English author and satirist Samuel Butler once commented that “autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.” Fall is the season for pears, apples and Meyer lemons. Pears and apples contain mostly malic acid, which is why naturally they’re more tart than sweet — but pleasantly tart, the kind of tart that makes your mouth water.
Ironically, winter’s the season for some of the citrus fruits that we crave in spring and summer: oranges and grapefruits. Cocktails are typically about balance: sweet and tart, bitter and sweet, strong and weak, etc. But nature will often do that for you already if you use the ripe fruit in its own season.
I question this newest bartender trend where fruit is “acid corrected” by adding artificially derived citric acid. I say, let nature run its course. However, there are some times when nature needs a hand, and we do have to do it more mechanically.
And that’s where quality seasonal liqueurs come in. Made from fresh fruit in season but often released the next year, many local producers have excellent examples of these products. I’ve taken the liberty of assembling four of these concoctions, all localized for your consumption and all utilizing fall fruits.
Enjoy the fruit the way nature intended. Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an awa.