Drink Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai
Sichuan peppercorns and star anise spruce up classic pumpkin spice in this tiki cocktail
Gaby Mlynarczyk, the beverage director and general manager at Birch in L.A., blends her love of Chinese five-spice with classic pumpkin spice mix for her absinthe-spiked version of a mai tai.
The result is a warming, slightly spicy and licorice-sweet drink that makes you feel like you're wearing a big fuzzy sweater, thanks to the addition of mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns.
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To learn more, read "The Great Pumpkin Spice."
Recipe adapted from Gaby Mlynarczyk, Birch, Los Angeles
Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai
Upgrade your pumpkin spice with a little heat and funk, then mix it into this herbal, earthy mai tai.
Prep Time
10
minutes
Cook Time
0
minutes
servings
1
cocktail
Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- For the Pumpkin Spice Mix
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground dried Sichuan pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground star anise
- For the Cocktail
- 1½ ounces white rum (such as Cruzan)
- 1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce Pierre Ferrand dry orange curaçao
- ½ ounce orgeat syrup
- ¼ ounce absinthe or Herbsaint
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice (above), plus extra pinch for garnish
- Mint sprig, for garnish
- Ice
Directions
- Make the pumpkin spice mix: In a small container, combine all of the ingredients.
- Make the cocktail: In a cocktail shaker, combine all of the ingredients and fill with ice. Shake until chilled and fine-strain into a crushed-ice-filled double old-fashioned glass. Sprinkle a pinch of pumpkin spice on top, garnish with a mint sprig and serve.