It’s inevitable. No matter how much you don’t want it to, summer has given way to fall. And while it’s hard to compete with summer’s easygoing nature, and its great cocktails, the season that follows brings with it some positives as well. Think of football, crisp autumn air, the return of pumpkin spice in everything, and an entire bounty of fresh ingredients for the fall. With farmer’s markets and produce aisles teeming with good things, it’s the perfect time to explore some new fall drinks.
As you switch from short sleeves to long sleeves and readjust your thermostat, look to these 11 fall cocktails to help embrace autumn properly.
Harper spiced sour
As fall sets in, try throwing more Amaro, an Italian liqueur made from a grape brandy base, into your cocktails. This cocktail, which also features an egg white, chai syrup, and fig jam, is a great example of what the bittersweet Italian aperitif can do, especially when paired with a quality bourbon for a great fall drink.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 ounces I.W. Harper Bourbon
- 1 ounce egg white
- 1/4 ounce Amaro
- 3/4 ounce lemon
- 1/2 ounce fig jam
- 1/4 ounce chai syrup
Method
Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin. Dry shake, add ice, and shake again. Double-strain into a coupe class.
Cilantro Paloma
We love a good Paloma. This garden-to-table one incorporates refreshing cilantro and an eye-catching rim of back lava salt. You can find black lava salt, which is generally from Hawaii, although some also come from Iceland, fairly easily online if your local store doesn’t carry it.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces Tequila Don Julio Reposado
- 1 1/2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
- 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1/4 ounce agave syrup
- 10 cilantro leaves
- Back lava salt
Method
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain the contents into a highball glass rimmed with black lava salt over fresh ice. Garnish with cilantro.
Espresso Heaven
Using some energizing coffee, this tasty beverage calls on a great rum from Haiti and soothing oat milk, among other things. Rhum is the term used for rum made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than being made from molasses, as most other rums are.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces Rhum Barbancourt 3-Star
- 1 ounce Mr Black Coffee Liqueur
- 1 ounce fresh brewed espresso
- 1/4 ounce vanilla simple syrup
- 1/2 ounce full-fat oat milk
Method
Mix all ingredients in a glass and serve up. To add a foam garnish, mix 2 tablespoons of Café Batido instant coffee with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of vanilla simple syrup and blend until thick.
Banana bread Old Fashioned
There are so many great adaptions of the classic Old Fashioned cocktail. This one, made with bourbon, banana liqueur, and allspice, fully embraces the autumnal flavors of banana bread.
- 2 parts Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
- 1/4 part banana liqueur
- 1 bar spoon allspice dram
- 1 bar spoon simple syrup
- 2 dashes black walnut bitters
Method
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass, add ice, and stir. Then strain the contents of the mixing glass into a rocks glass over a large cube.
Night Gathers
A good punch recipe shouldn’t be confined to summer or the New Year’s Eve party table. This one blends single-malt Scotch whisky, cranberry, and more for a sensational seasonal sipper.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Talisker 10-Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- 1 ounce Italian apértif
- 4 ounces lemonade
- 4 ounces coconut water
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
Method
Combine Scotch, Italian apéritif, lemonade, coconut water, fresh lemon juice, and cranberry juice into a punch bowl with fresh ice. Garnish with orange wheels, lemon wheels, and edible flowers.
Fall orchard cocktail
You don’t often see rum and pear paired together in a cocktail glass, but one sip of this refreshing cocktail shows that it’s a lovely fall-like marriage of flavors. Allspice dram is a spicy liqueur that is made with rum and allspice berries. It is also sometimes called a pimento dram as allspice is a berry from the pimento tree.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Zacapa 23-Year Rum
- 1/4 ounce allspice dram
- 1 ounce pear nectar
- 1/2 ounce maple syrup
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
Method
Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Strain the mixture into a coupe glass and garnish with thin slices of pear.
Spiced Sazerac
A scarf in a glass, this riff on a bona fide classic offers all the warmth you need, from cinnamon and baked citrus to the thawing spice of the rye.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Old Hamer Rye Whiskey
- 1/4 ounce simple syrup
- 4 droppers Dashfire Creole Bitters
- 1 spray of West Fork 3rd Degree Cinnamon Whiskey
- 1 torched orange peel
Method
Stir the simple syrup syrup, bitters, and
Fall sangria
Fall may actually be the best time for sangria, as the days are still mild and it’s the heart of harvest season for wine grapes, apples, cranberries, and just about everything else. This recipe from California restaurant Telefèric Barcelona is a dandy.
Ingredients
- 10 ounces red wine (we suggest Tempranillo or Garnacha)
- 2 diced fresh pears
- 1 diced fresh apple
- 1 ounce orange liqueur or Triple Sec
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Fresh cranberry and rosemary to garnish
Method
Fill a large glass with ice and mix in all ingredients. Stir together and garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprig.
Calm Waters
This cocktail blends the comforting flavors of chamomile tea with the spice of tequila, while the addition of lemon juice gives this drink a zap of fresh citrus. The addition of chamomile flowers as a garnish makes it beautiful to look at as well.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Solento Blanco Tequila
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
- 3/4 ounce chamomile honey syrup*
*Chamomile honey syrup: Make this syrup by combining equal parts honey and chamomile tea and stir.
Method
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Service into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon wheel and chamomile flowers.
Coco ranch water
A ranch water for fall? While ranch water is primarily thought of as a drink for the hot summer weather, we just think they’re good no matter what the season is. And as you’re missing the lazy days of summer, a hit of coconut will bring back warm memories.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces 1800 coconut tequila
- 1 1/2 ounces lime juice
- Sparkling mineral water
Method
Combine tequila and lime juice in a highball glass with ice and top with
Roses & Pistols
This cocktail is a fall-ready collaboration between Stranahan’s Whiskey and Hotel Jerome in Aspen. You’ll love what the crafty vermouth syrup brings to the drink.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Stranahan’s Blue Peak Whiskey
- 1 ounce lemon
- 3/4 ounce vermouth syrup*
- 1 bar spoon of Campari
- 3 dashes of Colorado cherry bitters
*Vermouth syrup
- 1 cup Antica Carpano Vermouth
- 1 cup of cherries (halved)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rose hip syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon rose hip water
- peel of 1 orange
- 6-8 cardamom pods
- Dash of cayenne pepper
Place the ingredients into a pot, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and strain. Vermouth syrup can be stored and saved for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Method
Combine ingredients. Stir. Serve in a rocks glass over a large ice cube and garnish with rose.
Irish mule
When you think of a mule, besides the distinctive copper mug, you probably think about the classic Moscow mule. This cocktail, which originated in New York City, not Russia, made with vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice, has been one of the most popular
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Irish whiskey
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 5-6 ounces ginger beer
- Lime wedge
- Mint sprigs
Method
Fill a copper mug with ice (if you don’t have a copper mug, a highball glass will be fine). Add the whiskey and lime juice, and then top with ginger beer. Stir, and serve with a garnish of a lime wedge and mint.
