Cocktail Hour: Grape Crush

Although I want to cling to summer, there is no denying, on the eve of the first day of autumn, that fall is upon us.  It is my favorite season, but I always have a sense of melancholy when it begins, which is quickly quashed when the leaves start to change, I start to wear my favorite leather boots and tweedy jackets again, apples and apple cider are everywhere, and I contemplate whether I should have a pumpkin spice latte.  I love fall flavors of both the sweet and savory varieties, and am just starting to see beautiful fall produce in the stores.  I was perusing the produce at Trader Joe's recently and one the store employees enthusiastically recommended the ThomCord seedless grapes.  These are some sort of grape hybrid, they are like dark concord grapes but were touted as "seedless."  After trying them, while I enjoyed the rich grape flavor, richer and more intense than the usual grapes I buy, I would argue they were not really seedless.  The seed in the middle was definitely smaller and less dense than the seeds in normal Concord grapes, so they were chewable, but chewing them is not that pleasant an experience.  So I figured I would grind them up and use them in a drink.  I found this cocktail by googling "concord grape cocktail" and found lots of raves for a cocktail from the NYC restaurant Gramercy Tavern.  Oprah.com had a recipe for it and it was the perfect alternative use for these flavorful grapes, since they are pureed and strained before being added to the cocktail, so no chewing seeds! I consider this a slightly cooler, more alternative fall cocktail - everything is all about apples, pears, pumpkins as fall hits, the concord grape is a more under the radar seasonal pick. (Don't worry, I will be going full force into all those "conventional" fall flavors all season).

Concord Grape Cocktail, adapted from Oprah.com

Ingredients (for two cocktails)
 3 cups concord grapes, plus some grapes saved for garnish
4 ounces vodka
1 ounce simple syrup (make syrup with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, heating together until sugar dissolves.  This will make more simple syrup than you need, but it will keep until your next cocktail hour).
2 limes, halved

Directions:

1. Put the grapes in a blender and puree.
2. Pour the grape puree through a strainer into a bowl or container.  Push the puree through using a rubber spatula.
3. In a cocktail shaker combine  ice, 4 ounces grape juice, 4 and 1/2 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce sugar syrup, juice from the limes and the lime shells.
4. Shake vigorously.
5. Pour (straining) into a rocks glass.  Garnish with some grapes.