Cocktail

Step one: Buy tamarind concentrate.
Step two: Make this cocktail.
Step three: Figure out what else you can do with the tamarind.

Make sure to use plain, unflavored rooibos tea, which will complement the other punch ingredients.

Choose an unaged aquavit like Aalborg.

The longer the spices infuse in the rum, the more flavorful it will be.

Shaking the egg white and other drink ingredients without ice—known as a "dry shake"—helps get the whites foamy without diluting the drink.

We use sparkling rosé wine here mostly for its color. Any decent bubbly will work as a substitute.

"If rum won't give you that warming glow of wellness, the hot tea will." -Benjamin Schiller, beverage director of The Berkshire Room

Serving delicious drinks at large parties is a hard task without a full bar of mixologists, right? NO! Let me introduce Mr. Punch. He is a big bowl of cocktail normally containing fruit, alcohol, and a mixer. Of course, I like to use British flavors, but you can tailor this to your taste. My biggest tips: Use lemon to preserve freshness and use homemade mixers, such as iced tea, to keep costs down. All that's left is to hold your teacup up and make a toast to all those present, to your loved ones and, of course, to THE QUEEN!

Thyme syrup adds a savory note to this rum-cider punch that'd be great as a pre–holiday dinner drink.

For this Thanksgiving-in-a-glass cocktail, feel free to sub (thawed) frozen cranberries for fresh.

Sorenson says this beer cocktail is "the best of both worlds: Bloody Mary meets Michelada. It gives so much, and asks for so little in return."

Wine spritzers are an excellent way to bluff your way through the wine hour. Spend your time and money on the accoutrements ("fancy" club soda, fresh garnishes, big ice cubes) instead of the main ingredient (wine) and still impress guests.

Sorenson uses locally made House Spirits coffee liqueur, made with Stumptown beans, in this cold-brew cocktail. It's delicious, but hard to find outside of Oregon. In its place, use any other coffee liqueur.

Egg whites are shaken into this gin-based sour, where they take on an airy, velvety texture.

Mix this New Orleans classic hours ahead of time, and serving it is as simple as pouring a pitcher of lemonade.

Sparkling wine and Jamaican rum make for a compelling riff on the Negroni. Plus, it's a quick finish once it's batched.

Sherry is an "It" cocktail ingredient, with enough heft to build a drink around but still relatively low in alcohol.

Persimmons are one of the hallmarks of fall. From the time the temperature drops until the holidays, persimmons start making their way to the local farmers' market. The waiting game can be almost unbearable, but once they are finally ripe, the reward justifies the wait. My favorite thing to do with persimmons is to press the ultra-ripe fruit through a fine-mesh strainer, discard the skin and seeds, and shake the resulting pulp into my fall Margaritas.