The FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail

🍁 The FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail

A golden toast to the season—where French elegance meets autumn’s warmth, and every detail tells a story.

Inspired by the romance of fall in the French countryside, the FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail is golden, elegant, and layered with warmth. It captures everything we all love about the season—gatherings by candlelight, old silver trays gleaming softly, and the fragrance of orchard fruit and herbs drifting through the air.

The FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail

Ingredients {serves 2}

• 3 oz. Calvados (French apple brandy)
• 1 oz. Cointreau or Grand Marnier
• 1 oz. fresh pear nectar (or apple cider)
• ½ oz. honey-thyme syrup*
• 1–2 dashes orange bitters
• Garnish: sprig of fresh thyme, dried orange wheel, or thin pear slice

To make the Honey-Thyme Syrup:
In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup honey, ½ cup water, and 3 thyme sprigs.
Simmer for 3 minutes, cool, then strain.

Directions:

1. In a shaker filled with ice, combine Calvados, Cointreau, pear nectar, honey-thyme syrup, and bitters.
2. Shake until chilled and strain into antique coupe or etched crystal glass.
3. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig or dried orange slice.

Tasting Notes:

Golden and aromatic, this cocktail is the essence of refined comfort—bright with citrus, soft with pear and honey, and rounded with the warmth of brandy and herbs. Each sip feels like a stroll through a French autumn garden, elegant and just a little nostalgic.

🧀 Perfect Pairing: Baked Brie with Honeyed Figs & Rosemary

A simple yet luxurious pairing that complements the FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail beautifully.

Baked Brie with Honeyed Figs & Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 1 small wheel of Brie {or Camembert}
• 2–3 fresh figs, quartered or sliced
• 1 Tbsp or more of honey {I use much more}
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• Crusty French baguette and/or favorite crackers

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place Brie in an oven-safe dish; top with figs, and drizzle on honey.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, {sometimes more depending on how big your brie is} until soft and just beginning to ooze.
4. Layer on one or more sprigs of fresh rosemary.
5. Serve warm with slices of baguette and/or crackers on a silver or antique transfer-ware platter. If you have more fresh figs, cut and arrange around the brie too.

Serving Suggestion:

Arrange the Brie and figs on your favorite antique serving tray alongside antique cocktail glasses or champagne coupes filled with the FrenchGardenHouse Autumn Cocktail. Add a small vase of garden greenery, soft linen napkins, and our Autumn Dore scented candle to create some effortless fall romance.

SHOP PLATTERS >

I hope you enjoy these two easy things to make any occasion in autumn festive. Perfect to kick off a beautiful Thanksgiving!