The Great Pumpkin-tini

When Ben and I got married last year (almost exactly a year ago, in fact!) I was determined to have a specialty cocktail - a pumpkin martini, to be exact. Those who know me know that I am obsessed with all things pumpkin, and I love martinis, so it was only fitting. The only problem? I had never actually made one, and neither had our reception venue. So I set out to learn how - via Google. Google told me that one could make a pumpkin martini with a pumpkin spice liqueur; it even told me the name of the brand. So my then-fiance and I made a point of stopping by a liquor store, so we could try some out before having our venue place an order. The only problem? After visiting about 5 different stores, we were told that this particular alcohol was no longer being distributed. I was heart broken. For a little while, until I found another recipe that involved pumpkin puree. I passed this along to our reception coordinator, and all our guests got merry on pumpkin martinis. We are still being reminded of how delicious they were!

So imagine my surprise when, a few weeks ago, the husband was out getting a few things needed to stock our bar, and he came home with a present for me - you guessed it, pumpkin liquor! It was a different brand than the one we searched high and low for last year, but there was no mistaking the spicy, orange, syrupy alcohol. I knew my fall season was complete!

This rendition of the pumpkin-tini got a little extra somethin' from some Frangelica; the hazelnut flavor went perfectly with the autumn spice. A graham cracker rim on the glass topped it off for a delicious pie-like treat! The only thing to make this even better was enjoying it in my hot tub after a week of tough workouts :)

Nutty Pumpkin Pie Martini
2 parts pumpkin spice liqueur
1 part vanilla vodka
1 part Frangelica hazelnut liqueur
1-2 parts milk or cream
graham cracker crumbs for rimming

Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour some extra pumpkin spice liquor onto a small plate. Dip the glasses first in the liqueur, then in the crumbs. Strain cocktail into glasses. Serves two.

I am submitting this seasonal cocktail to Joelen's Martini Mixer Adventure. Head on over and join the party!