It's finally feeling like Fall in Texas and this chill in the air has us wanting to wear flannel, sit by a warm campfire and drink a S'mores Old Fashioned. This drink features our distillery's whiskey spirit, Colonel Fannin's Whiskey, a light & easy and blendable whiskey with honeyed undertones. The graham cracker syrup and chocolate bitters with the finish of toasty marshmallows is the closes to liquid s'mores we've ever tasted! It's an easy recipe that whiskey lovers will enjoy.

Ingredients
For the syrup:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the cocktail:

• 1.5 oz Colonel Fannin's Whiskey
• 3/4 oz syrup
• 1 dash angostura bitters
• 2 dashes of chocolate bitters
• Shaved chocolate and 2 marshmallows for garnish

Recipe
Step 1: Start by making the syrup by combining ¼ cup honey, ¾ cup brown sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar has melted, then remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 

Step 2: Add a large ice cube to a rocks glass, then top with 1 ½ ounces of bourbon (you can also make this in a mixing glass then pour into a rocks glass with ice).

Step 3: Top with ¾ ounces of the syrup, then 1 dash Angostura bitters and 2 dashes chocolate bitters. Stir. 

​Step 4: Toast 2 marshmallows and garnish the drink.

This is our absolute FAVORITE holiday recipe we've added to our Christmas cocktails over the years. She made her debut during our "12 Cocktails of Christmas" holiday content in 2022, and she's worth posting here for all to enjoy for years to come! Subtle, demure and seductive... this cocktail recipe is the perfect genteel cocktail when you want to do a dressed up and classy Christmas date or elegant party.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Live Oak Vodka
• 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 oz pear liqueur (we used Mathilde Pear Liqueur)
• 1/2 oz vanilla syrup (we used Torani but you can easily make this at home with vanilla bean!)

Recipe

• Add to a shaker filled with ice, the Live Oak Vodka, lemon juice, pear liqueur and vanilla syrup
• Shake for 10-15 seconds until the shaker is cold
• Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon peel or slice of pear if desired

This post is sharing our favorite margarita recipe with our sister spirit, La Lechuza Agave Spirit, made in the very same distillery where Live Oak Vodka is distilled - Coastal Bend Distilling Co. La Lechuza is available in limited locations in South Texas including our home distillery tasting room in Beeville, Texas and all Spanky's locations in the Coastal Bend region.

We love this holiday recipe because it adds a deep holiday berry flavor with the same favorite spice and freshness of a classic margarita. Fun Fact: Our distillery Marketing Director won "Jackpot Margarita" with this recipe at the Go Texan Bee County Cook-Off while she was working on developing this recipe just for you! So needless to say... it's a crowd pleaser and a winner!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of La Lechuza Agave Spirit
• 1/2 cup Triple Sec
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup blackberry jalapeno syrup (see below)
• Ice cubes
• Fresh blackberries, lime wedges or jalapeno for garnish
• Lime wedge and coarse sugar to rim the glass (regular sugar will do fine too)

Ingredients for Blackberry Jalapeno Syrup (makes 1.5 cups)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (fresh is best!)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced

Recipe

• Make the syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a brief boil over medium heat. Let cool and transfer the syrup to a blender and add the blackberries and jalapenos. Blend until smooth. Pour into a jar through a fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.
• Rim 4 glasses with a lim wedge and then dip them into a shallow plate filled with sugar.
• Fill the rimmed glasses with ice
• In a cocktail shaker add ice, the La Lechuza, Triple Sec, lime juice and 1 cup of the syrup.
• Shake well and strain into the prepared glasses.
• Garnish as you like with blackberries, lime wedges or jalapenos.

We stan an espresso martini but make it 𝓟𝓾𝓶𝓹𝓴𝓲𝓷 𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓮!
​
​Level up your espresso martini with this pumpkin spice cold foam that is so creamy and achieves that perfect looking foam top on your martini.

An espresso martini is easier to make than you think. Just add all the ingredients to a shaker over ice, mix it up and pour into a fresh coup or martini glass.

The pumpkin spice cold foam looks a little more complicated, but it's actually easy too. Mix all the listed ingredients together with a whisk, place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to chill, and then blend. We used an immersion blender and it was the perfect consistency in about 30 seconds.

If you don't have an immersion blender, a handled milk frother might work too or you can also pour it into a trusty blender. You'll want the consistency to thick yet pour-able. If you blend it too long, it will get thicker and not as pour-able, but you can thin it out with some of the liquid ingredients in the cocktail already. We thinned ours out with Kahlua and it was even more delicious!

To add the pumpkin spice cold foam on top of the espresso martini, pour the foam over the back of a spoon close to the drink, or if you have a spiraled bartender's spoon you can pour down the spiral into the espresso martini. For a visual reference, check out our instagram reel HERE.

INGREDIENTS
Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam

• 6 oz heavy cream
• 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground clove
• Pinch salt

Espresso Martini

• 2 oz Live Oak Vodka
• 1.5 oz espresso or cold brew concentrate
• 1 oz Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 oz Live Oak Vodka
1.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
.75 oz Triple Sec
1.5 oz simple syrup
​Dash of blue Curacao & grenadine for color
Garnish with lime wheel, edible flowers, or rimming sugar/salt/tajin as you desire!

Add ingredients to shaker filled with ice.
Shake & strain over fresh ice in a glass.
Try rimming your glass in sugar, salt or tajin for an extra flavor experience
Garnish with lime wheel and edible flowers for a bright spring sipping experience!

Hibiscus tea
2 oz Live Oak Vodka
1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
Lemon zest
Granulated sugar
Topo chico or a lemon-lime soda

Make your hibiscus tea and pour it into an ice cube tray. We love these little bubble ice cubes!
Freeze your tea ice cubes overnight.
For a fun decorative drink, rim your glass in a mixture of lemon zest and granulated sugar.
To make the drink fill a glass full with your hibiscus tea ice cubes.
Add 2 oz Live Oak Vodka and 1.5 oz fresh lemon juice.
Top off with your preference. We like topo chico or you can do lemon-lime soda for a fuller flavor.
Stir and let sit a little to let the tea ice cubes start melting into the drink.
​Enjoy!