DrinkWire is Liquor.com’s showcase for the best articles, recipes and reviews from the web’s top writers and bloggers. In this post, Dan Magro offers a fall cocktail.

My absolute favorite treat growing up was my grandmother’s homemade pumpkin pie. It wasn’t uncommon for me to receive a pumpkin pie instead of a cake on my birthday. There’s something about the sweet squash paired with those warm spices that really hits the nostalgia button for me. I wanted to find a recipe that did justice to my childhood favorite while preserving the integrity of pumpkin in such an oversaturated, pumpkin spiced latte-obsessed world. If you’re feeling extra indulgent, make some fresh whipped cream and toss a dollop on top of the drink before adding the cinnamon, sage, or apple.

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Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  • ½ ounce maple syrup
  • ½ ounce lemon juice
  • 1½ ounce bourbon
  • Angostura bitters
  • Cinnamon, to garnish
  • Green apple slice, to garnish
  • Sage leaf, to garnish
Instructions:

Combine all ingredients (except cinnamon, apple slice, and sage) in a shaker filled with ice.

Shake vigorously until the pumpkin puree appears emulsified. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.

Grate fresh cinnamon on top of the glass.

Place the sage leaf in the palm of your hand and give a firm slap to release oils and fragrance.

Wrap the sage around the skin side of the apple, securing it by piercing a skewer through the apple flesh.

Place the garnish in the drink.

*Let’s talk pumpkin real quick. One time, my friend made a pumpkin pie – from an actual pumpkin. The process was...intense? And lengthy. And stressful. Plus, at the end of the day, the pie was...fine. I know, right? You’d think if you spent the better half of your day elbow-deep in a massive vegetable that it’d be worth it. Listen, it’s not. I know these are extraordinary cocktails and I told you to get the freshest ingredients — but in this one case, get the prepared puree. It will save you so much time, and and I promise it will taste just as great, if not better. In the words of the great philosopher Sweet Brown, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Dan Magro is the author of “Suck It Up: Extraordinary Cocktails for Everyday People,” available wherever books are sold. Find more information at www.danmagro.com