Whether you love it or not, it’s finally fall in New York City. The weather is staying below 70 degrees, everyone and their mother is breaking out those black ankle booties and, most importantly, Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes. Is coffee not enough to get you through impending midterms? Take a break from your all-day study sessions in Bobst. Why not hide from Jason from your Econ class who keeps asking you for notes while sipping on a more adult and autumnal drink. These cocktails are classier and more interesting than anything from a last-minute coffee run.
Rye & Apple Cocktail @ Loring Place
21 W. Eighth Street
Loring Place is a mark of the contemporary food scene in New York. Accompanying a fall dinner menu comes a fall cocktail menu featuring all the flavors of the season. In addition to the food, the minimalist furniture with burnt orange pops of color will satisfy all of your aesthetic dreams. It may even be a good place to have a first date — cuffing season is right around the corner, folks. The Rye & Apple Cocktail not only features the quintessential fruit of fall but also has some vanilla and star anise mixed in to warm your stomach and provide a liquid version of your grandma’s famous apple pie. The Loring Place focuses on using fresh, locally grown produce in everything it makes — including its drinks — making this the perfect destination for all the health nuts out there.
Dragones Velvet @ Please Don’t Tell
113 St. Marks Pl.
If you pride yourself on finding — and blogging — the hidden gems scattered throughout the city, Please Don’t Tell is perfect for Instagram bragging rights. Entering through a nondescript phone booth in a hot dog joint, this secret speakeasy provides a dimly lit, cozy atmosphere to shelter you from the rain and the rest of the stressed out NYU student population. The Dragones Velvet is made with a pumpkin puree and tequila-based mixture that will satisfy your pumpkin spice latte cravings to the utmost degree. Paired with some bar nuts and a burger, this drink may just be the dream fall cocktail you’ve been looking for.
Mulled Wine @ Hudson’s at Pier 81
Pier 81, 12th Avenue & West 41st Street
Let’s be real. The concept of consuming anything cold this time of year, can be painful to think about. Anyone else wonder how 16 Handles stays in business? Hudson’s Restaurant understands your suffering and pours up mulled wine for its freezing drinkers. It’s a hot beverage, invented by the Romans to keep their bodies warm during the winter, and it must do the trick because the tradition has carried on to modern day. Hudson’s adds some cinnamon and clove spices to their version of mulled wine, heightening the fall flavors in every sip.
DIY Peppermint Vodka Hot Chocolate
Your Home
Don’t feel like going outside? Even less interested in spending $15 on one drink? Don’t worry about it. Liquor stores are starting to sell peppermint vodka, with some brands costing as little as $20. Splitting the cost with some friends and making some hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint vodka is a DIY cocktail perfect for a movie night indoors. Yes, it’s a little more winter-themed, but is it ever too early to start celebrating the holidays? Bring on the cold weather. Let it freaking snow.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Oct. 15 print edition. Email Calais Watkins at [email protected].
