12 Easy Fall Cocktails That Taste Like Sweater Weather in a Glass

Looking for that autumn vibe in a glass? These 12 easy cocktails announce that fall has arrived.

By Robin Shreeves
Published October 25, 2025
Spiced rum coffee with butterscotch whipped cream in a glass mug. There is a silver spoon to the right of the mug, and a small glass vessel of rum on the lefthand side of the image.

Serious Eats / Mariel De La Cruz

The leaves on the tree are turning colors. There’s a chill in the air. After a summer of chicken on the grill, you’re craving chicken pot pie and the warmth it brings to the kitchen as it bakes in the oven. And the cocktails you’ve been drinking all summer, like limoncello spritzes and frozen daiquiris, don’t have the fall vibe you’re looking for.

Enter fall cocktails, such as hot toddies or drinks made with spirits like whiskey or applejack. You’re sure to find something that scratches your itch for a seasonal cocktail in these 12 easy fall cocktails that definitely fulfill your desire for a seasonal drink. 

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  • Hot Toddy Recipe

    Two hot toddies served on a wooden board with lemon slices, next to a small bowl of demerara sugar

    Serious Eats / Two Bites

    If you can boil water, you can make a hot toddy. Warming and fortifying, a hot toddy is simply Scotch —or perhaps bourbon, rye, or even dark rum —plus a sweetener, all stirred into a mug of hot water. For this version, add two ounces of your chosen spirit and some sugar to boiling water, and you're on your way to feeling toasty warm.

  • Riesling Hot Toddy Recipe

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    Sydney Oland

    Steep a bottle of dry or off-dry Riesling with honey, brandy, lemon, toasted cardamom, and bay leaves. Simmer, then reduce the heat to low and let it all come together for 45 minutes. The best part? It makes enough to share!

  • Spicy Ginger Hot Toddy Recipe

    A metal tray with two ginger hot toddies served in glass mugs with lemon slices

    Serious Eats / Two Bites

    This hot toddy brings a bit of gingery spice to the mix, and you can control how much by the amount of time you keep the water, ginger, cloves, and lemon on the stove. Strain into a mug, then add honey and rum or bourbon for a toddy that keeps you warm and may clear up the congestion of a cold.

  • Hot Caramel-Popcorn Bourbon Apple Cider

    20170105-caramel-popcorn-hot-drink-vicky-wasik-2.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    Just the name makes you want to give it a try, right? Fortunately, it’s super easy to make. Warm equal parts of your favorite caramel popcorn and bourbon on the stove for 15 minutes. Strain, then add the infused bourbon to hot apple cider and top it with a small pat of butter for a rich, sweet, caramely fall cocktail.

    Continue to 5 of 12 below

  • Orchard Boulevardier Recipe

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    María del Mar Sacasa

    Stir rye whiskey, Campari, and sweet vermouth into hot apple cider, and you have two cider-soaked orchard boulevardiers—one for you and one to share. The hardest part is heating the apple cider, which really isn’t hard at all.

  • Mr. Howell (Daiquiri With Scotch and Maple) Recipe

    20160512-recipe-brooklyn-bartender-cocktails-vicky-wasik-mr-howell.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    What makes this daiquiri, usually associated with tropical islands and warm weather, fall-worthy? In addition to rum and fresh lime juice, it has rich maple syrup in place of the usual simple syrup and gets some savory-smokiness from a little peaty Islay Scotch.

  • Jack Rose Recipe

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    Sort of a lost classic cocktail, you may have heard of the Jack Rose if you’ve ever read The Sun Also Rises. Combine Laird's Applejack (which gives it the fall vibe) with high-quality or homemade grenadine, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and a dash of Peychaud's bitters for a sweet but balanced cocktail.

  • Sweater Weather Punch (Scotch and Cranberry Cocktail) Recipe

    20171010_Thanksgiving-Punch-Cranberry-EmilyDryden-0634.jpg
    Emily Dryden

    Looking for a punch for a holiday get-together? You found it! It’s even better than the sum of its quality ingredients—marmalade syrup, cranberry juice, oloroso sherry, becherovka (​​a cinnamon-y herbal Czech digestive), Scotch, bitters, and citrus garnishes. If you have a big enough punch bowl, double the recipe—it’s going to wow your guests.

    Continue to 9 of 12 below

  • Pop! Cider Recipe

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    María del Mar Sacasa

    If you’re looking for easy, it doesn’t get any easier than this. Pour Benedictine and chilled cider into a cocktail glass. Top with cold Prosecco. Garnish with an optional sprig of rosemary or thyme. Sip and enjoy.

  • Cinnamon Bun Hot Buttered Rum

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    Sydney Oland

    Who can resist a hot cinnamon bun? If your answer is, “not me,” this cocktail is for you. Make a spiced simple syrup with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon, and allow it to cool. Then, create a cinnamon batter from softened butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. Divide the batter among four mugs, adding rum and some of the simple syrup, then top with boiling water. It will smell as good as it tastes, just like its namesake.

  • Everything Nice (Spiced-Rum Coffee With Butterscotch Whipped Cream)

    Spiced rum coffee with butterscotch whipped cream in a glass mug. There is a silver spoon to the right of the mug, and a small glass vessel of rum on the lefthand side of the image.

    Serious Eats / Mariel De La Cruz

    This variation on the classic Irish Coffee swaps out the whiskey for spiced rum. The mug is topped with a butterscotch-y cream you whip up from ​​heavy cream, malted milk powder, brown sugar, and salt. Enjoy it after dinner or any time.

  • Orange Pisco Hot Chocolate Recipe

    20120202-six-ways-to-spike-your-hot-cocoa-02.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    First, you whisk up a hot chocolate with three types of chocolate and whole milk. Then you add Grand Marnier and pisco. Put it in a mug, top with whipped cream, and garnish for a drink inspired by a foil-wrapped chocolate orange.

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