11 Fall Cocktails To Celebrate The New Season

As the temperature drops and nights get longer, we all need a little pick-me-up to keep us cheerful and cozy. The transition into fall means the return of long-awaited seasonal drinks like hot toddies, mulled wine, and apple cider. Even the best refreshments get a little better with booze, so here are fall cocktails to serve all your alcohol-related yearnings this autumn. Just think — shorter days mean longer nights that are perfect for toasting.

Rather than just spiking your favorite drinks of the season, try your hand at crafting new concoctions that tantalize the taste buds while still evoking memories of autumns past. This roundup includes seasonal re-imaginings of time-honored classics like the Manhattan, Dark & Stormy, and even the margarita. However, every drink has some autumnal adornment with expected ingredients switched out for additions more fitting for fall. Drinks are garnished with cinnamon sticks, and glass rims are coated in cinnamon sugar. Savor the spirited surprise of unexpected fusions while revisiting fond flavors of childhood in a grownup way. Full of fall favorites like pumpkin, apple, and maple, and spiced up with star of anise, this collection of cocktails is perfectly suited to add some extra warmth to every sweater weather occasion, from holiday fetes to fireside chats.

1. Pumpkin Spice Dark & Stormy

The season has us craving pumpkin spice everything, but after a sip of this harvest-flavored highball, Dark and Stormy might be at the top of your list. The cocktail is Kitchen Confidante's "answer to the blustery days ahead, with a bit of an autumn twist."

2. Maple Bourbon Cocktail

Maple is mixed with orange and bitters for a smooth bourbon treat that's just the right amount of sweet. Jelly Toast assures this brew is "just what you need to warm your belly on a cold night."

3. Spiced Apple Margaritas

Make this margarita mash-up your go-to for all your fall fiestas. The recipe by Cookie & Kate calls for reposado tequila aged in oak barrels for richer flavors complemented by apple cider and cinnamon. Add another autumn spin by coating the rim of the glass in cinnamon, sugar, and salt, and garnish your drink with star of anise.

4. Blackberry Bramble

The end of summer means the beginning of blackberry season, and this dry gin delight by The Crepes of Wrath uses blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries for flavor, and cloves and cinnamon sticks for spice.

5. Bourbon Cider Cocktail With Cinnamon Ginger

Offbeat and Inspired brings us a chilled variation of mulled cider that's usually served hot. Described as "the perfect ode to the season," this iced drink brings together contrasting sensations of tartness and sweetness, and "a shot of bourbon leaves you with a warm finish."

6. Spiced Manhattan Cocktail

This Manhattan remix by A Spicy Perspective trades out whiskey for Cognac, and a cherry for an orange. Cayenne pepper, cloves, and cinnamon sticks give autumnal flare. This potent sipper, served straight up, makes for a foolproof cocktail on a crisp fall day.

7. Wassail

Celebrate the fall harvest with this traditional Old English cocktail that you can spice (and spike) to taste. Cookie & Kate recommends garnishing with cinnamon sticks, star of anise, or thinly sliced apple. No one's stopping you from topping it off with all three.

8. Pumpkin Beer Cocktail

Recipe creator Jelly Toast knows that sometimes low-key is key, especially when the final product is "reminiscent of pumpkin pie" (while packing a boozy punch). The jack-o'-lantern-flavored refreshment requires only three ingredients (all types of alcohol), each flavored like cinnamon, pumpkin, and whipped cream. Oh, the beauty of simplicity.

9. Hot Buttered Hazelnut Whisky

For a hot mug of instant coziness, this treat topped with whipped cream and cinnamon does the trick. The recipe by Adventures In Cooking calls for good ole Scottish whisky (hence, no "e"), milk, and hazelnut liqueur. A great fix if you're cold or have a cold, or maybe just craving something utterly blissful.

10. Ginger Pumpkin Bourbon Fizz With Cinnamon Sugar

This unconventional marriage between pumpkin beer and bourbon fizzes, but shows no signs of fizzling out. Balanced by ginger and a touch of cinnamon sugar, this perfect pairing by Climbing Grier Mountain is a hoppy glass of happiness, and an exceptional way to upgrade the pumpkin beer your roommate left in the fridge.

11. Apple Cider Swizzle

Take out your swizzle sticks for this mixed drink mashup by My Baking Addiction that is the original frosty with fall flare. Just stir together hard apple cider, spiced rum, Amaretto, maple syrup, and "a few dashes of bitters for good measure," then top it off with sliced apples from your latest orchard haul.

Looking for more great recipes? Check out Bustle on YouTube.

Images: My Baking Addiction (2), Kitchen Confidante, Jelly Toast (2), Cookie & Kate (2), The Crepes Of Wrath, Offbeat & Inspired, A Spicy Perspective, Adventures In Cooking, Climbing Grier Mountain