As the harbinger of fall, September is a gorgeous heartbreak, the end of summer and an unwelcome undoing of spring. Days shorten. Vacations end. Temperatures drop. At least the trees put on a show.

In Michigan in this time of dramatic transition, you need a cocktail that reflects the bittersweet imposition of change. Something that can toe the line  — being one-part summer, one-part fall — and ease you from season to season.

"The Jack Rose is the classic transition cocktail," says David Turkel, bar manager at The Viceroy, West Michigan's only 1920s-style speakeasy.

Declared one of the six basic cocktails in David Embury's still-revered 1948 parlor guidebook, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the Jack Rose shakes together two ounces of applejack with one ounce of fresh lime juice and one-half ounce of grenadine; then the mixture is strained and served in a chilled cocktail glass over cracked ice. The fruit notes celebrate the end of summer while masking a deceptively heavy punch of alcohol — to buttress your soul for the approaching Siberian months.

"The trouble is getting the bonded applejack the true recipe calls for, which you can't get in Michigan," Turkel said.

America's oldest native distilled spirit, bonded applejack blends 35 percent apple brandy with 65 percent grain neutral spirits. Only one distiller in the nation makes it — Laird & Company, out of Monmouth County, N.J. — and the distiller started making it before there was even a nation to speak of. The trouble is, Michigan laws require registry for out-of-state alcohol distributors to sell in Michigan, and Laird, like many distiller-distributors, doesn't bother.

In lieu of the unavailable applejack, Turkel substitutes a mixture of Calvados — a French apple brandy — with Starka, a Lithuanian vodka infused with apple leaves and linden flowers.

The Jack Rose has a seedy history. The cocktail's namesake was a bald scoundrel of a man who got away with murder, literally. After arranging the murder of Herman Rosenthal, Jack Rose performed as the star witness in the trial, perjuring to save his neck and send an innocent man to the chair.

If making up for outlawed ingredients isn't your cup of tea, then Jessica Sanders, bartendress at Holland's CityVū Bistro, has a more attainable cocktail for you.

"We call it the Teacher's Pet because it contains a hint of apple, and in September everyone knows school's back in session," Sanders said.

The Teacher's Pet pours a special version of Absolut vodka over ice, then adds a splash of ginger ale and cranberry juice. The special version of Absolut is called Absolut Brooklyn and is flavored with ginger and red apple.

For another back-to-school-minded cocktail, Antonio Ortiz, bar tender at The Union in Kalamazoo, recommends his Chocolate-Covered Cherry.

"It's the perfect first-date drink, for taking out that girl you like but don't necessarily know what she likes," Ortiz says. "It's foolproof."

Ortiz creates this decadent cocktail by infusing vodka with strawberries and cream, then mixing the infusion with amaretto and dark creme de cacao. He then shakes it like a martini and tops it with a little whipped cream.

"It tastes exactly like it sounds," Ortiz said.

The slogan-makers at the Michigan Department of Tourism have taken the wrong approach.

They should scale back the boasts about peninsulas. Granted, they are spectacular, but we had nothing to do with those — they're just what we were bequeathed, geologically.

And their latest "Pure Michigan" campaign? The recent 800,000-gallon Enbridge oil spill into the Kalamazoo River certainly taints that sales pitch. Besides, anyone who's driven through Detroit with their mouth open will contest that one.

Instead, the Michigan Department of Tourism should have hired Ryan Cappelletti and Casey Loring, director and editor, respectively, of the new Michigan-beer-lovers' documentary, Locally Buzzed.

The documentary took Cappelletti, Loring, and six other beer-zealots in one borrowed van over 1,200 miles to 40 Michigan breweries in only eight days. The troupe's objective was to cast Michigan in a favorable — and accurate — light.

Locally Buzzed Premiere and Michigan Beer Tasting Riviera Theatre, Three Rivers Aug. 21; Tasting 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Movie 9 p.m. Tasting and movie, $15; Movie only, $6 adult, $5 senior/student trriviviera.com, (269) 278-8068

"It's not a history lesson or a how-to," says Cappelletti about his documentary. "It's a ‘this-exists-in-your-state-and-you-should-know-about-it.' It's to show that Michigan's not all gloom and doom."

Cappelletti has a point. In the midst of our state's unemployment crisis, steady brain drain, collapsing auto industry and other grim news coverage, Michigan's beer industry is upsurging — in both quality and quantity.

Off the top of his head, Cappelletti quickly cites five new microbreweries set to open in the next few months in West Michigan alone. And the already existing Michigan microbreweries continue to innovate and improve their craft productions. Eccentricities, like an asparagus beer by Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City, a doughnut beer by Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall, and a key lime pie beer by Short's Brewing Co. in Bellaire, astounded Cappelletti's crew. And, at the past World Beer Cup, seven Michigan breweries — Founders Brewing Co., Short's, Big Rock Chop House & Brewery, Bastone Brewery, Redwood Brewing Co., Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. and The Detriot Beer Co. — won a total of 11 medals for outstanding category beers.

"Everyone brings up Oregon, California and Colorado, but Michigan's the best beer state in the country," says Cappelletti. "Our breweries have styles that blow everyone else away. There are many jealous people outside Michigan."

What blew Cappelletti away, though, is how the microbreweries provided a new economic model of collaborative — rather than competitive — capitalism. Cappelletti recounted the story of how guys from Dark House Brewery drove to Arizona and back to transport brewing equipment for Arbor Brewing Co., because Arbor Brewing Co. had no way of transporting it.

"The way they see it, the craft brewers are one brewery, in it against the corporate giants," says Cappelletti. "Since prohibition ended, the Big Three (Budweiser, Miller, and Coors) have dumbed down beer, but microbreweries are fighting that together. They figure, if one microbrewery turns you on to craft beers, they turn you on to microbreweries and craft beers everywhere."

Stories like this and others can be experienced at the documentary's premiere in Three Rivers this Saturday, Aug. 21. at the Riviera Theatre. The theatre will be re-creating the film crew's trip for you while saving you the gas mileage as they offer a Michigan beer tasting before the film premieres. The tasting will feature craft beers from more than 15 Michigan breweries, including Arbor Brewing Co., Arcadia Brewing Co., Atwater Brewery, Bell's Brewery, Darkhorse Brewery, Detroit Brewing Co., Dragonmead Brewery, Founders Brewing Co., Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, Keweenaw Brewery, Leelanau Brewery, Michigan Brewing Co., Mt. Pleasant Brewery, New Holland Brewing Co., North Peak Brewery, Round Barn Brewery, Schmohz Brewing Co., and Short's Brewing Co.

If you enjoy Cappelletti and Loring's documentary, stay tuned for their next film production, a documentary focusing on high school-dropout success stories.

We're all guilty of judging a book by its cover. I can't tell you the number of times I was disappointed by books that "looked" really good, only to end up falling very short of all my expectations. It's what's on the inside that counts. Right? This truth is relevant to most all things in life — including wine.

Wine is meant to please your palate — not your eyes.

Why then do we choose the bottle with the fancy label as opposed to the plain labeled option beside it on the shelf?

Whether a wine is good or bad has nothing to do with the label. In fact, some of the best wines I've had the pleasure & honor of enjoying were poured from nondescript bottles. Some of the worst examples of wine I've had the displeasure of tasting were presented in bottles with labels so beautiful that I felt the need to frame them. Please understand, I am not implying that wines with beautiful labels are over compensating with the presentation of a high quality exterior to mask a poor quality interior. What I am saying is that just because it's pretty doesn't guarantee that it's palatable.

So, you have to ask yourself, are you buying a wine to show it off or sip it down? If the latter is your position, when walking into a wine shop, the look of the label should not even be a matter of consideration with your selection. The contents of the wine's character, clearly printed on the label are where you need to shift your focus.

Now, when it comes to the label's contents, focus on the facts — not the flowery adjectives. Pay attention to where it came from and who made it. The "years of tradition used to cultivate luxurious levels of silky tannin" is of little relevance. When you strip away the sales pitch and look at the product without the played-up language and label, you'll get a much better read of what that wine is all about.

An interesting addition to the SanChez speciality cocktails, the Green Suede Margarita is a vegan-friendly, avocado-based libation. Sweet, sour and spicy all at once, the drink's unique ingredients formulate something truly unique. Pureed avocado, Cointreau, New Holland Hatter Royale Hopquila, pineapple juice, house-made sour mix, with a habanero sugar rim are combined, and then garnished with a cherry tomato and a cucumber squeegee meant to scoop up the rest.

The idea for the drink began with a bikini. Bartendress and artist Emily Johnston was working on a green suede bikini for Super Happy Funtime Burlesque performer Camille VanderWeide. The inspiration to make a drink reminiscent of the fabric came thusly.

The hopquila is not like a tequila. It's a clear grain alcohol dry hopped with Cascade hops, giving it a citrus flavor. When mixed in with the rest of the drink's components, the resulting flavor is one of natural, fruit sweetness, with a hint of sour and the creaminess of the avocado, without the heaviness of actual cream. The kick comes in at the onset, from the crushed habanero powder/sugar rim.

"I aim drinks at the certain kinds of people who want to drink them," Johnston said. "This one's for the quirky vegetarian."

Johnston hopes to push people's perception of what a drink should be by using non-traditional ingredients, like vegetables, in her creations. The fusion between SanChez's kitchen and bar makes for a complete experience — Johnston was quickly able to suggest the perfect complimentary tapas, and said that the two parts of the restaurant frequently compare resources to see what they can come up with.

Green Suede Margarita is available through September at San Chez, located at 38 W. Fulton St. in Grand Rapids for $9.99. (616) 774-8272.

Photo: Anthony Nowack