino sherry, is light and refreshing enough to enjoy year-round.
Bourbon Spiced Latte
1 egg white
1½ ounces bourbon
1 ounce spiced pumpkin purée (see recipe)
2 ounces chocolate stout
Angostura bitters
1 cinnamon stick
Spiced Pumpkin Purée
1 mini pumpkin
White sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
10 allspice berries
½ nutmeg, shaved
8 cloves
1 star anise
Peel mini pumpkin, chop the flesh into medium-sized chunks and discard the seeds. Place the pumpkin chunks on a scale and make note of the weight (you will need a 1-1-1 ratio for pumpkin, sugar and water).
In a pot, add the pumpkin and its equal weight in water. Add spices and boil for approximately 6–10 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft enough to blend. Strain spices out of the mixture, add sugar (same weight as the pumpkin and water) and blend in a high-powered blender. Strain again to remove the pumpkin fiber. Chill.
Shake the egg white, bourbon and pumpkin purée in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake again (vigorously). Pour the stout into a rocks glass. Using a finemesh strainer, strain the contents of the shaker on top of the stout. Garnish with Angostura bitters and a cinnamon stick. See photo on Contents.
Silk Road
1½ ounces bourbon
¾ ounce cinnamon cider reduction (see recipe) ½ ounce Fino sherry
½ ounce lemon juice
2 dashes Scrappy’s cardamom bitters
Apple slices, for garnish
Cinnamon Cider Reduction
1 pint hard cider
3 cinnamon sticks
White sugar
Pour a pint of hard cider into a pot and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. Add cinnamon sticks and simmer until the mixture is reduced by a quarter. Place liquid on scale. Add an equal weight of sugar. Stir together until incorporated, then refrigerate until chilled.
Combine all ingredients in a tin with ice, shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with fanned apple slices. Drink pictured here.