By Nanette Wiser
Quench your thirst at some of our fave cocktail haunts including Fenway’s rooftop bar, Salty’s Tiki Bar and Beach Lounge, 82 Degrees at The Saint Hotel, The Urban Stillhouse, Mandarin Hide, Social Roost, Saigon Blonde, Flute & Dram, Wild Child, The Saint Speakeasy, Proof: Cocktail Bar, Rum Runners Bar and Grille, Don CeSar’s Society Table, RumFish Grill and Copper Shaker.
Celebrate Oktoberfest with traditional and outrageous beer fall flavors. Seems like Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) and the brew-haha starts earlier in September, so strap on your lederhosen and head out to these great breweries. www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/gulp-coast-craft-beer-trail
SPIRIT FREE DRINKS: Not drinking is more and more a trend, and non-alcoholic beverages have replaced cocktails that deliver nutrients rather than a sensation, as in a Virgin Mary. Julia Bainbridge’s Good Drinks and Julia Momose’s The Way of the Cocktail can help you define your autumn signature cocktail. Consider toasting and steeping barley, then infusing the liquid with baking spices, honesuckle buds and banana peel syrup served in a whiskey glass.
In addition to local liquor stores, check out non-alcoholic gourmet beverages at No & Low, especially their Amalfi Spirits and pseudo-whiskeys. www.drinknolow.com Check out Ritual’s collection of zero-proof, zero-calorie liquor alternatives, including rum, tequila, gin and whiskey.
Also trending are delicious and delicate non-alcoholic wines. We like TOST’s rose version with white tea, ginger, and elderberry and their crisp, almost peachy, slightly tart bubbly with white tea, cranberry and ginger. Woodland Honey Wine is a succulent honey wine with a blend of kombucha tea and wild Norwegian ingredients.
CANNED SPIRITS: Ready to drink (RTD) cocktails are all the rage. Craft brew cans, hard seltzers and boutique wine cans (included our beloved local Mermosa) tickled our gourmet fancy, but now it’s RTD season. We like Ramona Organic Dry Ruby Grapefruit Wine Spritz, Greenhook Gin & Tonic, Tip Top Daiquiri, Livewire Rocket Queen (rum, pomelo, pandan and cinnamon), Salt Point Margarita as an alternative to Truly and White Claw. Perfect for picnics and boating. Check out Norm’s Liquors for the latest concoctions.