Smashing Pumpkin Cocktail ~ Friday’s 5 o’clock Wet Your Whistle Call!

Smashing Pumpkin Cocktail

Smashing Pumpkin Cocktail at the US Grant Hotel

While taking a break from gearing up for the Thanksgiving festivities, my husband David and I caught an episode of the Food Networks “Best Thing I Ever Ate/Drank”.

When Troy Johnson, Senior Editor of Riviera Magazine, profiled a cocktail from the US Grant Hotel, right here in downtown San Diego, we looked at each other and said, “We have to try this!” Entertaining at home is fun and has its benefits but sometimes you just have to get out and feel the energy of the city, especially at the holidays.

The US Grant Hotel has an interesting history making event, “The Grant Grill Invasion”, that turned the “Men Only Until 3 pm” policy on its ear!  In the 1950’s and 60’s women were not welcome until after 3 pm, so no ladies lunch at this fine hotel! That was until 1969, when a group of female attorneys stormed the Grill, with a New York gender discrimination case in hand, and demanded to be served. Over the course of the next year the women kept showing up until the sign was removed and the Grill was finally open to women.

To this day, outside the Grant Grill,  hangs a brass plaque commemorating this turning point in San Diego history!

Men Only Until 3 pm Grant Grill

Cheers to the Ladies! With the complex process needed to create this cocktail, why stress? Leave this one to the professionals and sit back and be pampered in the beautiful Art-Deco influenced surroundings of the Grant Grill Lounge.

Grant Grill Lounge

This cocktail is only served during the holidays and rightly so. The flavors immediately bring to mind Thanksgiving and the warmth of spices and pumpkin pie. The drink is light, not thick and heavy with a sugar spice rim and a wooden pumpkin floating in each drink.

Warning: Don’t eat the pumpkin! It’s really a putka pod and not the best way to get fiber into your diet!

The Smashing Pumpkin arrives in a silver martini shaker. Our waitress gave it a quick little shake, poured it into our rimmed glasses and the “pumpkin” bobbed to the surface to greet us.

What fun! 

Putkapods

Ingredients for the Smashing Pumpkin Cocktail:

Pumpkin and Star Anise Infused 10 Cane Rum Grand Marnier St Elizabeth Allspice Dram Saffron Syrup Cardamom Bitters Fresh Meyer Lemon We ordered a Charcuterie Plate and Truffled French Fries and sat back to enjoy our cocktail in the elegant ambience of the Grant Grill lounge.

In the glow of candlelight on each table and the sounds of relaxing music in the background, we relaxed and enjoyed the sights and sounds of downtown. This could be the beginning of a lovely Thanksgiving tradition in our house!

Grant Grill Charcuterie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back To Top

";