Ramon Torres

Ramon Torres

• Ramon Torres
• Barleymash
• 600 Fifth Avenue #6916
• Gaslamp

It’s a summerlike day in the city, but my desire for festive autumnal libations rages on. Thankfully, I’m not alone in wanting to soak up the season’s specialty flavors: Barleymash bartender Ramon Torres happily serves me his bar’s Birds of a Feather. “It’s a pumpkin spice cocktail with a whiskey base, finished with beer,” he says. “Being in San Diego, where we don’t necessarily have fall seasons, I wanted to do something that’s like ‘fall in a glass.’”

He explains that part of his motivation was to create a seasonally-inspired cocktail that would be approachable on two sides. “For someone who’s not going to opt for a pumpkin cocktail, you have the whiskey, the beer. Then, for someone who wouldn’t go for a whiskey cocktail, since there’s pumpkin in it, they’ll be like, ‘Ok, this might intrigue me.’” Torres tacks this bit on as well: “And I kind of wanted to meld two of the things we do here, which is an extensive whiskey list and a beer program.”

Though he initially set out to make a fall-style whiskey sour, “those harsher [lemon] citrus tones weren’t really working. So, I went with a softer citrus with the orange.” He continues describing the full flavor palate, “It’s not like a typical ‘pumpkin’ — you get spices: the clove, the star anise, the cinnamon, and nutmeg. We do a house-made pumpkin spice honey syrup, and that enhances the notes of the whiskey. A little bit of angostura bitters add to the spice.”

As for the name, it turns out that Wild Turkey bourbon and Elysian Night Owl pumpkin ale are what flock together in his Birds of a Feather. Bourbon brings in “vanilla, butterscotch notes, which most whiskeys have, but you still get that strong whiskey backbone to it. But [the drink] is not overly whiskey-forward, it’s got a balance,” says Torres. Pumpkin ale adds another level of complexity to the finish. “You get the pumpkin, but you still get that dry, little bit of hop at the end. It’s more of the pumpkin essence — the flavor without being as sweet.” Plus, he jokes, “More pumpkin, why not?”

“Pumpkin pie is my treat for the holidays,” shares Torres. “I’m not a big dessert person, but that one in particular was always nostalgic… kind of reminded me of the season. But I didn’t want to go with something that was overly sweet or not approachable, so that’s why I went with the whiskey and beer to round it out.”

Compared to other pumpkin spice drinks, he concludes, this whiskey-beer cocktail is a unique offering for the fall season. “We tried to delve into those two different areas to challenge what you would typically want to order, or expect.”

Birds of a Feather

• Barleymash’s
• Birds of a feather
• 1 oz. Wild Turkey bourbon
• 1/2 oz. fresh orange juice
• 1/2 oz. pumpkin honey syrup
• Dash Angostura bitters

• Mix ingredients, shake and strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Top with Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. Garnish with orange peel.