It happens every autumn: Piles and piles of squash show up at farmers’ markets, and frankly no one knows what to do with All. That. Squash. But we have an idea: Meet the Butternut Squash Old Fashioned. The orange flesh of this gourd has a natural sweetness to it, which gets sweeter still when roasted with a bit of maple syrup, making it an ideal veg to infuse into robust bourbon.
Bobby Heugel, the owner of the beloved Houston bars Anvil Bar & Refuge and The Pastry War, is probably most well known for his unrelenting admiration for agave. Let the record show that Heugel is no vodka-hater—and he thinks you shouldn’t be, either. We talked to Heugel about the magic of well-made booze and what vodkas are speaking to him at the moment.
Named after the famed female pirate of the Caribbean, Jacquotte Delahaye, this Dark ’N’ Stormy riff adapted from The Bluffton Room at Hilton Head Island in Bluffton, S.C., has Redlock spiced rum from Hilton Head Distillery, a vanilla-forward spirit with tones of allspice and nutmeg.1 1/2 oz Redlock spiced rum2 oz Grapefruit juice1/4 oz Brown sugar syrupGinger beer, to topGarnish: Dill sprigAdd the rum, juice and syrup into a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
The French have l’heure de l’apéro. The Dutch have borreltijd. Here in the States, we have happy hour. Though these pre-dinner drinking traditions are largely cultural, signaling the end of the work day, happy hour is also a longstanding marketing tool for bars, with reduced prices to help fill a space during off-peak hours.
Mastering the classics in any art form is an essential part in understanding when, where and perhaps why things associated with said art form began. That may sound rather rudimentary to many of you, but it still amazes me how few bartenders these days have a handle on classic cocktail recipes. When I started in this game more than two decades ago, we didn’t really have any other choice as there wasn’t the myriad of new modern classics that we know today and there wasn’t the level of creativity that we’ve seen transpire in the last 10 years.
Surprisingly, the vibrant white wine pairs nicely with bitter Aperol.3 oz New Zealand sauvignon blanc wine1/2 oz Aperol1/2 oz Fresh grapefruit juice1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice1/4 oz Simple syrupClub sodaAdd all the ingredients except the soda to a shaker and fill with ice.Shake, and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
