How to Decorate a Cocktail Bar for Fall

Day 10 of 31 Days of Tabletop Decorating: How to Decorate a Cocktail Bar for Fall

Nothing says Fall quite like a piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Unless, you add a jigger of rum and blend it all in the blender. Dessert and cocktails all in one. But before you whip out the blender, let’s get ready for the party. Here’s a few tips on how to decorate a cocktail bar for Fall.

Use a riser to set up your liquor choices.

The piece of furniture we use as a bar is fairly small, so this setup would work great in a small apartment or condo.

Basic Essentials for Setting Up a Cocktail Bar

Spirits

Gin
Vodka
Dark and Light Rums
Whiskey
Tequila

Other Drink Needs

Club Soda
Tonic Water
Vermouth
Bitters
Baileys
Kahlua
Amaretta
Brandy

Barware

Jiggers
Muddler or Pestle
Ice bucket
Martini shaker
Pour spouts for bottles
Strainer
Beer mugs
Wine glasses
Cocktail glasses/mugs
Martini pitcher

Juices and Garnishes

Orange juice and slices
Lime juice and wedges
Cranberry juice
Maraschino cherries (my personal favorite)

Add a martini shaker, a few fall decorations and cocktail mugs. These are my new favorite additions to our barware. They keep our drinks cold and hands dry. I love having handles on a cocktail “glass”.

Add garnishes and napkins.

A pumpkin napkin weight.

A bartender’s guide to help with recipes.

Colorful straws, garnish skewers, a muddler or pestle, corkscrew and glassware.

Using skewers for garnishes keeps everything neat and tidy. It also makes enjoying the garnishes much easier. No fishing for cherries!

Now back to the Apple Pie Cocktail. I will warn you about two things. It is very sweet and I would do one thing different next time. I adapted this recipe from one I found at Paste Magazine and while it is very good, I would like the texture better with one minor change. Where the recipe calls for apple pie (yes, a baked apple pie that you put in the blender), I would simply use Apple Pie Filling without the pie crust.

Here’s the recipe as it was on Paste:

Ingredients:

Apple Pie
Rum
Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions:

Place all in blender and blend until smooth. Add whipped cream for garnish as desired.

Since this was only for two people, I baked a mini Marie Callender’s Apple Pie as directed on the package.

I removed as much of the crust as I could, but it was still too much for me.

Add vanilla ice cream to taste.

For two servings, add 2 ounces of rum. Add whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

So, here is how I would alter the recipe:

Ingredients

1 – 28 oz. can of Apple Pie Filling
1 cup Apple Cider
1 to 1 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
3-4 oz. rum or to taste
small apple slices and cinnamon sticks to garnish
whipped cream

Instructions

Place apple pie filling in blender. Add cider and ice cream. Blend to desired consistency, adding more ice cream if you want it to be more like a milk shake.
Add 1 oz. rum per person sharing the cocktail mix. Top with whipped cream.
Garnish with apples and cinnamon sticks.