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21 Must-Try Fall Cocktails

Fall brings a chill that calls for warming up with the right drink. I’ve found these recipes capture the essence of the season, blending spices, apple cider, and pumpkin spice perfectly. They’re not just drinks; they’re a warm embrace on a crisp evening. I personally love the depth of flavor they add to any gathering, making them perfect for both entertaining and quiet nights at home. Their simplicity and rich taste make them standouts. Trust me, exploring these fall cocktails will be the highlight of your season.

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Pumpkin Spice White Russian

pumpkin spice white russian

You know fall is here when you start seeing pumpkin spice offerings everywhere, including in your cocktails. If you love a pumpkin spice latte, you are sure to love our Pumpkin Spice White Russian. Made with vodka, coffee liqueur, heavy cream, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, this decadent drink is perfect for fall sipping.


Gin and Apple Fall Cocktail

Gin and Apple Fall Cocktail 1

Apples may be available year-round, but they’re the bounty of a fall harvest. This gin cocktail sweetened with cider and honey gets a refreshing splash of lime juice for much-needed tartness. This recipe is simple and user-friendly, making for a special fall happy hour treat.


Fall from the Tree

Fall from the Tree 1

Apples and cinnamon are a match made in heaven, and this Fall from the Tree cocktail proves it. It consists of Laird’s applejack, an apple-cinnamon-infused brandy combined with apple juice, cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, and bitters. It tastes like apple pie in liquid form, but the lemon juice and bitters keep the sweetness in check.


Ginger Pear Snap cocktail

Ginger Pear Snap

Ginger is a spicy and aromatic root that stands up to salt as well as sweetness. In the case of the Ginger Pear Snap cocktail, ginger reigns supreme. It overpowersthe subtle sweetness of pear vodka and the tangy bitterness of rhubarb bitter. You use both ginger liqueur and fresh ginger for a drink that’s spicey with a sweet, bubbly finish, thanks to sparkling pear juice.


Bitter Apple Negroni

Bitter Apple Negroni 1

If you’re not a fan of sweet cocktails, this Bitter Apple Negroni aims to please you. In true Negroni fashion, this recipe piles on the bitters, using both Cocchi Americano and Suze in conjunction with apple-infused brandy. To balance the bitterness, the Bitter Apple Negroni calls for a scratch-made apple cinnamon syrup.


Creamy Pumpkin Spice Martini

Creamy Pumpkin Spice Martini

Indulge in the famous flavor of the season – pumpkin spice – with this dessert drink. You don’t have to be an expert bartender, but you will impress guests with this Pumpkin Spice Martini. All you need is RumChata, vanilla vodka, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Shake well with ice, and pour into a martini glass with a cinnamon sugar garnish for a decadent fall martini.


Apple Cider Cocktail

Apple Cider Cocktail

This tart and floral cocktail consists of equal parts gin and apple cider with a splash of lime juice and simple syrup. While this recipe requires you to make simple syrup from scratch, it’s the easiest simple syrup method that you’ll surely use to sweeten all beverages from here on out.


Juicy Apple Bourbon Fall Cocktail

Juicy Apple Bourbon Fall Cocktail

This is the most refreshing bourbon cocktail you’ll encounter. It tastes like biting into a fresh fall apple straight from the tree. The key is to doctor up regular apple juice with a freshly squeezed lemon wedge and a dash of pure maple syrup. The dash of maple syrup highlights the smokiness of the bourbon.


Wild Turkey Cocktail

Wild Turkey Thanksgiving Cocktail

This simple, three-ingredient cocktail is ready in under a minute. Bourbon, lemon juice, and honey simple syrup get a quick twenty-second shake, and voila, you’ve got a wonderful fall beverage. If you can’t find honey simple syrup at the store, it’s easy to make. Just cook equal parts honey and water on the stove to dilute it into a thinner texture that you can shake into cocktails.


Fireball Thanksgiving Punch

Fireball Thanksgiving Punch

Food isn’t the only thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. This dangerously delicious and highly alcoholic punch features hearty portions of fireball whiskey and prosecco to spike the cider and orange juice punch bowl. My favorite part of this punch is the frozen chunks of granny smith apples.


Fig and Ginger Gin Cocktail

Fig and Ginger Gin Cocktail

Figs bridge the gap between late summer and early fall, so you can still get fresh figs to create this Fig and Ginger Gin Cocktail when the first leaves start to turn gold. This cocktail calls for equal parts gin and seltzer water stirred into a spicy ginger syrup, lime, and fresh fig base. This is a sophisticated cocktail that tastes impressive and will challenge your bartending skills.


Spiced Pear Martini

Spiced Pear Martini

This delicious, spiced pear martini recipe tastes like a slice of pear and almond torte. It’s a simple recipe that combines honey and lemon with cardamom bitters, pear vodka, and amaretto. It’s the amaretto, for me, that makes this martini so spectacular. You could serve this drink in place of dessert, and your guests would not complain!


Cider and Maple Old Fashioned

Cider and Maple Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned cocktails are an ode to bourbon, whose inherent smokiness is reminiscent of a fall bonfire. This Old Fashioned spices up this classic cocktail with the addition of maple syrup and apple cider. Maple and cider are quintessential fall ingredients that complement smoky bourbon and orange bitters perfectly.


Earl Grey Blackberry Bourbon Cocktail

Earl Grey Blackberry Bourbon Cocktail

Nothing’s more comforting than a warm cup of tea on a brisk fall day. This boozy cup of tea uses bourbon to make the warmth last a little longer. The sedate earl grew tea uses freshly muddled blackberries and simple syrup for fruity sweetness. This is a chilled tea cocktail, but I think it tastes just as good as hot.


Apple Cider Aperol Spritz

APPLE CIDER APEROL SPRITZ

A delightfully refreshing twist on sparkling apple juice, this Apple Cider Aperol spritz is sure to become a regular on your dinner party menu. Aperol and champagne add a dry, bitter flavor that pairs perfectly with spiced apple cider. If you want it to be more alcoholic, you can switch the splash of club soda for an extra ounce of Champagne.


Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita

Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita

Mexico may be the land of eternal summer, but you can adapt them for fall palates with this wonderfully complex Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita. Swapping mezcal for tequila is the key to this margarita’s smokiness. Cider combines with orange liquor and lime for a surprisingly refreshing sweetness. While this recipe calls for maple syrup, I’d use it as a binding agent for the salt and cinnamon-dusted rim instead of stirring it into the cocktail itself.


Cranberry Maple Bourbon Cocktail

Cranberry Bourbon Smash

Adding maple to anything infuses it with the flavors of fall, and this Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail showcases maple in a show-stopping simple syrup. In fact, the most difficult part of this recipe is the maple cranberry simple syrup which involves reducing frozen cranberries, water, and maple into a delightful syrup. You combine the syrup with smokey bourbon and tangy unsweetened cranberry juice for a well-balanced and classy fall cocktail.


The Candy Corn Cocktail

Candy Corn Cocktail

Candy Corn is the official fall candy, and this adult take on it is a vast improvement. It may be just as sweet, fall flavors shine through all the sugar. The sweet ingredients of apple cider and butterscotch schnapps get a tangy punch from lemon juice and an alcoholic kick from the shot of vodka.


Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned

Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned cocktails run the flavor gamut, using bitter citrus, smokey bourbon, tangy lemon juice, and sweet honey. This Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned puts a fall twist and adds yet another flavor component with a recipe for infused honey. The spiced honey uses vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom for a true taste of fall in every teaspoon.



Grape Harvest Cocktail

Grape Harvest Cocktail

Rosemary is a classic fall flavor, imparting a distinct flavor to roasted root vegetables. It also happens to be the key ingredient in this refreshing gin cocktail. You create a rosemary simple syrup to combine with lime juice, whole grapes, and soda. This Autumn Twilight recipe showcases rosemary’s versatility.


Pomegranate Gin and Tonic

Pomegranate Gin and Tonic 1

Gin and tonic is a refreshing and refined cocktail in its own right. This elegant recipe just adds to a gin and tonic’s sophistication with a dash of fruity pomegranate juice. The fruity sweetness from the pomegranate mixed with tangy lime juice pairs perfectly with floral and earthy notes in gin and tonic water.


An autumn-themed cocktail scene in a cozy, rustic setting. The cocktail is in the foreground, a crystal clear glass filled with a deep amber liquid, garnished with an orange slice and a cinnamon stick. Behind it, the background shows a wooden table with scattered autumn leaves in shades of red, orange, and yellow. A softly glowing candle nearby adds a warm, inviting ambiance. The scene is set near a window with a view of trees with autumn foliage, bathed in the golden light of a setting sun.

21 Fall Cocktail Recipes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
5 from 2 votes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: fall cocktails
Servings: 1
Author: Paul Kushner
Fall flavors are some of the best, especially in cocktail form! Check out these seasonal fall cocktails to enjoy as the leaves fall.

Instructions

  • Pick your favorite recipe
  • Gather all the needed ingredients
  • Prep your fall cocktail in less than 5 minutes
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let us know how it was!
21 Must-Try Fall Cocktails
Please drink responsibly, be fully accountable with your alcohol consumption, and show others respect.
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Paul Kushner

Written by Paul Kushner

Founder and CEO of MyBartender. Graduated from Penn State University. He always had a deep interest in the restaurant and bar industry. His restaurant experience began in 1997 at the age of 14 as a bus boy. By the time he turned 17 he was serving tables, and by 19 he was bartending/bar managing 6-7 nights a week.

In 2012, after a decade and a half of learning all facets of the industry, Paul opened his first restaurant/bar. In 2015, a second location followed, the latter being featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

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