The Drink: The Fashioned Chai

Looking for the perfect cocktail to take you from Halloween through New Year (but without the word "pumpkin" anywhere near it)? Consider the Chai Fashioned, stirred up for us by Devon Espinoza (below), the Beverage Director for The Church Key in Los Angeles.

"The Fashioned Chai evokes all the flavors of fall," Devon explains. "A variation on an Old Fashioned, its deep and rich in flavor and texture and is the perfect sipper for the Holidays."

We'll drink to that.

The Fashioned Chai
1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1 oz Lairds Bonded Apple Jack
0.5 oz House Made Chai Syrup*

Method: Stir ingredients over ice then strain onto new ice into a rocks glass. Express the zest of orange peel over the cocktail and then use as garnish.

Chai Syrup
2 tbsp loose leaf Chai
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean
1 orange peel
1 cup Demerara unrefined sugar
1 cup water

Method: Bring all ingredients to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit overnight, then fine strain.

For more information on The Church Key, visit thechurchkeyla.com.