Cocktail of the Day: The Equinox

My absolute favorite season is Autumn. I love the earthy smell of the falling leaves and the damp soil. I love the chill in the air reminding us that winter is coming. I love the comfort food that we are drawn to when the temperature falls. Most of all I love Mother Nature’s fiery gown of reds, golds, and oranges. The falling leaves like her skirts in the wind as she dances to celebrate the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.

With this picture in mind, I created The Equinox. Today’s Cocktail of the Day. It’s a warm, tea-based drink that tastes like the season bottled, and looks like Gaia’s bright dress, glittering in the Fall sunlight.

You will need:

• 2 oz of Honey Bourbon (or any bourbon with honey mixed in)
• Orange bar bitters
• Nutmeg
• 1 Chai or Ginger tea bag (I used Tazo Chai in pumpkin spice, but you can use any spicy tea that you enjoy, they all work wonderfully)
• Gold Luster Dust (This is an edible metallic dust found anywhere you can buy baking supplies)

In an Irish coffee mug, steep your tea in hot water (make sure you leave enough room to add your 2 oz of bourbon). While your tea brews, combine your bourbon, a dash of nutmeg, a couple shakes of orange bitters into a cocktail shaker. Then, using the tip of a butter knife, lift out just a knife-tip full of the luster dust, and add that to your bourbon in the shaker. Agitate this mixture by stirring vigorously, or shaking until it looks like molten gold. Now, remove your tea bag from your mug, and pour in your bourbon/dust mixture. Use a cocktail stirrer to mix well. Serve hot.

There you have it. Autumn in a glass.

Enjoy!