All photos by Gustavo Ponce for Bushwick Daily

As fall matures, the complexity of tastes evolves. With the light being taken away from us, the season gives us a chance to move our attention to our other senses. Fall brings leaner fruits and produce that give us tastes that are more mature. In the summer you want a beach party in your mouth, but in the fall, a serious whiskey and cigar soiree. Think: peach versus apple, watermelon versus pumpkin, and plums versus pear.

All photos by Gustavo Ponce for Bushwick Daily

Cocktails transform along the same path – color and brightness die down a bit, summer fruits don’t make sense anymore and, rather than refreshing, the cocktail becomes smoky. The fireplace replaces the hammock by the sea. In that long-winding path of fall, right after the turn of Halloween, I circled into Tutu’s. There, I tasted the Pera Humo, a failed cocktail done right. What does that mean? There are a few steps in that process. First: Find inspiration. Second: Believe that everything makes sense in your head about the combination of certain spirits. Third: Experience the sting of failure. Fourth: Tweak. Finally: You have on your hands a failed cocktail, done right.

All photos by Gustavo Ponce for Bushwick Daily

For Brett Elms, the beverage director of Tutu’s, it all started at The Woodsman Tavern in Portland, Oregon, where he tasted a drink with pear in it, and in which he found Chaka Khan and the spirit Cachaça. A drink under the name cachaça khan was created – but it still wasn’t what he wanted and it didn’t make the cut. So he blended an oak-fire baked Sombra mezcal with lapsang souchong tea, a smoked tea, creating a smoky taste that hits the palate multiple times. The pear puree levels out the smokiness and provides harmony in the drink. This fruity-smoky combination reminds of a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Served with a nice block ice cube so its distinct taste doesn’t water down, the Pera Humo is a great fall cocktail to enjoy while the daylight loses its battle against the darkness. Pera Humo means smoked pear, and its taste has a nice textured grit, perfect for an invigorating fall warm-up.

Lucas Walters, owner of Tutu’s.

Bushwick Mixer is a weekly column somewhere at the crossroads of pop culture and mixology in the bars of Bushwick. Hashtag your photos of Bushwick cocktails with #BushwickMixer and let us know why they should be tasted by the author of the column. 

The Pera Humo is served at Tutu’s, 25 Bogart street for $10.