Here’s the perfect cocktail to say goodbye to summer

For many, Labor Day weekend marks the last hurrah, and the week after begins to feel like the true end of summer. The beginning of autumn. The start of a new school year. For the rest of us, it’s another reason to drink. Luckily, author and cocktail master Warren Bobrow, a good friend of The Fresh Toast, has created the perfect cocktail to say goodbye to summer.

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The cocktail, which Bobrow calls “Syncopation,” is anything but sweet. If you didn’t get the memo, we’re done with the sweet summer drinks. “Our palates crave depth, balance and flavor,” says Bobrow. “With a little help it will fall into the glass.”

syncopation

• 2 ounces Mezan XO Jamaican rum
• 4 ounces coconut water
• 2-3 dashes of Peychaud bitters – bright red color
• Splash of seltzer
• Fresh mint
• Coconut water ice cream (frozen coconut water)

DIRECTIONS

• Pour coconut water ice cream into a tall glass
• Add coconut water
• Pour mezan over it
• Add Peychaud’s
• Crush mint (to release the fragrant oils) and garnish
• surcharge

If you’ve had a few too many, Bobrow has just the thing – New Orleans style. It’s a milk punch that can’t be made faster. Here’s how to do it: Mix equal parts brandy, simple syrup, vanilla, cream, milk, ice and nutmeg. Shake. Surcharge. And then remember that your hangover is proof that you spent the last days of summer like someone who would never see the sun again.

Warren Bobrow, also known as The Cocktail Whisperer, is the author of four books, including his latest: Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics.