MAKE IT AT HOME
Bring a little of ASA’s fall drink magic into your own kitchen.
At ASA Gathering, the line between coffeehouse creativity and cocktail craft is intentionally blurred. Coffee Program Creative Director Hannah Hutchinson and Lead Bartender Tyler Stansfield share ingredients, inspiration and a willingness to experiment—creating house-made syrups, shrubs and infusions that can move effortlessly from morning to night.
Fall is an especially inspiring season. Hannah looks beyond the expected pumpkin and cinnamon to ingredients like pear, cardamom, rosemary, star anise and other herbs and baking spices that evoke the warmth of family dinners and holiday cooking. Behind the bar, Tyler builds on those same seasonal notes with spirits, bitters and spice.
These two recipes capture that ASA philosophy beautifully. The Rosemary Cardamom Pear Shrub layers ripe pear with toasted cardamom, fresh rosemary and Champagne vinegar for a bright, aromatic mixer that is just as delicious with sparkling water as it is with gin, vodka or tequila. The Spiced Pear Sour takes pear in a decidedly cocktail-hour direction, pairing it with vodka, fresh lemon and allspice for a drink that feels both familiar and unexpected.
As Hannah puts it, the goal is to create that moment when you think, “I can’t quite put my finger on that one flavor.”
So pull out the cocktail shaker, put a saucepan on the stove and bring the art of the drink home this fall.
Rosemary Cardamom Pear Shrub
Ingredients
- 20g green cardamom pods
- 4 pears, cut into small cubes
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup pear juice
- 3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1½ cups turbinado brown sugar
- 2 cups Champagne vinegar
Toast the cardamom pods in a saucepan until aromatic; remove and set aside. Add pears, water and pear juice and cook over medium heat until the pears are soft. Add sugar, toasted cardamom and rosemary and continue heating for 5–15 minutes, depending on the desired rosemary intensity.
Remove from heat and strain out the rosemary and cardamom. Add Champagne vinegar and stir well. Bottle, label and refrigerate for up to three weeks.
To serve: Add 1½ ounces of shrub to sparkling water for a refreshing spirit-free drink. Or pair it with gin, vodka or tequila for a Collins-style cocktail, margarita or other fall creation.
Spiced Pear Sour
Ingredients
- 1½ oz vodka
- ¾ oz lemon juice
- ½ oz pear purée blended 50/50 with turbinado sugar
- ¼ oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
- ½ oz egg white
Shake vigorously and strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with fresh pear slices.
Enjoy!