At the Reader‘s Fall Cocktail Challenge event last week, bartenders weren’t challenged to use a specific ingredient (as they usually are in our ongoing feature), but to create a cocktail evocative of fall. (The one exception was Dustin Drankiewicz of the Promontory, who was tasked with using pumpkin and created a pumpkin pie-inspired recipe with brown butter pisco, graham cracker syrup, spiced pumpkin soda, and whipped cream topped with spices.) It’s a broad category, and excellent drinks abounded, making the task of the judges—the Reader‘s Gwynedd Stuart, Imbibe digital content editor Emma Janzen, and me—a difficult one.
*Rosemary-black walnut syrup 2 parts brown sugar 1 part water ½ part black walnuts 3 sprigs rosemary Pinch of sea salt
