Fall isn’t just about apples and pumpkins. In the Hudson Valley, the arrival of autumn brings with it a celebration of the season’s edible — and drinkable — bounty. Case in point: these fall drinks run the gamut from sweet ciders to creamy cocktails to pumpkin spice lattes. Cheers!
Craving some cider?
“A favorite of mine is Patois Cider ‘Bent Mountain’ (2021) from Roanoke County, Virginia,” says Jessie Harris, co-owner of Kingston’s Brunette wine bar; it’s made with foraged Albemarle Pippin apples, and “tastes of ripe orchard apples and crushed strawberry,” she says. “We also love Rose Hill Ferments ‘Scally Cap’ made in Red Hook. It’s semi-sparkling and dry with the most lovely caramel hue.”
Ready for a cocktail?
Rhinebeck’s Bia will be serving up its Fall Clarified Milk Punch, which proprietors Kyle and Lisa Kelley say is “like drinking a buttery apple pie.” With small-batch Irish whiskey, fresh-pressed local apple juice, and ginger, it’s a heady, soul-warming blend.
At Jar’d Wine Bar in New Paltz, owner Theresa Fall serves up an original and enticing Fall Sangria with local apple cider, brandy, red wine, cinnamon, and cloves; her mulled ciders are swilled with pumpkin gin.
A warming booze-free option: Kingston’s Rough Draft, a bookstore with a fab bar/café, has the punnily named Squashington Irving, a pumpkin-spiced latte designed by café manager Josh Rosenmeier, with a secret homemade mix of pureed pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, spices, and espresso.
Related: These Fall Winery Events Celebrate the Harvest Season in the Hudson Valley
