Where has the summer gone? It’s time for our last ditch grilling, hanging out, and partying weekend: Labor Day. After all, you have to love a holiday where people take the day off of work to celebrate work. Here are some great cocktails you’ll enjoy and an easy cake recipe to boot. Cheers!

Angry Cider Slushy
courtesy of Angry Orchard
1/2 oz. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple
1 oz. white rum
3/4 oz. lime juice
2 ½ Tbsp. white sugar
4 strawberries (or any other seasonal berries that are available)
2 cups ice

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in rocks glass and garnish with a strawberry.

Junior Buffalo “GDE”
by Clayton MacGregor, Pig & Pickle in Phoenix, AZ
1 ½ oz. Bulldog Gin
1 ½ oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 dash Orange Cream Citrate from Bittermen’s Bitters
1 ½ oz. house-made orange blossom soda

Fill a tall rocks glass with ice, koozie on glass is optional. Measure gin with a jigger and add to glass. Add fresh grapefruit juice and Orange Cream Citrate. Garnish with an orange slice, a hug, and a high five.

To make orange blossom soda, mix together the following:
2 oz. orange blossom water
6 oz. orange simple syrup
24 oz. water

Place in an iSi container (i.e. Soda Stream) and carbonate.

Kelimutu
courtesy of By the Dutch from the Netherlands
1 ½ oz By the Dutch Batavia Arrack
¾ oz. lime juice
½ oz. passion fruit syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon syrup
1 dash By the Dutch Classic Bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

Over the Moon
created by Mixologist Ben Scorah
1 1/2 oz. Tequila Don Julio Blanco
3 oz. fresh coconut
3 oz. coconut water
2 oz. fresh pineapple juice
1/2 tsp. activated charcoal
coconut flakes for garnish

Combine Tequila Don Julio Blanco, coconut, coconut water, fresh pineapple juice, and charcoal in a blender with ice. Blend for 30 seconds. Then pour contents into a highball glass and garnish with coconut flakes on top.

Note: activated charcoal is the element which turns this drink black and is currently a craze in foods and beverages around the world — most notably black ice cream and black lemonade. However, it is the same ingredient used in emergency rooms to help overdose victims because it absorbs the alcohols and other chemicals in the stomach. This means it can interfere with medications you are taking. If this is a problem, simply leave out the charcoal and enjoy the cocktail without it.

Rumosa Signature Cocktail
2 oz. Island Company Rum
2 oz. fresh orange juice
1 oz. club soda

Build in a champagne flute and garnish with an orange slice.

Bacardí Refresco Superior
2 parts Bacardí Superior rum
¾ part ginger syrup
1 part lime juice
1/4 part St-Germain
4 cilantro leaves

Shake all ingredients vigorously with plenty of ice. Double strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and fresh cilantro.

Margo Flips
2 parts Auchentoshan Three Wood Single Malt Scotch Whisky
1 part Chocolate Stout (We used Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout)
1 whole egg
4 dashes Peychauds Bitters
1/2 part brown sugar cayenne syrup

Add Auchentoshan Auchentoshan Three Wood Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Chocolate Stout, whole egg, Peychauds Bitters, and brown sugar cayenne syrup into a cocktail shaker. Shake until egg is broken down and drink is frothy. Strain into footed rock glass with fresh ice. Garnish with nutmeg.

To make the brown sugar cayenne syrup:
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Bring to boil. Let cool and keep in refrigerator. Note: if you don’t want that much syrup, cut the proportions respectively. We made ours with ¼ cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup water and ¼ tsp. cayenne. It made enough for two cocktails.

Almande Horchata
courtesy of Baileys
2 oz. Baileys Almande
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 tbsp. honey
1/4 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tbsp. vanilla extract
fresh nutmeg for garnish

Combine Baileys Almande, almond milk, honey, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain contents into a coffee mug over fresh ice. Garnish with fresh nutmeg.

Labyrinthe
Signature cocktail for Maison St-Germain
1 oz. Cazadores Blanco Tequila
1 oz. Kaffir lime infused St-Germain French elderflower liqueur
3/4 oz. Noilly Dry vemouth
1/4 oz. of fresh lime juice
5 dashes chartreuse (You could probably use absinthe as well)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake well, Pour into a coupette and garnish with kaffir lime leaf.

Rosé Affogato
created by Luis Hernandez at the Seamstress Rosé Bar
1/2 oz. strawberry-infused Campari
sparkling rosé
berry ice cream

Place one scoop of berry ice cream in a coupe glass. Pour in infused Campari and top with sparkling rosé.

To make Strawberry-Infused Campari, take 1 pound of strawberries sliced and cored per 750 ml bottle of Campari and let sit for 3 days to infuse.

Peachy Bear
from Kim Richards
2 oz. bourbon (we used Lost Republic, which is made in collaboration with Bear Republic)
2 oz. Van Gogh Cool Peach vodka
1 oz. amaretto
2 dashes orange bitters

Pour all ingredients in to a glass and stir with ice. No garnish is needed unless you just want to add a grilled peach slice.

Truly Italian Margarita
created by Natasha David, Nitecap
1 oz. Casamigos Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
4 oz. Truly Colima Lime

Combine all ingredients, except for Truly, in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a double rocks glass (14 oz.) and top with Truly Colima Lime. Garnish with a salt rim and lime wedge.

How about a nice dessert to finish off your holiday? At a recent visit to the Coppola Family Wineries, one of their employees mentioned this dessert as a family favorite.

Pound Cake with Grappa
1 slice of pound cake
2-3 blackberries (or raspberries)
Grappa

Place the berries on top of the cake slice. Use a pipette to drizzle the grappa all over the berries. We covered them twice. Dust with powdered sugar if you desire. Serve to your guest with a fork.

Momma’s Pound Cake Recipe
courtesy of Paula Deen
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 tsp. fine salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.