The fall season and cocktails seem to go hand-in-hand, feeling special and warming the cockles of one’s heart. Two fine examples are the recipes below generously provided by Laura Graves and Laura Pringle, co-owners of moxYcello Distillery & Tasting Room. Learn more about them and the business and their very spirited liqueurs in the podcast and article link below. Visit Laura and Laura and enjoy a cocktail at their Tasting Room and, while you’re there, purchase some bottles to make your own drinks at home. In addition to the recipes below, they share many others on the moxYcello website. 

Crimson Harvest Moon 

Recipe courtesy of moxYcello

Ingredients:
1 oz. apple simple syrup (recipe below)
2-3 slices of apple to muddle
.75-oz moxYcello Ginger
2 oz Vodka
1 oz POM pomegranate juice
2-3 dashes old-fashion bitters

Instructions: 
You can shake this cocktail, but I prefer it stirred. It will be a bit spicier if you do.
First, muddle the apples with the apple simple.
Combine the remaining ingredients and stir for a 30-count.
If you just have to shake it up, increase your Ginger by a quarter ounce and maybe another dash of bitters to match this adult cider cocktail’s intensity. Alternatively, don’t change a thing to bring down the spiciness. (21% ABV)

Autumn Pear Bramble

Recipe courtesy of moxYcello 

Ingredients:
.25 c muddled pear
1 oz pear simple syrup (recipe below)
2 oz whiskey
.75 oz moxYcello Ginger
.5 oz cinnamon simple syrup (recipe below)
.25 oz fresh lemon juice
3 dashes black walnut bitters

Instructions:
Preparation: Shaken.
This one is a bit more complicated with a little of this and a little of that, but it’s worth the effort.
Muddle your pear and pear simple to start.
Combine remaining ingredients and shake for a count of 30.
Pour over craft ice in a rocks glass. (22% ABV)

BONUS: moxYcello’s Simple Syrups

Courtesy of moxYcello 

Like everything at moxYcello, we do things with big flavor and we’re not going to treat specialty simple syrup any differently. When we create our house-made simple syrups, we pack in a lot of flavor to enhance your cocktail experience. Here’s our most often used recipes. You’ll need about 45 minutes between prep and finish for any that requires prepping fruit. We recommend a light simple when combining fruit, meaning more water and less sugar. Fruit contains its own sugar so to help keep your finished syrup from getting too sweet, we recommend a higher water-to-sugar ratio. Happy creating!

Apple Simple Syrup

Yields 3 cups and can be refrigerated up to 3-4 weeks

Ingredients:
3 medium-to-large apples (we use Cosmic Crisp. It isn’t as sweet as many red varieties)
3 cups of water
2 cups of sugar

Instructions:
First, get a medium saucepan on the stove. You will need enough room for both the volume of water and sugar, plus your apples. There is no need to skin your fruit but do wash them first.

Add your water and sugar into the pan. There is no need to core or peel your apples. The natural color of apple skins adds a light pink hue to the finished simple. Dice up your apples and add them to the sugar water. Bring the heat up until it begins to boil and then reduce it to a simmer. Set a timer for 15 minutes. At the 15-minute mark, mash your apples in the pan. All you need to do is muddle them enough to allow more flavor to release into your simple mixture.

Simmer for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow your syrup to cool in the pan until it is safe to handle. Mash your apples a bit more.

Strain through a metal mesh strainer working it with a wooden spoon until you separate what is now your apple pure from the syrup. Save what is left over of your apples for toast or to add over vanilla ice cream. It’s delicious. As for your finished apple simple, this will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

If the yield of this recipe is a bit much for you, reduce it as needed. What is most important is the light simple proportions. If you reduce your yield to 2 cups, your water/sugar ratio is 2 cups water and 1.25 cup sugar. Or you can use the ratio that works for you. The fruit brings a lot of its own sweetness so be mindful of how much sugar you add.
Be sure to label your container including the preparation date.

Pear Simple Syrup

The instructions above can be applied to making this syrup too.

Cinnamon Simple Syrup

Refrigerate indefinitely so long as you follow the directions below

Ingredients:
10 oz water
8 oz sugar
1 oz by weight cinnamon sticks

Instructions:
This basic simple syrup preparation brings a lot of cinnamon flavor to your cocktails. The Old Cinner takes just .25 oz, but the Ginger Barrel uses a full ounce. Cinnamon sticks vary by size, so weighing is the best method here. If you do not have a home scale, the average for one ounce will be nine 3-inch sticks per ounce.

When we started making our cinnamon simple the average cinnamon stick length was between 4-5 inches. They have been getting shorter every time we reorder.

Combine your ingredients into the appropriate saucepan. The most important aspect of this preparation is that after combining all ingredients, you will need to boil this one for 5 minutes. *Do not skip this part. The duration is important to extract the cinnamon flavor and to add shelf stability. The recommended 10-oz of water is due to the preparation method. Boiling will cause evaporation, therefore, reduce your overall volume. By adding a bit more water, it will keep the overall ratio in line with a basic simple ratio of one-to-one simple.

Allow the simple to cool in the pan after your 5 minutes are up. This added time will pull more flavor from your cinnamon sticks. After cooling, drain each cinnamon stick and discard. I typically look for one stick that sinks to the bottom of the pot and add that one to the container I plan to store my finished simple. Be sure to label your container including the preparation date.

Store in your refrigerator, but this one should last without going bad due in large part to the boiling time. Be sure to label and date your container.

 Learn more about moxYcello Distillery & Tasting Room on their website, here.