It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere Friday: Fall Cocktails and Homemade Allspice Dram

Between now and the New Year I'm dedicating my Fridays to the cocktail hour. I'm going to explore appetizers, little plates, tapas, and all manner of late in the day snacks, nibbles, finger food, and the occasional libation to wash it all down with. I'm excited, this is my favorite way to eat, whether I'm throwing a holiday party or just hanging out with the nightly news. 

Have you heard of Allspice Dram?  If you're hitting the cocktail scene this month chances are you'll run into this allspice liqueur.  I had no idea it existed until I was talking with my daughter's boyfriend about fall drinks for this series of posts.  They're now settled in Madison Wisconsin and he's working at a very cool farm-to-table restaurant and craft bar called Merchant.  I figure if anyone has their finger on the pulse of current fall spirits, he does.  The minute he mentioned Allspice Dram, and told me that it was an allspice infused rum liqueur, I knew I had to try it. 

Allspice is a Jamaican spice--- the dried fruit, or berries, of the Pimenta dioica tree.  It's widely used in Caribbean cooking, and the name comes from the fact that the English, who first tasted it back in the 16th century, found the flavor to be a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  I think to this day a lot of people avoid buying it because in the back of their mind they think it's just a mix of common spices.  (I used to think that.)

St Elizabeth's Allspice Dram can be hard to find.  After looking in my local stores, I hit the mega liquor store BevMo. They didn't have any either, and it's out of stock on their website.  Turns out this is somewhat of an elusive liqueur, sometimes available, sometimes not, so many bars make their own.  If you like the flavor of spiced rum, you will love this.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Serious Eats.  It's simple to put together, and the hardest part is going to be waiting for it to 'stew'.  In the meantime I put together a fun list of fall cocktails and drinks that use Allspice Dram, below.

Homemade Allspice Dram                 ~~~slightly adapted from Serious Eats

1/8 cup whole allspice berries

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup Rum (you can use light or dark, I used dark)
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup brown sugar

• Crush the allspice berries in a spice grinder, or with a mortar and pestle.  You want them roughly cracked and crushed, don't grind them into a powder.
• Put the allspice in a sealable glass jar, a mason jar is perfect.
• Pour the rum in the jar, put the lid on, and give it a shake.
• Let the rum sit for a day, then break up the the cinnamon stick and add it to the jar.
• After 2 days, strain out the rum with a fine mesh strainer.  Then put it through a coffee filter to filter out the smaller particles. 
• Meanwhile, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Let cool, then mix into the infused rum.  Pour into your final bottle* and let rest for 2 days before using.

 * Recycle bottles in your kitchen, (my 'infusing jar' is a Classico spaghetti sauce jar) or find lots of interesting bottles here.

Note:  This is a potent liqueur, and a little goes a long way.  You won't be guzzling this down on its own.  The allspice gives it a powerful spicy kick, and the holiday-like flavors linger on your tongue.

Fall Cocktails made with Allspice Dram:

(click on the drink to get the full recipe, 
in some cases you have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe)

Spicy Mulled Cider  Cider, Spiced Rum, Allspice Dram, Orange juice, Cloves, Cinnamon stick, Nutmeg

Northern Spy   Apple Jack, Allspice Dram, Lemon juice, Cider

  
The Soothsayer  Bourbon, Allspice Dram, Maple syrup, Meyer lemon juice, Sage, Nutmeg

The Grouse Dram Scotch, Apple Cider, Allspice Dram, Bitters, Simple syrup and Lemon juice

The Lion's Tail Bourbon, Allspice Dram, Lime, Bitters Jalisco Pear Tequila, Pear liqueur, Allspice Dram, Lemon juice
The Tackler  Genever, Allspice Dram, Ginger liqueur Hot Buttered Rum Rum, Honey, Butter, Apple Cider, Allspice Dram Sugar and Spice  Vodka, Cranberry juice, Lime juice, Honey, Allspice Dram Lizzie's Pippin  Apple brandy, Apple juice, Allspice Dram, Balsamic vinegar, Simple syrup Pumpkin Potion Vodka, Allspice Dram, Licor, Simple syrup, Pumpkin butter, Lemon juice After the Storm  (a variation of one of my favorites, the Dark and Stormy) Rum, Texas Orange, Lime, Allspice Dram, Ginger beer Solstice  Rye, Triple Sec, Cointreau, Allspice Dram Glühwein (pronounced glue-vine) Red wine, Honey, Cloves, Cinnamon, Allspice, Lemon, Orange, Rum, Allspice Dram
Black Wednesday  (as opposed to Black Friday, this cocktail is named after bartenders' biggest night, when all the college kids are home for the holiday) Rye, lemon juice, Amaro Nonino, Allspice Dram, Simple syrup, Cranberry sauce. Fall Ginger Smash  Fresh ginger, Pear, Sugar, Gin, Apple liqueur, Lemon juice, Allspice Dram Winter Waltz Rye, Applejack, Averna, Allspice Dram

What's your favorite fall cocktail?  

Cheers!