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50 Best Fall Cocktails That Are Cozy, Refreshing and Oh-So-Seasonal

It’s time to put away the rosé (see you next June) and retire those spritzy spiked seltzers you’ve been drinking all summer. Fall is here, and with it, a new set of libations to warm you up from the inside out. Think cranberry cobbler smashes, maple New York sours and pumpkin spice Kentucky mules that taste better than pie — accompanied by a spooky Halloween movie, of course. Here are the best 50 fall cocktails to make this season to sip beside a crackling fire.

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1. Chai Hot Toddy

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients

The warm spices in chai tea (think cinnamon and ginger) plus rum make this the ultimate warming cocktail for a cozy fall night.

2. Cranberry Cobbler Smash

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

It’s ideal for Thanksgiving, but tasty enough that we’re not waiting for November to make one.

3. Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes

Once you’ve made a batch of the spiced rosemary and honey simple syrup, this sipper is easy to stir up.

4. Maple New York Sour

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients

What makes it a New York sour? The cozy, warming red wine float on top. And the easiness of it shows some of the best fall cocktails call for minimal time and effort.

5. Adult Hot Chocolate

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd pleaser, ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients

When the cocoa is spiked with bourbon and Irish cream, the kids are not invited.

6. Pumpkin Spice Kentucky Mule

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, ready in <15 minutes

It’s called a Kentucky mule because it’s made with bourbon instead of vodka. (But don’t skip the pumpkin butter or copper mugs.)

7. Apple Cider Sangria

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser

Bonus points if you make your own apple cider.

8. Hot Buttered Rum

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy

In the realm of best fall cocktails, this tastes like fall in a glass. Don’t forget the cinnamon sticks for stirring.

9. Mezcal Cider Spritz

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, no cook

The smoky mezcal and festive apple flavors make for the ultimate fall cocktail.

10. Ruby Vermouth Spritzers

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly

Think of this as the fall alternative to summer’s Aperol spritz.

11. Classic Eggnog

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 35 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make-ahead

We like to start ’nog season as early as possible. The booze of choice varies by region, so try it with brandy, cognac, whiskey, rum or our favorite, bourbon.

12. Slow-Cooker Cranberry Hot Toddy

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours, 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, crowd-pleaser

“Big batch” and “cocktail party” go hand in hand. Instead of playing bartender, pour everything into your Crockpot (and never look back).

13. Slow-Cooker Spiked Cinnamon Lattes

  • Time Commitment: 3 hours, 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, crowd-pleaser

With your handy slow cooker, you can leave this boozy brew on a low setting and it’ll stay warm for hours.

14. Mulled Wine Sangria

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly

Wait, sangria is one of the best fall cocktails? This shows it's just as good for fall as it is for summer. (Oh, and there’s brandy in there too.)

15. Spiced Apple Margaritas

  • Time Commitment: 10 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

It’s as easy to make and easy to drink as the original. Swap the silver tequila for reposado, which is slightly aged, and add cider with the lime juice to fall-ify it.

16. Maple Whiskey Sours

  • Time Commitment: 3 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients

If you’re more interested in a refreshing fall drink than a warming one, this has your name written all over it. Even better, it contains only five ingredients.

17. Boozy Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes

Um, they definitely don’t serve this at the coffee place down the street.

18. Fig Dark and Stormy

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients

Fall is officially fig season, and the fruit happens to be ideal for this rum, lime and ginger beer concoction.

19. Honeycrisp and Bourbon Spiced Cider

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser

If you can’t find Honeycrisp apple cider, any kind will do (but it’s worth seeking out).

20. Apple Cranberry Moscow Mule

  • Time Commitment: 3 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

It’s tart, spritzy and just what we want on a cool fall evening. The vodka doesn’t hurt either.

21. Spiced Orange Spritzer

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <30 minutes

Switching it up from apple cider? This bubbly orange number will do the trick. (Psst: It has prosecco.)

22. Smoky Mezcal Apple Cider Margarita

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes

Mezcal is like tequila’s mysterious cousin whose favorite season is—you guessed it—fall. Paired with sweet cider, it makes a mean autumnal drink.

23. Bourbon Ginger Cider Cocktails

  • Time Commitment: 10 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes

The best way to enjoy cider? Spiked, in our humble opinion.

24. Cranberry Bourbon Sour

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy

This beverage is sweetened with a homemade maple-cranberry simple syrup (swoon). It looks fancy, but it’s actually really easy to make.

25. Caramel Apple Old Fashioned

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

If you want your drink to be less sweet, just add more whiskey.

26. Persimmon Old Fashioned

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes

Persimmons are sweet, bright and just the thing to modernize this classic cocktail. (They’re also in season in late fall.)

27. Bourbon Apple Cider Fizz

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

Is it really fall if you’re not adding apple cider to every single drink?

28. Pumpkin Pie Bourbon Smash

  • Time Commitment: 25 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <30 minutes

Three words: pumpkin pie syrup.

29. Maple Old Fashioned

  • Time Commitment: 3 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy

This is just like a regular old fashioned, but the smoky maple syrup n lieu of a sugar cube make for one of the best fall cocktails you've ever had.

30. Apple Pie Moonshine

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 30 minutes
  • Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser

Careful, this stuff is potent (and it gets better the longer it sits).

31. Ciderhouse Pear Cocktail

  • Time Commitment: 2 hours, 40 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

Find your nearest fireside and cozy up with one of these babies.

32. Pear and Cranberry Champagne Cocktails

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 50 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy

You don’t need a special occasion to pop a bottle of bubbly. Add homemade pear-cranberry puree, and it’s like fall in a glass.

33. Autumn Apple Sangria

  • Time Commitment: 3 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser

It’s cozy, tasty and downright gorgeous. Don’t save it just for a cocktail party.

34. Pomegranate Orange Champagne Cocktails

  • Time Commitment: 10 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly

Further proof that Champagne goes with everything and every season.

35. Apple Cider Mojitos

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

We love a fall spin on a traditional cocktail. The homemade cinnamon simple syrup is a breeze to make, too.

36. Honeycrisp Crush

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <30 minutes

Honeycrisps are the ideal mix of sweet, tart, crisp and refreshing, so it’s only natural that they make a stellar drink. This one has ginger beer and vodka for a little kick.

37. Spiced Bourbon Punch

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser

This punch bowl is all dressed up and ready to party.

38. Spiced Mulled Wine

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <30 minutes, <10 ingredients

Grab a bottle of red wine and a few warm spices and set your timer for 20 minutes.

39. Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients

We think we’ll be drinking this one long after fall is over.

40. Cranberry Thyme Sparklers

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy

Sure, you could skip the alcohol and make these into mocktails. But a splash of vodka would be welcome too.

41. Pumpkin Cocktail

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser

It’s only a few ingredients, so you can easily make a single cocktail or a whole batch.

42. Hot Buttered Bourbon

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, crowd-pleaser

Pairs well with a flannel shirt and a chunky knit throw.

43. Pumpkin Eggnog with Bourbon

  • Time Commitment: 2 hours, 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy

An eggnog lover and a pumpkin lover walk into the bar. The punchline? An unreal fall cocktail.

44. Cranberry Pear Bourbon Cocktail

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, ready in <15 minutes

You could use any kind of whiskey you like and this would still be delicious.

45. Apple Cider Prosecco Spritz

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: make-ahead, crowd-pleaser

Our motto: When in doubt, add bubbles.

46. Chocolate Pecan Cream Martini

  • Time Commitment: 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy

It’s like a cross between a Halloween candy and a Thanksgiving pie (and we’re not mad about that at all).

47. Bourbon Spiked Hot Chocolate

  • Time Commitment: 7 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients

If you don’t make a bit of a mess, it means you haven’t drizzled on enough caramel sauce.

48. Maple Ginger Hot Toddy

  • Time Commitment: 10 minutes
  • Why We Love It: vegan, ready in <15 minutes

Hot toddies might not actually be healing, but they taste like a warm hug in a cup.

49. Cranberry Apple Sangria

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours, 50 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser

Wanna know a secret? You can make it entirely ahead of party time.

50. Apple Cider Mimosa

  • Time Commitment: 2 minutes
  • Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients

This calls for fall brunch on the porch. Pecan pie scones, anyone?



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Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...

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Freelance PureWow Editor