Last Sunday, October 19th to be exact, I attended the fall pot-luck picnic with the kind and generous folks on DonRockwell.com at the Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria, Virginia.? This was the first event I’ve attended with these folks, though SeanMike has been to several events.? Prior to this picnic, he told me that at the last one, he was good-naturedly ribbed for not bringing any “Scofflaw-esque” beverages.? This was something he didn’t want to repeat at this picnic.? Naturally, I decided to take something “Scofflaw-esque” as well.

But what to take?? Taking various bottles of spirits, mixers, mixing tins, strainers, jiggers, etc. would be a hassle and too labor intensive.? So I decided to make a bottled cocktail.? For those of you looking for more information on bottling cocktails, I highly recommend reading this post.? But what cocktail to bottle?? I wanted something that said “HEY IT’s FALL AND KIND OF CHILLY.? DRINK ME BECAUSE I’M LIKE FALL.”? Okay, so maybe not so much with the yelling, but you get my gist.

I searched through my cocktail books and even tried out the Virginia Autumn that I made last year but nothing was really tickling my fancy.? I then came across Paul Clarke’s site and more specifically, this post on the Northern Spy.? Now this little number had promise.? So I whipped one up to give a try before committing to an entire bottles’ worth.? It was good.? But still wasn’t exactly what I wanted.? I was afraid that the dryness of the cocktail, and the inherent boozyness, would be off-putting to some people.? I wanted something that was a little sweeter, mainly because I wasn’t sure of my audience.? Usually, sweeter things are more appealing to the masses and I certainly wanted my drink to be a hit.

Paul mentions that the Orchard Apricot can be replaced with ginger liqueur, pimento dram or another flavor enhancer.? Well, I don’t have Orchard Apricot.? I know, I know!? I should have some, but every now and again, something slips through the cracks when I go booze shopping.? (Shhhhh . . . don’t tell Joe at Ace Beverage.? He’ll have me buying some within 15 minutes of reading this!)? Anyway, I do have the Orchard Pear, so I figure that’s a good place to start.? I also wanted to get some extra fall flavors into the drink, so I thought about a few dashes of Fee’s Whiskey Barrel Bitters.? But then again, Paul unknowingly guided my hand with his suggestion of using pimento dram.

So after a few tasty trials and errors, here is the recipe for my finished cocktail.? Which I have called,

Fort Hunt Fall
2oz Applejack
1oz Apple Cider*
.5oz lemon juice
.5oz Pear Brandy (I used Rothman & Winter Orchard Pear)
.5oz Pimento Dram
.5oz Apple Cider Syrup**

-Shake everything with ice and strain into an ice filled rocks glass.

*For those of you not in the US, by “apple cider,” I’m referring to fresh pressed apple juice.? Not the hard stuff.

**To make apple cider syrup:? Take one cup of apple cider and reduce by half on the stove.? Stir in a quarter cup of sugar.? Let cool and bottle.? You can play around with the sugar you add to get a sweetness you like.? The cider will have a lot of residual sugar already so you may not need too much.? This is a great syrup to add an intense apple flavor wherever you like.

I’m happy to report that this drink was very well received.? In fact, the bottle was empty when I went to gather my belongings.? Some even topped it off with champagne; which was very delicious as well.? I saw a few people (cough, cough Heather) go back for seconds.? I was just happy that those who tried it, seemed to enjoy it and that their introduction to my cocktails was a pleasant one.

Of course, in true Scofflaw fashion, I couldn’t just show up with one drink.? I also brought along a small bottle of Trader Tiki’s Primitiva which I had just bottled a couple of weeks prior.? If you want to make a tasty liqueur, this stuff is money!? The Trader knows his spirits and is second to none in concoctioneering.? Seriously.? Make this stuff.? It’s fantastic.? Anyway, back to the picnic.? I brought a small bottle of primitiva and was pouring about an ounce in a small, ice-filled plastic cup and topping it with champagne.? Fantastic!? Mixed together with a Fort Hunt Fall – fantastic.? Swigging straight from the bottle maniacally laughing at the poor poor people who couldn’t fathom the tasty treat they were missing out on – fantastic.? You catch my drift.

As we’ve already written about here and here the picnic was awesome.

Next up on my calender is the second cocktail class by Gina Chersevani at EatBar.? This is the Halloween themed class and I’m really excited about it.? Friday night, I have my Halloween party and am in the process of creating the cocktail menu for it.? I need two more cocktails for the menu and I’m hoping Gina gives me some good ideas.? I won’t give anything away until after the party, but expect to see plenty of pictures and the recipes for all the drinks from the menu later that weekend.

Hope everyone has a frightful (and safe) Halloween!? Cheers!