7 Cocktails Perfect for Autumnal Days

As cruel as it might be after some pretty underwhelming sunshine, summer is leaving us, but replacing it is many people’s favourite season – autumn. As the leaves turn golden and the nights grow longer, it’s time to cosy up with some autumnal cocktails.

Here, we’re looking for rich flavours, brooding darker spirits, warming spice and comforting fruits. Whether you’re after something easy to whip up or a drink that surprises, these seven cocktails bring the taste of autumn to your glass. We’ve even included a couple of hot drinks for when the chill really sets in. So, grab a blanket, pop on a film, and let’s sip our way through the season.

Apple Cider Old Fashioned

This is your classic Old Fashioned, but with an autumnal twist that’ll have you feeling all cosy inside. The bourbon brings its usual warmth, but it’s the crisp apple cider and hint of maple syrup that elevate this cocktail into seasonal perfection. The balance of sweetness and spice makes it the ideal drink for cool, autumn nights. Simple, sophisticated, and deliciously autumnal.

Ingredients
50ml bourbon
15ml apple cider
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Apple slice for garnish

 Method
Stir the bourbon, apple cider, maple syrup, and bitters with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with an apple slice.

Chai Whisky Sour

Take the classic Whiskey Sour and give it a chai twist, and you’ve got autumn in a glass. The warm, spiced flavours of chai tea mix beautifully with the sharpness of the lemon and the depth of whisky. It’s fragrant, comforting, and a little bit exotic – the perfect cocktail for sipping on a chilly evening. You can buy chai tea syrup from the likes of Monin, but it’s very easy to make yourself too.

Ingredients
50ml whisky
20ml chai tea syrup
25ml lemon juice
Egg white (optional)

Method
Shake whiskey, chai syrup, lemon juice, and egg white (if using) with ice. Strain into a glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Smoky Maple Mezcal Sour

For something a little more unusual, try this Mezcal Sour with a twist of maple syrup. Mezcal’s smoky flavour pairs beautifully with the sweet richness of the syrup and the tang of lemon. It’s a bold, exciting cocktail that’s perfect for those looking for something a little different this autumn – smoky, sweet, and refreshingly tart.

Ingredients
50ml mezcal
20ml maple syrup
25ml lemon juice
Egg white (optional)

Method
Shake mezcal, maple syrup, lemon juice, and egg white (if using) with ice. Strain into a glass and garnish with a lemon twist. Delicious and distinct.

Cranberry Gin Fizz

This cocktail brings together the tartness of autumnal cranberries with the light, botanical flavours of gin for a refreshing, yet autumnal drink. The fizz from the soda makes it light and airy, while the cranberry gives it a seasonal twist. It’s a delightful balance between refreshing and comforting, and it looks just as good as it tastes. Autumn doesn’t just have to be about rich and warming flavours!

Ingredients
50ml gin
25ml cranberry juice
15ml lemon juice
Soda water to top
Garnish: fresh cranberries

Method
Shake gin, cranberry juice, and lemon juice with ice. Strain into a glass over ice and top with soda water. Garnish with fresh cranberries.

Hot Buttered Rum

The pinnacle of autumnal indulgence – we don’t know why this isn’t more popular. Few things scream ‘autumn’ like this traditional hot cocktail. Rich, buttery, and full of warming spices, Hot Buttered Rum is a treat you can sip while wrapped in a blanket. The rum adds a touch of sweetness and warmth, while the spices and butter make it taste like liquid comfort. It’s like drinking a hug.

 Ingredients
50ml dark rum
70ml hot water
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp unsalted butter
A dash of vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

Method
Muddle and mix sugar, butter, vanilla extract and all those beautiful spices at the bottom of a handled glass or mug. Pour in the rum, then the hot water and give it a nice stir (with a cinnamon stick if you’ve got them in!)

Pumpkin Spice Hot Toddy

Let’s stick with those warm serves for now. You can take a look at Hot Toddy variations here, but how about this Pumpkin Spice riff? It’s warm, comforting, and everything you love about autumn in a mug. The whisky brings its usual rich intensity, but the pumpkin spice syrup adds a seasonal sweetness that’s impossible to resist. Perfect for wrapping up on a crisp evening or fighting off a cold.

 Ingredients
50ml whisky
25ml pumpkin spice syrup
150ml hot water
1 cinnamon stick
Lemon slice for garnish

Method
Stir whisky, pumpkin spice syrup, and hot water together. Add a cinnamon stick and lemon slice. Serve warm and enjoy.

So many cocktails can undergo an autumnal makeover simply by using syrups. Ginger, cranberry, cinnamon etc. – pretty much anything can become a syrup, and it’s really easy to make yourself! Check out some recipes here.

The Science, Art and History of Hot Cocktails

For centuries, humans in colder climates have sought healing, warmth, and comfort through heated alcoholic beverages. In drinking cultures, hot cocktails have long been associated with communal gatherings and hospitality while being served and enjoyed in taverns, homes, or festive markets. This is a short, short history of this hot, hot category and some cool science-based tips on taste buds and techniques! 

The exact origin of hot cocktails was not one single moment but a development over time, continents, and cultures. Widely documented during the Middle Ages, hot spiced wine was consumed during winter festivals and celebrations, and occasionally sought after as a medicinal remedy. The spread of distillation led to the production of spirits which became integral components of Hot Toddies and Corrected Coffees in subsequent centuries. From these early versions of mulled wines to modern and elaborate variations, hot cocktails continue to evolve with cultural creativity, traditions, ingredient innovations, and the timeless human desire for convivial cosiness. 

When creating your own hot concoction, one of the most important aspects to remember is: hot drinks are perceived differently on the taste buds! Studies have shown perceived sweetness, bitterness, and umami intensify in warmer beverages. Though sour and salt have been found to remain similar due to different taste receptors, you should be aware of the increase of the other three flavour sensations. Because of this, your sweetening agent will need to be less per serving than cold cocktails, your spice choice can heavily impact perceived bitter flavours, and any umami ingredients will rise in prominence as well. 

Aromatic ingredients will also be stronger in hot cocktails. Higher temperatures directly affect the volatility (movement/airborne-ness) of the aroma molecules which enter our nasal and oral passages and bind to our aroma receptors. Using ingredients with already powerful aromas (e.g. peat, rose, lavender, cumin, etc) could become overwhelming and unpleasant.

Once you’ve considered these factors, you’re ready to heat things up! Here is a guide to the most popular hot drinks and some often overlooked tips to help you maximise deliciousness: 

MULLED DRINKS

The ancestor to all hot cocktails, a mulled wine, cider, or beer remains a solid staple of hot drinks to this day. The word mulled possibly comes from mulsed which means to mingle with honey but since the 1700s has meant to make into a hot drink with added sugar, spices, and fruit. The key to a great mulled beverage is to start with a good-quality, full-bodied base you would enjoy drinking on its own. Avoid overheating, which can cause the alcohol to evaporate and the base to over-oxidise resulting in harsh, astringent, unpleasant, or unintended flavours. Slowly simmering the beverage with your spices, sweetener, and fruit allows the flavours to infuse fully. Feel free to experiment with different spice combinations to make it your own as mulled drinks are more forgiving than their more spirituous descendants.

Mixtures like this are made by many cultures with slight variations in ingredient, strength, or traditions and they go by many names including but not limited to: Gluhwein, Vin Chaud, Vin Brule, Gløgg, Ponche de Vino, Høtvin, Quentão, Svařák, Bisschopswijn, etc.

BEER FLIP

The Beer Flip is a historic beverage dating back to the 17th century. This hot cocktail could potentially fit into other categories below but gains its own because of the traditional preparation ritual. It was typically made by combining beer, rum or brandy, eggs, sugar, and spices. It would then be rapidly heated by plunging a red-hot iron poker or loggerhead into the mixture, causing it to froth and caramelising the sugars inside. While the use of the hot poker has understandably diminished over time, modern adaptations can still be found in some bars and restaurants. The main tip for combining alcohol and a red-hot poker is this: Please be careful!

HOT TODDIES

With plausible linguistic origins in both Scottish and Irish Gaelic, "tod's hot" cocktails originated as colloquial or regional terms for a warming beverage enjoyed during hunting expeditions or cold fireside winter nights. They are most commonly made with whisk(e)y, lemon, sugar, and hot water spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise. But all spirits can work in a Toddy, including gin which has been used to make Hot Gin Punch in the UK or rum to make a Caribbean Spiced Rum Punch. For the stretching element, many people are excited to remember that spices in water is just another way of saying tea, which means your options are as diverse as the innumerable types of tea offered in your go-to grocer or anything you want to dream up and infuse! Your sugar choice can also transform your Hot Toddy, so experiment with lesser utilised sweeteners like barley syrup, pomegranate molasses, sucanat sugar, date syrup, maple syrup, or brown rice sugar. Switch out the citrus with other tart fruits to bring some tropicality into your chilly evening. Adding a pinch of salt is a tastebud science trick to lessen bitterness accentuated by the heat or spice infusions. 

BOOZY COFFEES

From the beloved Irish Coffee to the simple and effective “Corrected Coffees” of the Mediterranean, there are thousands of variations on this heater. Boozy coffees combine hot coffee with spirit, sugar, and often a layer of cream floated on top. A tip for maximum enjoyment of this hot cocktail is serving temperature. A 2007 study by researchers Fredericka Brown & Kenneth R. Diller calculates ideal coffee temperature the following way:

The preferred drinking temperature of coffee is specified in the literature as 140 ± 15 °F (60 ± 8.3 °C) for a population of 300 subjects. A linear (with respect to temperature) figure of merit merged the two effects to identify an optimal drinking temperature of approximately 136 °F (57.8 °C).

Temperature along with quality will greatly affect the flavours in your boozy coffee. Since hot beverages accentuate bitterness, extra care should be taken to ensure a bitterness-prone drink like coffee doesn’t overpower and ruin the whole drink. Test the coffee and brew styles before serving it to anyone you’re needing to impress, including yourself. 

BUTTERED & BATTERED

This category is a catchall for the inarguably popular cocktails in North America during the winter months, namely: Hot Buttered Rum and Tom & Jerry. A Hot Buttered beverage is a spirit - traditionally rum or brandy - or beer heated directly or with water in a vessel with spices, sugar, and butter. This gives the drink an indulgent and comforting velvety texture for warm moments on cold nights. The Tom & Jerry is a rare batter-based cocktail. The batter is prepared with eggs, sugar, and warming spices, which is then mixed with hot milk or water and added into a cup with rum or brandy. A tip for this category concerns their heavy use of the warming spice nutmeg. Nutmeg has a compound called myristicin which, in large quantities, can induce feelings of euphoria and a numbing spicy sensation in the mouth and throat. Amounts in this concentration can be toxic and should be avoided, but in small quantities it adds a toasted flavour, a comforting aroma, and a cosy tingling sensation on the palette. 

From the comforting embrace of an Irish Coffee to the dangerous theatrics of a Beer Flip, each hot cocktail tells a story of tradition and creativity across continents and cultures. Although, crafting the perfect hot cocktail requires more than just ingredients in an online recipe, but an understanding of taste perception and aroma dynamics. As we heat up our creations, we unlock a symphony of intensified flavours and scents, heightening the sensory experience, and inviting us to savour our cosiest moments with our most celebrated loved ones.

For more cosy serves, check out our special guide on great boozy coffee and hot chocolates here!

By Zach Sapato