This recipe is part two of my New Orleans Mixology Monday post. For the complete story behind this drink, please click here.
And here’s a short video of the Autumn Leaves shot by Philip Beech:
Autumn Leaves Print Me
- ¾ oz/22.5 ml Wild Turkey rye
- ¾ oz/22.5 ml Clear Creek apple brandy
- ¾ oz/22.5 ml Carpano Antica Formula vermouth
- ¼ oz/7.5 ml Strega
- 2 dashes cinnamon tincture*
- 1 large strip orange peel
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.
- Stir with ice until chilled.
- Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass and garnish with orange peel.
*To make cinnamon tincture, soak 4 ounces whole cinnamon sticks in 16 oz grain alcohol for three weeks. Strain solids and bottle.
Recipe printed courtesy of jeffreymorgenthaler.com
Cocktail Virgin just featured the recipe today. It may not have been evident when created, but given NOLA barman Chris Hannah’s apparent one-man crusade for the glory of Strega, that aspect of Autumn Leaves could also be considered NOLA-esque in addition to the Vieux Carré structure.
P.S. I know what I’m drinking tonight!
This is the first drink that drew me to your blog, and it remains one of my favorites. Now that autumn has rolled around again I pulled it back out and it’s just as tasty as I remember. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Jeffrey!
I am making some cinnamon tincture. In this recipe you call for three weeks and in the video for six. Should I go three and see if I want more maturation?
And I used vodka because here in Greece it’s not that easy to find grain alcohol. Is it a lot different in the final product?
Cheers from Greece!
Oh great, thanks! When I move back from Rhode Island in February, hopefully wherever I end up working again will do their ordering from someplace decent. Otherwise I’m not above trekking to a particular store (which I have in the past) and bringing a receipt to work to get reimbursed. My last job I was the head bartender so I had the say on what we brought in. I have a feeling I’ll be starting off low-man this time and I’ll have to work my way up to talking the owners into carrying the more esoteric stuff.
Also, the iPhone CocktailDB app? Amazing. And only $4.99 until August 31st (when after it shoots back up to $9.99)
John Claude – The Creme de Violette is now legal in Oregon. I was shocked and delighted to find Lemon Hart Demerara at the Pearl Specialty Shop – you won’t find that much of anywhere on the east coast.
John Claude, the Broadway liquor store is god awful. You will want to explore Uptown Liquor in NW Portland; 11th Avenue Liquor on Hawthorne; and the new Pearl Specialty store (just over the Broadway Bridge). That store has some bizarre deal going with the OLCC and can sell beer & wine as well as liquor. Plus, they’re open until 10 and they’re open on Sundays. They’ve been good at getting higher-end specialty booze, although both of the other stores have larger selections. Uptown has whatever rye is available in the state, same for bourbon and great single malt selection.
Almost forgot. I know about the two lists on the OLCC website. There’s the Price List and the Current Product List. One being incomplete (Price) and the other just being a clusterfuck and a nightmare to find anything in (Product List). I was hoping for something more concise and organized.
Thanks Belinda! Does that store carry some of the more esoteric stuff? When I was living in Portland (I’ll be moving back in February) I could barely find rye whiskeys at my local (the one near the Safeway off of NE Broadway. The store we ordered from for work (Wonder Ballroom/Cafe Wonder) had a little better selection. Is there anywhere to see or print a list of the liquors that are ok to have in Oregon?
Yes, Stega is available in Oregon. For Oregon retail liquor stores, it is on special order, which means they have to buy a case at a time and wait 3 months to get it. Uptown Liquor on NW 23rd Place has it.
Here is a drink recipe using Stega that Chris Hannah of Arnaud’s French 75 bar in New Orleans made up using a touch of the local Saffron vodka.
Saffron Tea
1 1/2 oz Sub Rosa Saffron vodka
2 oz green tea
1/2 oz Strega
3/4 oz limoncello
1/2 oz honey
Shaken,strained over ice in a Collins glass.
Excellent cocktail and pic! and that ice rocks! Thanks for recipe.
As in you’re finding them at the liquor store? That’s good to know. Stupid OLCC. : P I still need to find out if my bottle of Creme De Violette is legal.
The bartenders at the Carousel did an amazing job dealing with all of us. I think people just wished that they’d staffed a little more appropriately for the mountain of drink nerds that descended upon them every day and night.
Erik – thanks, that rock kept me nice and cool as I sipped on that thing for an hour and a half.
John Claude – It doesn’t look like Strega is listed by the state, but I haven’t had any problems yet finding bottles here in Eugene. Someone must be doing some special orders and keeping us in The Witch.
Hey, Jeffery. Is Strega on the list of Oregon approved liquors? I’d love to get some for whatever bar I end up working at when I move back, but I’m wary of the OLCC. Also, do you know if Herbsaint is on there as well? I’d prefer using that over Ricard in my Sazeracs.
Wow, nice rock. Cocktail sounds good, too.
Ever been the last man standing in a dodgeball match? Now imagine being that guy, then having all your old teammates grabbing balls and throwing at you from behind. That’s pretty much what it is like to work a circle bar. Not many people are up to it. Even fewer experienced bartenders I suspect.
Marvin is great guy and very capable. However, he has got a serious Sisyphus syndrome going on down there.
Unfortunately I, like many others, couldn’t attend T.O.C. but I keep hearing about how the Carousel “butchered” their signature drink. Extremely confused as to how even a not-so-experienced tender could screw this up given a jigger, the appropriate recipe and a little time. Any ideas?
Thanks, everyone! And Rick, thanks for the photo compliment. Coming from you, that does indeed mean a lot.
Nice work my friend! And even better, the Strega idea is PERFECT for an upcoming OBG class that I have to make a cocktail with some farmers market ingredients.
Beautiful shot Jeffrey.
The Vieux Carré at the Hotel Monteleone was just “okay.” I’ve been eyeing a bottle of Strega at Astor for far too long. Today is the day I finally pick one up. Thanks for the recipe!
Given that they’ve apparently decided that we only need B&B in Washington, and not just straight Benedictine, I may have to try subbing Strega when my carefully guarded stash finally disappears.
Thanks, Neyah. I’m a big fan of The Witch as well and wish that more people tried substituting it for Benedictine and Chartreuse, if only for curiosity’s sake.
Nice job bud. ‘The Witch’ is totally underutilized in my opinion.