When September Forgets Itself: The Cocktail Bartenders Reach for as the Light Changes

Somewhere between the last rooftop pool day and the first cool evening, the order at the bar shifts, and Aperol is the answer that keeps coming up — a lesser-known variation on the classic, credited to a bartending legend, built for exactly this stretch of calendar. It is not a heavy drink, which is the point: Florida does not really do fall, so the shift has to be announced by what is in the glass rather than what is on the trees, and a bitter, orange-hued aperitif does that job better than a jacket ever could. Palm Beach will order it on a hotel terrace and call it seasonal. Naples will order it at five o'clock and call it Tuesday. Either way, the season turns quietly, one round at a time.

With reporting from Robb Report.