Have you ever had two friends who, mystifyingly, hadn’t ever met or hung out together? Whenever you were with either, you would say to one or the other of them, “You know what? You and so-and-so would get along SO well…” That’s kind of how we’ve felt about pumpkin and Rumchata for a while now. Anyone who reads this blog or follows us on social media can attest to our love of all things pumpkin (it’s graduated to more of an obsession, honestly), and our, um, passionate “appreciation” of the humble cocktail. Upon reviewing the archives, imagine our shock upon discovering that we had yet to include an actual pumpkin cocktail in the mix. The closest we’ve come to date was the Autumn Squash Mulled Wine, which could be made with pumpkin, but that actual recipe used butternut squash. Close, but no cigar.
Today’s post is a long overdue remedy to that oversight. After RumChata burst onto the scene in 2009, it quickly became evident that it was destined for Casanova-like greatness. Seriously, it’ll go with just about anything. It’s rich, sweet, creamy vanilla and cinnamon texture and flavor make it a darling of the after dinner drink set, but we wanted to call upon it for something a little more formal and seasonally sophisticated.
No one can dispute the popularity of the increasingly ubiquitous Pumpkin Spice Latte, thanks to the efforts of a certain equally ubiquitous national coffee shop chain. The only real issue with that particular drink is that it doesn’t contain any actual pumpkin, just the spice blend so closely associated with it—hence the name Pumpkin “Spice” Latte. We thought that was a bit of a shame, so while we borrowed the coffee and spice aspects of the PSL, we took it a step (or five) further. Unlike said latte, this cocktail actually contains real pumpkin purée. This old friend got along with our new friend RumChata just as well as we always thought it would. The creamy spice notes of the liqueur bring out all of the same wonderful qualities of the pumpkin as you would get from a pumpkin cheesecake, with much less time and effort. (Incidentally, we also discovered that the archive lacked a gluten free cheesecake recipe, so that might just be cropping up on this page in the run up to Thanksgiving. Stay tuned…)
We used vanilla vodka, but if you want to be certain that the drink is gluten free, use our old standby Tito’s handcrafted gluten free vodka. You can either infuse it yourself, or rely on the spices and vanilla in the RumChata. Between the flavors of the espresso and the liqueur, the finished cocktail won’t suffer. Whether you serve it over ice as an homage to the iced latte (as pictured here), or in a traditional martini glass, the finishing touch of the flavored sugar rim is a low effort no-brainer. Add some pumpkin pie spice to regular or turbinado sugar, wet the rim of the glass, then dip it in the spiced sugar for a visual and flavor component that perfectly finishes the cocktail.
Whether you’re looking for a perfect featured libation for a seasonal-themed cocktail party, or the best after Thanksgiving Dinner drink ever, you can’t go wrong with this dreamy, perfectly flavored martini. In fact, if you do offer this to your Thanksgiving guests, that pumpkin pie you made (or bought) for the occasion might just go untouched until Black Friday, so you’ll have a great post-shopping spree treat awaiting you at home. You’re welcome. Cheers!
- For the rimming sugar:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- For the cocktail:
- 4 ounces espresso, strongly-brewed coffee, or cold brew coffee, chilled
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 3 ounces Rumchata
- 2 ounces vanilla vodka
- Dash pumpkin pie spice
- Combine sugar and pumpkin pie spice and spread onto a small plate. Wet the rims of two tumbler glasses (if serving the drink on the rocks) or two martini glasses and coat the rims of the glasses in the pumpkin pie spice sugar. If using tumbler glasses, fill glasses with ice.
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine espresso/coffee, pumpkin puree, Rumchata, vanilla vodka and pumpkin pie spice. Shake and strain into prepared glasses. Top with an additional dash of pumpkin pie spice and serve.
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