Despite the excellent marketing campaign, there is more to fall than pumpkin spice lattes. And pumpkin beer, for that matter. These Dallas bars and restaurants are serving inventive drinks that evoke autumn, without getting too literal.
Hard Rock Cafe
A Moscow Mule may taste of summer, but a spiced cinnamon mule was made for fall. Absolut vodka, Fireball cinnamon whisky, Monin spiced brown sugar syrup, fresh lime, and ginger beer give this mule an extra kick that warms up your insides.
Lakewood Growler
Pumpkin beer is pretty well played out (and Forbes agrees). But there are so many delicious beer flavors that don't rely on the orange stuff, and you can find most of them at Lakewood Growler.
Arlington-based Legal Draft Beer Co. has a classic Bavarian-style Oktoberfest called Lawktoberfest, which is toasty and malty and crisp. And you might have sampled Deep Ellum Brewing Co.'s Praline Porter at the State Fair, but now you can bring home the English-style brown porter to enjoy at your leisure. It's brewed with more than 200 pounds of locally harvested pecans and specialty grains, which give off a chocolate flavor, along with notes of vanilla and caramel.
Stirr
This brand-new Deep Ellum spot has a bunch of cocktails that look intriguing, but one clearly stands out: the Babe’s Old Fashioned. Made with bacon fat-infused Rittenhouse Rye and chocolate liqueur, it just sounds like a cozy snack in front of a fire. Plus, bacon.
Victor Tangos
The Henderson Avenue cocktail den is always a sure bet for inventive recipes, but this month we're partial to one that combines mezcal with coffee, honey, cinnamon, and sea salt. Give 'em the Boot is its name, and there's also Fernet Branca (a bitter herbal liqueur), creme de cacao, egg white, and cream in the mix.
Whistle Britches Chicken
When you're at this fried chicken joint at Preston and Frankford roads and don't want beer with your vittles, order the Smooth Criminal. Its blend of Larceny bourbon, black walnut bitters, vanilla, and orange is hefty and complex. Hopefully drinking it is like the autumn equivalent of a rain dance — a few sips more and it's out with the hot temperatures and in with the sweater weather.
Mezcal, coffee, and vanilla can be found at Victor Tangos.
