The Great Pumpkin

It’s the great cocktail, Charlie Brown. 

The Great Pumpkin is the crafty concoction of Jim Meehan from the famed PDT bar in New York City. As the winner of two James Beard Awards (2012 Outstanding Bar Program for PDT and 2018 Beverage Book for Meehan’s Bartender Manual), Jim Meehan certainly knows his way around a cocktail. 

Routinely inspired by vintage cocktail books, Meehan’s cocktails frequently feature spirits like brandy and sherry that are often overlooked today, despite their vintage popularity. However, his cocktail creations are most known for their balanced herbal and/or citrus flavors, usually due to Italian liqueurs. The Montenegro Manhattan, for example, showcases Amaro Montenegro, while the DuBoudreau features both St. Germain and Fernet-Branca, similar to the modern Paper Plane, Midnight Stinger, and Gold Rusher. The Great Pumpkin, then, is a bit of an off brand surprise for Meehan. 

With a base of rye whiskey and brandy, the Great Pumpkin does start out feeling distinctly Meehan-esque, but things take a sharp fall turn with the inclusion of both apple brandy and pumpkin ale. In fact, the recipe specifically calls for Laird’s bonded apple brandy for a punchy apple taste and punchy 100 proof. The highly particular recipe also goes on to require Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey to round out the bottled-in-bond base, which we have absolutely zero qualms about. The whole cocktail is tied together with maple syrup, egg whites, and two large ounces of pumpkin ale. 

The Great Pumpkin is a full bodied cocktail that’s full of fall flavor. While its high proof combo may not have helped Linus find the Great Pumpkin, it would have made waiting for it a lot more fun.