The 28 Best Fall Cocktails, Whether You're Craving Something Warm & Cozy or Crisp & Refreshing

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

Once you’ve made a batch of the spiced rosemary and honey simple syrup (which makes enough for about six cocktails), this sipper is easy to shake up. To make them extra festive, recipe creator Tieghan Gerard recommends serving them with candied ginger. “Just grab some fresh rosemary sprigs, dampen them with water and cover in granulated sugar. Let the rosemary dry for an hour at room temperature. Now you have pretty, glistening, rosemary that’s the perfect final touch,” she writes.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

Trader Joe's Apple Pie Spread is the secret to this swoon-worthy cocktail, which combines the condiment with vanilla vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur and a dash of cinnamon to create a liquid dessert. And while you could avoid a potential mess and pour the spread into a squeeze bottle to get the "cupscaped" stripes along the inner rim of the glass—or omit them entirely—it's worth trying the milk frother trick shown in the video. It's fast and effective...as long as you don't power up the frother before it's fully submerged in the glass. (In that case, you may have a bit of a mess to clean up afterward.)

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 1

Fall is officially the time for fig recipes, and the fruit happens to be ideal for this rum, lime and ginger beer concoction. If you want to swap bourbon for rum, go for it. It'll have a little more bite that way.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, no cook
• Serves: 1

The smoky mezcal and festive fruit flavors make for a beverage that’s strong and complex but still sippable. FYI, if you use homemade apple cider, you get bonus points, but as Ina Garten would say, "store-bought is fine."

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 1

Sometimes, you want to go all out for a party. When you want a cocktail that will surprise and delight people—and give you an excuse to bust out a mini torch—this is the drink to serve. Toasting the marshmallow on top isn't necessary, sure, but oh, what delightful smoky, roasty notes it adds to the drink. You'll get all the bonfire vibes without having to build an actual fire. Or go outside.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Think of this fall cocktail as the autumnal alternative to summer’s Aperol spritz. It’s refreshing yet warm, and better yet, you can make a big batch to serve all your friends at once.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 6-8

A five-ingredient cocktail that takes less than 5 minutes to make and can serve your entire book club at once? Say less.

But, because I'm a yapper, I will add: Spiced rum, apple cider and a splash of prosecco are the stars of this bubbly drink, but don't skip the lemon juice—it brightens the whole thing up.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 1

This smash is ideal for Thanksgiving, but tasty enough that you don’t have to wait until November to make one. And if you want to scale the drink up for a party, it’s really easy. Recipe developer Jessica Merchant recommends creating a DIY station on your bar cart or table: "Set up a bottle of bourbon, a bottle of seltzer on ice, an adorable pitcher filled with the syrup and a jug of cranberry juice," she writes.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

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.)

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 4 to 6

The recipe calls for a few specific ingredients (like maple bourbon, pinot grigio, oranges, pears and apples), but you can swap in a few substitutes to make it your own. Try cinnamon whiskey, apple brandy, sparkling wine, cranberries, lemons and more.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 1

It’s as easy to make and drink as the original. You’ll simply swap the usual silver tequila for reposado (which is slightly aged) and add cider with the lime juice to fall-ify it.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <30 minutes, special occasion–worthy
• Serves: 1

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

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, ready in <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1

With fresh lemon juice and maple syrup, I think I’ll be drinking this one long after fall is over. If you have a large enough cocktail shaker, you can scale the ingredients up by four to make enough for a small crowd.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: make-ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 1

When in doubt, add bubbles. This spritz is equal parts cool and refreshing, and warm and cozy. And there's no complicated mixing or shaking required.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

You could use any kind of whiskey you like and this would still be delicious, but bourbon adds a slightly sweet element that ties the flavors of cranberry and pear together quite nicely.

• Time Commitment: 2 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

Add this autumnal flavor to your mimosa bar offering and your festive fall brunch on the porch will be even better. Pecan pie scones, anyone?

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, ready in <30 minutes
• Serves: 16

This punch bowl is all dressed up and ready to party, whether you serve it at a Halloween bash or Thanksgiving soiree. Make the simple syrup the night before so it has time to cool completely.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

A traditional Boulevardier is a boozy cocktail made of whiskey, sweet vermouth and Campari (kind of like a Negroni but with whiskey instead of gin). Turning it into a spritz and using bourbon transforms it into a fall cocktail that’s slightly lighter and easier to drink.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: dairy free, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1

Cranberry-orange simple syrup and apple cider will carry this elegant cocktail from fall straight into the holiday season. Serve it in a chilled coupe with an orange twist for the full effect.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

This four-ingredient margarita is ideal for everything from a fancy Halloween dinner to Thanksgiving. Adjust the amount of simple syrup as you see fit, if you prefer a less-sweet drink (and definitely spring for the salted rim).

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

Sure, you could skip the alcohol and make these into mocktails. But a splash of vodka is welcome. With lemon-lime soda and cranberry syrup, they taste like a Dirty Shirley with a twist.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

The warm spices in chai tea (think cinnamon and ginger) plus rum make this the ultimate warming fall cocktail for a cozy night. If you want to make this one dairy free, try oat or almond milk for the tastiest results.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 4

This fall cocktail is kind of like the grown-up’s alternative to hot chocolate—it’s plenty sweet thanks to brown sugar and honey, but gets a kick from the spices and a generous pour of booze. (Don’t forget the cinnamon sticks for stirring.)

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

Wait, sangria isn’t just for summer? This cozy version shows it’s just as good for fall as it is for the warmer months. (Oh, and there’s brandy in there, too, to kick it up an extra notch.)

• Time Commitment: 4 hours, 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: slow cooker recipe, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 12 to 14

Big-batch cocktails and easy entertaining go hand in hand. Instead of playing bartender, pour everything into your Crock-pot (and never look back).

• Time Commitment: 3 hours, 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: slow cooker recipe, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 12

With your handy slow cooker, you can leave this boozy brew on a low setting and it’ll stay warm for hours. That means that if the conversations are good and the hangout lingers longer than expected, the drinks are still just as great as when everybody first arrived. If they last that long.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: ready in <15 minutes, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 4 to 6

This one pairs well with a flannel shirt, a chunky knit throw blanket and a dark academia book. You can prepare the flavored butter in advance and keep it in the fridge for last-minute drinks or easy entertaining.

• Time Commitment: 7 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, ready in <15 minutes
• Serves: 1

If you don’t make a bit of a mess, it means you haven’t drizzled on enough caramel sauce. If you want to make the drink for a crowd, scale up the ingredients and keep it warm in a slow cooker.