A Scotch Cocktail to Ease You into Winter

Some people love the passage from late fall to early winter, when lighting fires becomes a regular part of your routine, and the cocktails grow increasingly stronger. Other people begrudgingly put on an extra layer and hunker down, hoping there won't be too much snow this year.

In either case, the right drink can help. A good cocktail can either elevate your delight—or your gray mood. Try the Ghosts of Granada, created by Lauren Rojas, head bartender at Jac's on Bond in New York City.

This stiff, stirred cocktail is evocative of late fall. “It's silky and spirit-forward with layered notes of dried fruit, cacao, and herbal complexity. The sherry and bitters soften the edges of the scotch, making it rich and robust but smooth,” Rojas says. “It’s the perfect transitional cocktail: dark, warming, aromatic, with a hint of bitterness.”

The name is a nod to the sherry, which originates near Granada, Spain, Rojas explains. “Frankly, I put the word 'ghosts' in there because there are such beautiful and antiquated towns filled with old haunt and charm in certain rural parts of Spain, but they do have a spookiness to them, so it was the first thing I thought of.”

Ghosts of Granada

• 1 1/2 oz. Glenlivet 12 (or other scotch single malt)
• 3/4 oz. Cynar
• 1/2 oz. Lustau Pedro Ximénez San Emilio sherry
• 2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
• Star anise for garnish

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 30 to 45 seconds until well chilled and diluted. Strain over a single large cube in a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with star anise on top of the ice.