Glass o’ pumpkin.

If we had leaves here, their turning would be a sure sign that the vast, far-reaching empumpkining of America was under way. Realizing that pumpkin pie, while a delicious fall treat, was in no way enough to serve the pumpkin-craving masses, some sort of shadowy pro-pumpkin consortium has taken to our coffees, our gnocchi, nay, our very way of life with pumpkin spiced variants on favorite foods just in time for cooler weather.

It’s even gone all the way to our booze.

BOA Steakhouse’s Harvest Moon ducks the pie-in-a-glass approach to other pumpkin cocktails, cutting the heavy spice with a bright dose of citrus to make it surprisingly light for a drink that involves fresh whipped cream.

It’s a mix of pumpkin puree with Cointreau Noir, Oronoco cachaca, Pyrat rum, allspice and a splash of half and half served up in a cocktail glass a milky, pale orange and garnished with a candied orange wheel.

“It was a challenge that we had a year or so back. It was fall, and we had just come out with a Ten Cane, one of our cocktails they really liked, and they said we’ve never had someone make a pumpkin pie cocktail without it being too over the top or sweet or overprocessed,” Manager Eric Smith said. “It was kind of funny because the person who enjoyed the cocktail the first time was a huge Neil Young fan, so we named it Harvest Moon.”

That’s really the big hook here — pumpkin drinks are usually great for dessert, but unless you have an out-of-control sweet tooth you don’t want to go back for seconds. With the Harvest Moon, there’s enough orange from the Noir to really brighten the mix up and make it drinkable even during the most out-of-season Indian summers.

It’s also very complex, with deep nuttiness aided by hints of vanilla underneath the familiar pumpkin/spice flavors. Which makes it like the one pumpkin drink you can tip back before a big dinner and again after you’re done eating. And we always appreciate liquor that’s versatile. Just be careful; it’s stealthy. Weighing in at nearly three ounces of liquor, there’s not a lot of burn. But we suppose that can make those before-and-after dinner rounds all the more entertaining.

By Jason Scavone

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