Brian Nagele
Once the fall season comes, no one is immune to enjoying a pumpkin spice latte or a hot cup of apple cider at least once. Autumn also calls for classic fall cocktails featuring flavors like apple, pumpkin, spice, and more.
For cocktails, this often means hot drinks to keep you warm in the cooler weather and spices galore. Whatever your preference, there is a cocktail that is sure to suit your tastes this season.
Read on to learn about the 17 best fall cocktails and try a few for yourself!
These cocktails are perfect for crisp fall weather.
Pumpkin Pie Martini
Kick off the fall season with a pumpkin pie martini!
There are lots of different martinis out there, but this one is a great fall cocktail. It’s made with real pumpkin puree, vodka, dark rum, maple syrup, half and half, and vanilla extract.
I like to sprinkle mine with some pumpkin pie spice to complete the flavor, or you can even make a graham cracker rim to sweeten it up even more.
Hot Toddy with Charred Oranges
A hot toddy is a classic whiskey recipe that is meant to be enjoyed, as the name implies, hot, making it the perfect fall cocktail for a cool day.
A standard hot toddy can be made with only four ingredients: hot water, bourbon whiskey, honey, and lemon.
For this variation, you can choose to spice it up a bit more by adding thyme, cinnamon sticks, and star anise in addition to the bourbon, honey, water, and lemon juice.
The final ingredient to set this recipe apart is the charred oranges. Top your steaming beverage with a slice of orange grilled to a light char from the grill or oven and enjoy the element of smoky citrus flavor.
Spicy Apple Cider Margarita
Apple cider is a tried and true fall staple.
Nothing truly rings in the season like a glass of fresh cider, served hot or cold. If you are still coming off of summertime craving a margarita for the fall, try combining the two!
Take the standard ingredients to a margarita and add cinnamon and apple cider. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to get a little kick of spice.
For this recipe you can choose to either shake the ingredients and pour over ice or blend to drink frozen.
Irish Hot Chocolate
As we get older, we have the added benefit of enjoying hot chocolate in a different way— with a splash of whiskey.
You can choose to use a premade hot chocolate packet that you just add water to if you wish, but for a richer flavor you will want to make the hot chocolate from scratch as well.
Whether you make it from scratch or use hot chocolate mix, simply add some whiskey and enjoy!
Finish with whipped cream topping.
Pomegranate French 75
The French 75 is typically made using gin and Champagne.
This pomegranate variation adds a bit of fruity freshness to the sparkling beverage.
To make this drink, combine your choice of gin, pomegranate juice, and simple syrup. For a bit of extra zest, you can add lemon juice as well.
Shake the ingredients with ice and top with Champagne in a Champagne flute glass. Garnish with pomegranate seeds for the perfect pink drink for fall brunch or pre-dinner drinks.
Apple Brandy Sidecar
Apple flavor is quintessential for the fall.
The sidecar is a classic cocktail on its own, but adding apple brandy makes it perfect for the fall season.
Mix it up with some apple cider, orange liqueur, lemon, and bitters and garnish with some apple slices and a cinnamon stick!
Mezcal Negroni
A Negroni is a well-known Italian drink that only contains three ingredients: gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.
Mezcal is a spirit derived from agave and has a delicious smoky flavor, and is a great substitution for this beverage to bring out that fall campfire feeling.
The mezcal Negroni is just as simple to make, with the Campari and sweet vermouth remaining intact while the gin is replaced with mezcal.
Garnish this drink with a twist of orange peel or a half-wheel on the rim of the glass and enjoy over ice.
Pumpkin Spice White Russian
What is fall without a little pumpkin spice?
If you are a fan of the pumpkin spice latte or pumpkin drinks in general, you will surely enjoy this creamy pumpkin spice version of a white Russian.
For this version, the main components stay nearly the same: vodka, Kahlua, and heavy cream. However, to make it pumpkin spice, you will want to use pumpkin spice creamer instead of regular heavy cream.
Serve it over ice with a bit of whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin spice for a sweet treat.
Spiced Mexican Hot Chocolate
For a kicked-up version of the hot chocolate you know and love, try spiced Mexican hot chocolate.
Typically chili powder or cayenne pepper adds a spicy spin on the classic drink, but sometimes it is just cinnamon.
Spiced Mexican hot chocolate requires whole milk, half and half, dulce de Lethe, cinnamon sticks, 70% dark chocolate, pure vanilla extract, kosher salt, and bourbon if you want it spiked.
Serve in your favorite mug with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Cranberry Gin Fizz
A cranberry gin fizz will have you thinking about Thanksgiving all season long.
A classic gin fizz is uniquely in that it has egg white in it, which gives it the signature foamy finish.
The cranberry gin fizz nixes the egg and uses a big spoonful of cranberry sauce to go with the rest of the ingredients, which include gin, club soda, and ice for shaking.
This simple drink can be made advanced by opting for a cranberry syrup instead. Fresh lemon juice is also optional. Check out other cranberry cocktails for fall!
Apple Peel Bourbon Ginger Shake-Up
Apple peel bourbon is what you get when you bottle bourbon with apple peels, cinnamon sticks, and cloves and leave it to infuse for a few days.
The result is a tasty spiced apple-flavored bourbon perfect for making a delicious apple peel bourbon ginger shake-up.
This drink combines your apple peel bourbon with triple sec, lemon juice, Angostura bitters, and orange bitters, topped with ginger beer.
Shake the ingredients with ice and pour into your glass of choice. Top the mixture with your favorite brand of ginger beer and a twist of lemon as garnish.
Old Fashioned
An Old Fashioned is about as classic as they get.
This is a drink you can find on nearly any cocktail menu at any bar, and is particularly refreshing as the cool fall weather begins to come into play.
Although you can choose to make your Old Fashioned with many dark liquors, bourbon is the popular choice.
This drink is great year-round, but the whiskey really warms you up in the fall.
Rosemary Maple Bourbon Sour
A bourbon sour is the tasty combination of bourbon and lemon juice to make a tangy, slightly bitter drink.
The rosemary maple bourbon sour adds a taste of the season to the mix for a truly essential fall cocktail.
This cocktail uses bourbon, lemon juice, maple syrup, and crushed rosemary. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Autumn Fig Sangria
Sangria is a beverage that originated in Spain and Portugal.
It is typically red wine combined with simple syrup, fresh fruit, sparkling water, and fruit juice to be served chilled. Some variations use white wine instead of red.
For a fall spin on this drink, the autumn fig sangria uses orange, red apple, pear, and figs as the fruit. Dry white or fruit-forward red wine works well for this recipe.
Combine the wine and fruit with apple cider, apple brandy, orange liqueur, and cinnamon sticks.
Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour
A whiskey sour, like a bourbon sour, mixes the liquor of choice with lemon juice, and occasionally egg white for foam.
Unlike its bourbon counterpart, this fall cocktail uses warm spice instead of aromatic herbs.
Combine whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup, and a bit of ground cinnamon and shake with ice. Strain into a glass and add a cinnamon stick as garnish if you wish.
The swap of maple syrup for simple syrup adds a bit more dimension to the beverage while the cinnamon brings a bit of spice to the palate.
Orange-Thyme Old-Fashioned
We have already covered why an Old Fashioned is an iconic fall beverage, but have you ever considered trying it with thyme?
The key to this drink is in the thyme syrup. You can make your thyme syrup by simply infusing the syrup with a few sprigs of thyme.
To make the orange-thyme Old Fashioned, stir together your whiskey, thyme syrup, and orange bitters with a few ice cubes in your glass. Stir until the glass is chilled and run the peel of the orange around the rim to release the oils and add as a garnish.
Sparkling Pear & Orange Champagne Punch
Nothing quite quenches thirst like a fresh fruit punch at a party. This punch uses the flavors of popular fall fruits pear and orange to sweeten the brew.
This low-maintenance cocktail required just a few ingredients.
Combine chilled sparkling wine or Champagne with pear nectar, orange bitters, and ice in a large punch bowl. Stir until combined and serve with orange zest for garnish.
Mulled Wine Sparkler
Fall marks the time of year when you start to see packets of mulling spices being sold at the grocery store.
The classic use of these spices is to boil them with red wine to infuse the spice and provide for a hot cocktail with warm flavors.
Mulled wine sparklers take that same concept of mulled wine, but add a bit of fizz to the mix, for a lighter fall cocktail.
Whiskey Apple Cider
Whiskey and apple cider is a simple and classic fall cocktail.
This is a no-frills recipe: simple mix your favorite whiskey (I prefer bourbon) with your favorite fresh apple cider, and viola!
Feel free to add extra garnishes like a cinnamon stick, apple slices, or even an orange slice for some citrus. You can’t go wrong.
There is nothing quite like the taste of fall. Whether you like your fall cocktails hot or cold, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Take a classic recipe and add a bit of spice, or try something unique tailored to the season.
Lovers of this season and the flavors that come along with it are sure to be impressed with our 17 best fall cocktails.
“Must try all these cocktail recipes. Fruity smoked cocktails are best for fall. My add-on to these cocktails will be mezcal spirit. Try adding this & see how refreshing the cocktail tastes.
Thank you for the blog, waiting for more such fall recipes.”