Thanksgiving Tips from our Simple Kitchen Show:

Cocktails that are easy to create in a batch, friendly to the majority of palettes, and packed full of favorite Fall flavors are perfect for serving at the Thanksgiving holiday. Wild Roots Spirits shared bottles of infused vodka so that I may share a holiday cocktail ready for your Thanksgiving celebrations. While this post is sponsored all opinions are my own. To learn more about my posting policies regarding sponsored posts please visit my policies page. As always, thank you for reading more about the companies that help support this blog. 

Biting into a ripe pear is one of the biggest pleasures of the Fall months for me. The bright, crisp flavor of pear combined with the rich spices that are found in so many fall foods (cinnamon, nut meg, all-spice) makes for a wonderful cocktail to serve for a Thanksgiving meal. The cocktail is a perfect start to a Thanksgiving cocktail hour or Friendsgiving cocktail party.

About Wild Roots: Each bottle of Wild Roots starts with a five-time distilled and five-time filtered grain-based vodka, infused with over a pound of natural Northwest-grown fruit. Their infused vodkas include Apple, Marionberry, Raspberry, and Pear.

Single Spiced Pear Vodka Cocktail:

Ingredients/ supplies: 

• Shaker filled with ice
• Strainer
• Martini glass
• 1 1/4 oz Wild Roots Pear Vodka
• 2 oz Spiced Pear Juice
• 1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
• 2 oz Ginger Ale
• Pear slices for garnish
• 3/4 oz Bourbon (Optional) (Bourbon gives this drink great depth of flavor, but if you are looking for a little less alcohol overall then just leave it out.)

Directions:

1. In a shaker filled with ice pour in the Pear vodka, pear juice, ginger syrup and optional bourbon.
2. Shake until chilled and mixed well.
3. Strain into a martini glass.
4. Top with Ginger Ale
5. Garnish with Pear Slice and Enjoy!

Batch Spiced Pear Vodka Cocktail:

For holiday gatherings I really like making larger batches of cocktail mixes so that myself or my guests don’t have to spend the evening playing bartender. I create the base of this recipe and put it in the fridge to chill. Guests simply need to pour into a martini glass and top with the Ginger Ale. This batch makes 8 cocktails.

Ingredients/ supplies: 

• Pitcher
• Strainer
• Martini glasses
• 10 oz Wild Roots Pear Vodka
• 16 oz Spiced Pear Juice
• 2 oz Ginger Syrup
• 2 oz Ginger Ale per glass – you’ll need 16 oz.
• 2 oz Water
• Pear slices for garnish
• 6 oz Bourbon (Optional) (Bourbon gives this drink great depth of flavor, but if you are looking for a little less alcohol overall then just leave it out.)

Directions:

1. Pour the pear vodka, pear juice, ginger syrup, water, and optional bourbon into a pitcher.
2. Stir to mix and place in fridge to chill.
3. Serve alongside martini glasses pre-garnished with pear slices and ginger ale ready to pour.
4. Have guests pour in 4 oz of mixture (if there is bourbon) or 3 oz of mixture (without bourbon) and top with two ounces of ginger ale.

Cocktail Notes:

I took the easy way out with this cocktail and purchased a spiced pear juice and a ginger syrup (found both at my local New Seasons Market) however, you could totally make your own of both. Creating simple syrups are an easy way to customize a cocktail (and many non-alcoholic beverages). For this cocktail if I didn’t have the spiced pear juice I’d make a ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice simple syrup. If you choose to do this method then reduce your juice to 1 1/2 oz of pear juice and replace the 1/4 oz of ginger syrup with 3/4 oz of this spiced syrup.

Create Your Own Spiced Simple Syrup:

Ingredients:

• 1 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• nutmeg- freshly ground when possible
• Fresh peeled ginger
• 1 teaspoon all spice
• 5 cloves
• 5 black peppercorns

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, water, and spice items into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat so that the mixture simmers for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and let cool completely.
4. Strain the spiced syrup into an airtight container.
5. Spiced simple syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to one month.