Pumpkin Patch Cocktail

I am not what you would call a “mixologist.” I love local wine and beer, so mixed drinks are rarely served at our house beyond an occasional Jack & Coke. However, I’ve been reading more and more about them in the foodie types of magazines, so I figure I should start giving cocktails a try–especially if I can incorporate local ingredients.

If you read my review of Fresh From the Market, you know that they are a bit particular. Here is the list of ingredients for the cocktail:

2 oz Coole Swan Irish cream liqueur or other Irish cream liqueur
1 1/2 oz Stoli Vanil vodka
1 oz pumpkin syrup, preferably Monin brand
Freshly ground nutmeg

Easy peasy, right? Turns out not so much. DH and I stopped at Meijer’s on the way home from visiting his mom in the rehab / nursing home facility to look for the liqueur. They had Stoli, but not the Vanil. So I figured it was vanilla flavored vodka. Of course they had Smirnof, but it was only a $10 bottle wheras the Stoli was about twice that. I bought it anyway. They also didn’t have Coole Swan, so I picked up Bailey’s. Then on to the pumpkin syrup . . . nowhere to be found. I checked by the mixers and by the coffees. No  luck. It was getting late, so we knew the Pumpkin Patch would have to wait.

The next day on my lunch hour I headed over to GB Russo’s, which is a local specialty food store. Surely they would have the necessary ingredients! Well, they had the Stoli Vanil vodka, but not the Coole Swan. They also had flavored syrups, but not pumpkin. The cashier suggested that I try the coffee shop down the road.

Sure enough, the coffee shop had Monin flavorings – except they only had five choices, and one of them was pumpkin spice. I figured that was close enough.

I got home, dug out the shaker we got as a wedding gift 5 years ago and haven’t even opened, and mixed up the drink. Except I couldn’t find my nutmeg grater so I put a pinch of already-ground nutmeg on top.

The Verdict: YUM! This is definitely a dessert drink, and I LOVED it. DH, however, was not impressed. He couldn’t really tell me why, just that he didn’t like it.  I have no idea if the brand of Irish Cream would have made a difference. I will make some with the “cheap” vanilla vodka soon to compare.

This post also shared with Things I Love Thursday and Finer Things Friday

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