Plummeting temperatures during one of our busiest times of year really call for something to warm the body and soul at the end of the day. Here are a few cocktails designed to do just that. We’ve also included a punch and sangria recipe for when you have friends or family over (another common occurrence during these months), and offer a recipe for Glazed Hatch Chile-Spice Baby Carrots, a lovely side dish for any of the below.

Rekorderlig Cosy Spiced Pear Cocktail aka The Cosy
1 oz. spiced rum
1.5 tsp. pear puree
½ oz. warm Rekorderlig Spiced Apple Cider
1 dash bitters
1 egg white

Mix all of the ingredients except the cider together. Gently heat the cider and pour into the mixed ingredients. Gently stir and pour into an insulated glass. Garnish with a slice of pear.

The McGavin
1 oz. gin (We used Sipsong Spirits Indira)
1 oz. green Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1/2 oz. fresh Meyer lemon juice (regular lemon juice or even lime juice will work)
1/4 oz. simple syrup
1 big sprig of basil, for mixing and garnish
1 egg white

Mix the gin, chartreuse, and lemon juice in the shaker. Add the remaining ingredients, a small sprig of basil and 3-5 cubes of ice. Shake until the ice is nearly gone, about two minutes. Strain and serve up, garnished with a sprig of basil and a couple droplets of extra virgin olive oil over the top.

Rye on the Hudson
1 oz. Hudson Rye
1/2 oz. Nocello Walnut Liqueur
1/2 oz. Cherry Heering Liqueur
1/4 oz. Lustau Don Nuno Dry Oloroso Sherry
1/4 oz. lemon juice
6 drops orange bitters
6 drops cherry vanilla bark bitters

Stir ingredients together and serve over crushed ice in a highball glass with a lemon ribbon garnish.

Rum Harvest Cocktail
courtesy of mantitlement.com
1 1/2 oz. Captain Morgan Private Stock
1 oz. cranberry juice
1/4 oz. fresh lime juice
cola for topping
lime wedges for garnish

Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the rum, cranberry juice, lime juice, and stir. Top off with about 4 oz. of the cola and garnish with lime wedges.

Brockmans Sundown Vermouth
1 ¼ oz. Brockmans Gin
1 oz. Rosso Vermouth
½ oz. Lejay Triple Sec

Fill an old fashioned glass with ice cubes. Pour in Brockmans Gin, Rosso Vermouth, and Lejay Triple Sec. Stir in the glass and garnish with a thin slice of dehydrated orange.

Lone Star Smoky
1 1/2 oz. Swift Single Malt
1/4 oz. Laphroaig 10 year
3/4 tsp. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
3/4 tsp. Brown Sugar Cordial (you can also substitute brown sugar simple syrup)
2 dashes Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters
1 mint sprig for garnish

Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Add chunks of ice and serve.

Eclipsed by None
from The Bar at The Spectator Hotel, Charleston, SCL

A multi-step concoction…

Frozen Sphere:
3½ oz. Pomegranate Juice
¼ oz. Milagro Silver Tequila
¼ oz. Giffard Creme de Mure
¼ oz. Ancho Reyes Liqueur
¼ oz. Highwire Southern Amaro
¼ oz. blackberry purée
¼ oz. fresh lime juice
small pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all above ingredients into ample vessel and stir to incorporate. Pour mixture into Tovolo ice sphere mold and place in freezer. Allow 24 hrs to set.

Base Cocktail:
¾ oz. Montelobos Mezcal
¾ oz. yellow Chartreuse
½ oz. Licor 43
½ oz. pineapple juice
¾ oz. fresh lime juice

Combine all above base cocktail ingredients into shaker tin, add ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into a rocks glass over the ice sphere and serve.

Basil Hayden’s Autumnal Punch
by Charlie Schott (Chicago, IL)
1 3/4 cups Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
5 fresh lemons, peeled and juiced (1 cup)
2 fresh ruby red grapefruits, peeled and juiced (2 Cups)
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup Earl Grey tea
1 lemon (for garnish)

Peel lemon and grapefruits and add peels into sugar, let sit for 2 hours. Bring water to boil in a sauce pot, remove from heat and add earl grey tea, steep for 3 minutes. Add sugar mixture to tea and stir until sugar melts. Let cool. Remove peels. Juice lemons and grapefruits, combine with Basil Hayden Bourbon and Earl Grey Simple Syrup. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Serve in a small punch bowl with large ice cubes. Garnish with lemon wheels. Serves 17.

Fichi Mule
from Todd English’s Tuscany
1 ½ oz. Frigenza Vodka
1 oz. Breckenridge Pear Vodka
1 oz. lime juice
1 can of ginger beer

Fill a copper mug with ice and add the vodka with a splash of lime juice before topping it off with the ginger beer. Garnish with a lime or a sliced pear.

Spiced Appel
1 oz. Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, dissolved)
3/4 oz. ginger liqueur
1 jalapeño slice

In a mixing glass, muddle the jalapeño slice in the lemon juice and honey syrup. Add remaining ingredients with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a jalapeño slice and apple slice.

Autumn Old Fashioned
1 ½ oz. Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon
½ oz. Blended Scotch
1 tsp. Grade B Maple Syrup (We used Crown Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup)
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
orange & lemon twists to garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker and dry shake. Pour into a rocks glass over a large cube or sphere of ice.

Spiced Orchard
4 oz. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple
1 oz. aged rum
1/2 oz. Monin Pumpkin Spice Syrup (if you want to make your own: Mix ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar in a saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted. Stir 6 tablespoons pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon sticks, ¼ tsp. each of nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice into the syrup. Boil on medium for five minutes and then strain the mixture through a sheet of cheesecloth. Courtesy of allrecipes.com)
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Heat all ingredients on the stove until warm. Pour into a toddy glass and garnish with a cinnamon
stick and grated nutmeg.

Fall Sangria
1 bottle Smirnoff Ice Raspberry
1/2 bottle crisp white wine
7 oz. Smirnoff No. 21 vodka
18 oz. white grape juice
apples, pears, oranges and raspberries for garnish

Pour Smirnoff Ice Raspberry, white wine, and Smirnoff No. 21 vodka into a large pitcher. Stir and then stir in white grape juice. Top with slices of apples, pears, oranges, and raspberries. Stir once again before serving. Serves 8.

Try these glazed carrots with green chile to warm up any meal or as an appetizer.

Glazed Hatch Chile-Spiced Baby Carrots
courtesy of Melissas.com
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large fresh Hatch Chiles, stems and seeds removed; diced (You can also buy them already diced in cans in the Mexican food aisle of your grocery store.)
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 pound thin or baby carrots, ends trimmed
salt as needed

Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium–high heat. Add chile, brown sugar, and carrots. Cook until carrots are slightly softened, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. Stir in salt to taste and serve. If used as an appetizer, supply toothpicks for guests to grab carrots.