A Clearly Complicated Simple Pearl

It's Happy Hour! In this episode Ben presents a clarified milk punch cocktail called Clearly It's Fall. It's long and complicated but very much worth the effort. Meanwhile Matthew is clinging to summer with a minty French Pearl that brings hint of absinthe. They also agree on their favorite part of Fall (even though they can't agree when it starts) and tell you how to mix up your favorite cocktail recipes with a simple hack. Recipes below.Clearly It's FallTwo Cinnamon SticksTwo Slices Fresh Ginger2-4 Cloves4 oz Over proof Rum4 oz Cognac2 oz lemon juice4 oz simple syrup1 cup whole milkCombine rum, cognac with cinnamon stick, ginger and cloves in sealed container and let steep over night. Remove ginger, cinnamon sticks and cloves from spirit mixture.Bring milk to roughly room temperature. (Microwave 30-60 seconds on high.) Slowly add spirits to milk (do not pour milk into spirits!) in short pours over a minute or two.Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes or up to over night in the refrigerator.Using a large strainer and cheese cloth, strain the mixture into another container. Work in batches if the strainer is not large enough. Let the liquid strain completely.Refrigerate strained liquid until chilled.Serve in a rocks glass over a large chunk of ice.French Pearl2 oz Gin3/4 oz Lime Juice3/4 oz Simple SyrupAbsinthe Rinse6-8 Mint LeavesMint leaf for garnishPrepare a chilled coupe glass by rinsing it with absinthe or use an atomizer to spray the inside of the glass. Add all other ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake 10-12 seconds. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a mint leaf.