How to Celebrate the Fall with Seasonal Vegetable Infused Cocktails

Summertime is a season for light, bright flavors with a hint of tartness designed to quench your thirst. Think lemonade, fresh berries, and biting into a slice of cold, crisp watermelon.

Now that fall is upon us our tastes turn toward warm and comforting flavors. Farm stands are now filled with beets, carrots, and squash that mimic the colors of the foliage of the season -- deep orange, bright gold, and lush green.

Throughout the country, bartenders are taking advantage of the autumnal bounty, creating cocktails with sweet and earthy vegetables. From sweet carrot cocktails to tart rhubarb martinis, here are some of the best ways to celebrate the season in drinks.

Betable Betty

Mister Mao

4501 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans

Mister Mao’s mixologist William “Wildcat” Greenwell has created a cocktail that uses beets. The result is a deep red cocktail that’s both sweet and vegatal. Says Greenwell of the “Betty”, “Harvested in the fall, beets are a great root vegetable that aren’t often used in cocktails. They provide an earthy and slightly bitter flavor, which speaks to the season. Since Cachaca has a grassy flavor profile, the two pair beautifully. The citrus adds a brightness to the cocktail and the serrano gives it just the right amount of heat on the back end.”

2 oz. cachaca

¼ oz. fresh lime juice

¼ oz. simple syrup

1 bar spoon of red beet puree

2 slices of serrano pepper

Combine ingredients with ice and shake hard. If you want more heat, muddle the peppers, first then shake and strain. Strain into a highball glass filled with new ice. Garish with an additional slice of serrano pepper.

The Hydrix

The Bower

1320 Magazine St, New Orleans

Bartender Mickey Mullins found inspiration for the Hydrix from a local farm called Sugar Roots. Mullins uses aquafaba, derived from chickpeas, to create a creamy foam, and fresh, locally grown mint. “We partner with Sugar Roots farm and they have gorgeous mint this season, so that inspired the Hydrix. Infusing the contratto with mint softens the aperitif and pairs beautifully with bourbon. Amaro gives the cocktail a bittersweet flavor and the aquafaba picks it all up and balances the drink out. It’s a perfect transitional cocktail as the weather cools down.”

1.5 oz. mint-infused Contratto

½ oz. Wild Turkey bourbon

½ oz. Montenegro

½ oz. lemon juice

Splash of aquafaba

Mint for garnish

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake your heart out. Pour into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with mint sprig.

El Otoño

Taqueria Hoja at the Generator Miami Hotel

3120 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

Bar Lab, the team behind the Broken Shaker has opened an Oaxacan-inspired taqueria inside the Generator Miami hotel. The taqueria’s tortillas are made fresh with corn sourced from family farms in Mexico. Bar Lab beverage diretor, Christine Wiseman, wanted to created a cocktail that would pair well with the natural sweetness of the corn, while also utilizing another famous Oaxacan product - mezcal. Bar Lab-created El Otoño with seasonal flavors like squash and sage. “The Roasted squash brings the smoky Mezcal to the front of this delicious cocktail, and with a smooth finish of the sage, earthy notes,” says Wiseman.

1.5 oz. mezcal

1 oz. roasted squash and sage syrup

1 oz. lemon juice

½ oz. amaro

Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain and pour into a rocks glass with ice.

Frisky Rabbit

R House Wynwood

2727 NW Second Ave., Miami

This Wynwood restaurant that combines local art with food and drink is famous for its weekend drag brunch and weekend evening drag shows. The restaurant, owned by Owen Bale and Rocco Carulli features Pan-Latin cuisine paired with innovative cocktails. Owen Bale calls the cocktail the favorite of their mixologists. The restaurateur says that the recipe, made with fresh;y squeezed carrot juice, “is a whole lot of fun. It will make your ears perk.”

2 oz. Beefeater gin

2 oz. fresh carrot juice

1 oz. housemade spicy ginger beer (secret recipe!)

¾ oz. simple

Marigold garnish

Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain and pour into a tall glass with ice. Garnish with a marigold flower.

Rhubarb of my Life

StripSteak at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel

4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

Rhubarb is a spring and summer vegetable but John Riccardo, executive director of food and beverage at Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel, named the drink Rhubarb of my Life after Frank Sinatra’s song, “Autumn of my Life.” In his heyday, Sinatra was a frequent guest of the iconic Miami Beach hotel where he would film, perform, and play. Ricardo likes to use rhubarb puree to add an extra hint of sweetness when combined with the gin, Chambord, simple syrup, and lemon. “It’s reminiscent of fall flavors,” says the hospitality executive, and perhaps a fall mood.

2 oz. Bombay Sapphire gin

1 oz. rhubarb puree

¾ oz. simple syrup

¾ oz. lemon juice

½ oz. Chambord

Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain and pour into a rocks glass.