Nothing goes better with crisp air and a cozy sweater than a fall cocktail. Whether your seasonal preference be pumpkin spice, sweet chestnuts or tart apples, we found hotel bars that will help you capture those flavors in a glass.
Hotels from Miami to Mykonos shared their own recipes to give you a delicious taste of autumn. Start shaking up some of these libations to toast the season.
Marron(chestnut) Cleopatra
As fall eases into winter, reach for this nightcap from Hotel Gajoen Tokyo with chestnut and coffee liqueurs. The cinnamon scent and creaminess make it indulgent.
.34 ounce rum
.85 ounce chestnut liqueur
.5 ounce coffee liqueur
.34 ounce fresh cream
Cinnamon stick
Place all of the liquids into a shaker and give it a shake. Next, pour it into a cocktail glass and drop in a cinnamon stick.
Secret Agent
Tucked inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, The Dorsey Cocktail Bar mixes up classic drinks, and this particular one melds warming fall flavors.
2 ounces Elijah Craig bourbon
.25 ounce Giffard apricot brandy
.25 ounce allspice dram
2 dashes of chocolate bitters
Combine all ingredients in a whiskey glass, add one 2-by-2 ice cube and stir. Garnish with an orange peel.
Treuse
You won’t find Treuse on the menu at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail’s The Remedy Bar, but it’s a recipe that bartenders tuck away in their back pocket. One such bartender, Harrison Brown, the creator of the libation, describes it as “Rocky Mountain fall in a glass! Refreshingly delicious — it’s hard to have just one.”
1 slice cucumber
1-2 slices fresh ginger (depending how spicy you want it, cut off the rind)
5-6 mint leaves of mint
1.5 ounce Cilantro Lime Absolut Vodka
.25 ounce lime juice
.25 ounce Green Chartreuse
Simple syrup (optional)
Ginger beer
Muddle the mint, ginger and cucumber in a shaker. Pour in the vodka, lime juice and Green Chartreuse (if you want it sweeter, add a splash of simple syrup). Shake vigorously and strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with cucumber.
The Centenarius
Laden with cinnamon and cloves, Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel’s Centenarius offers the warmth and comfort you crave in a fall tipple.
1 ounce Rivo foraged sloe gin
1 ounce Bitter Campari infused with cinnamon and clove
1 ounce Carpano Antica Formula
Mix all ingredients together with ice in a rocks glass.
Apple Cider Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned gets a seasonal makeover with the addition of some delicious apple cider at Montage Deer Valley.
1.5 ounces Elijah Craig bourbon
.5 ounces demerara simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
2 ounces cold-pressed Red Barn apple cider
Apple slice
Cinnamon stick
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail glass, stir and add ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and an apple slice.
Little Havana
Many of the cocktails made at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach’s Lapidus Bar use the hotel’s own Havana Club rum blend. This specific drink hits all of the warming notes for autumn but has a distinct Miami flair.
2 ounces The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach Havana Club Rum
.5 ounce banana syrup
.5 ounce guava syrup
3 dashes of coffee bitters
Combine all ingredients and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass. Add a large ice cube and garnish with coffee beans and lemon peel.
Blood Orange Garibaldi Spritz
The rich red shade of this spritz at Crown Towers Melbourne’s Bistro Guillaume will get you in the mood for fall.
1.5 ounces Campari
1 ounce blood orange puree
Simple syrup
Soda water
Candied orange
Add the Campari, puree and simple syrup into a glass over ice. Top up with soda water and garnish with candied orange.
Arrival of the Normandy Train
The Langham, Chicago’s mixologist Slava Borisov concocted this drink in homage to Monet’s days painting inside the train terminal that connected Paris and Normandy. The latter is known for Calvados, an apple brandy, which was used as the base spirit. The cocktail also features aromatic smoke, which emulates the puffs from the old-school steam trains of the time.
.25 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
.25 ounce Green Chartreuse
.5 ounce elderflower liqueur (Chase Elderflower is recommend)
.5 ounce Cocchi Americano
1 ounce VSOP Calvados (Christian Drouin Coeur de Lion is preferred)
Ardbeg
Lemon peel
Shake all the ingredients together. Strain and serve over ice in a highball glass. Finish with a spray of Ardbeg on top of the cocktail. Garnish with a lemon peel.
To take this cocktail to the next step, smoke it — the Chicago hotel uses this technique before serving the drink.
Fall in the Dolomites
The flavors in Alpina Dolomites’ autumn beverage sound good enough to eat: figs, chestnuts, chocolate and apple.
1.5 ounces Rhum zu Plun
Fat-washed chestnut paste*
2 teaspoons fig puree
2 dashes chocolate bitters
Apple soda
*The technique entails leaving the rhum in the chestnut paste for one night in the freezer to infuse it and then; the next day discard the separated fat part to get chestnut-aromatized rhum. An alternative is to add 1 teaspoon of chestnut paste directly in the cocktail.
Combine all ingredients except the soda in a shaker. Strain and pour the mixture into a rocks glass. Top with the apple soda.
Great Escape
If you can’t escape to Velaa Private Island in the Maldives, the idyllic hotel will transport you there with a delicious blend of gin, Italian and French aperitifs and pink grapefruit with notes of tropical fruit and exotic spice.
.68 ounce Tanqueray gin
.68 ounce Aperol
.68 ounce Lillet Blanc
1.4 ounces grapefruit juice
.5 ounce vanilla syrup
2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
Add all ingredients to a glass and stir.
Caruso Gimlet
Get a taste of the Amalfi Coast with this libation that makes use of the area’s famous lemons. Close your eyes and imagine sipping it at Belmond Hotel Caruso’s Arcade Bar and peering at the breathtaking water views.
3 parts Tanqueray No. Ten gin
1 part freshly squeezed juice of an Amalfi lemon
1 part Amalfi lemon cordial (make your own or purchase some)
Lemon zest
Pour the gin, the Amalfi lemon juice and the cordial into a shaker. Shake vigorously and strain it into a well-chilled martini glass or in a double Old Fashioned tumbler filled with ice cubes, if you prefer it on the rocks. Decorate with the lemon zest and squeeze some of the fruit’s essential oils into the cocktail.
Bespoke
While this Baccarat Hotel New York seems simple, its hint of heat and oakiness are just what you need as temperatures dip. Cognac lends strength, and Amargo-Vallet, a Mexican angostura, adds bitterness and depth. The crème de cacao helps balance it with sweetness and complexity, and the habanero bitters inject an underlining heat that rounds out the whole drink.
2 ounces Rémy Martin 1738
.75 ounce Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
.5 ounce Amargo Vallet
2 light dashes habanero bitters
Cinnamon stick
Mint sprig
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir 30 to 40 turns. Pour over ice in a large rocks glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and mint sprig.
Merlion
The Merlion is an iconic Singapore statue perched along the Marina Bay waterfront. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore pays homage to the mythical half-fish, half-lion creature with this fresh libation, whose red color fits right in for fall.
1.5 ounces tequila
.5 ounce honey-ginger syrup
.5 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
.34 ounce grenadine
.5 ounce sugar syrup
1 ounce egg white (optional)
Soda water
Lime wedges
Place all the ingredients in a cocktail mixer and shake well. Double strain into a tall glass, top up with soda water and garnish with lime wedges.
Liva
The name of this Katikies Mykonos concoction comes from the southwest medium range wind that appears in the Mediterranean during the summer season. But Liva is a breath of fresh air for autumn, too.
1.7 ounces Ciroc vodka
.68 ounce Mancino vermouth
.34 ounce Monin lavender syrup
.34 ounce Sosa Ingredients’ crystalized violets
Dissolve the crystalized violets in hot water to create a syrup. Then pour all ingredients into a shaker. Give it a hard shake and then empty into a glass.
Sassy Apples
Havana Beach Bar & Grill inside The Pearl Hotel in Florida’s Gulf Coast packs a glass with all the best fall flavors: spiced pumpkin, apples and vanilla. A touch of local honey is reminiscent of a candied apple at the county fair.
1 ounce Crop Spiced Pumpkin Vodka
.5 ounce Laird’s Applejack brandy
.25 ounce Brinley Gold Shipwreck Vanilla Rum
.25 ounce St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
Local honey to taste
Slice dried green apple
Place all ingredients in a shaker tin with ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a slice of dried green apple.
Birds Nest
For a refreshing sipper, shake up this selection from Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An. It’s inspired by the swiftlet that builds its edible nest in caves across Southeast Asia and has sweet mandarin flavors, fruit notes and a hint of spice.
1.5 ounces Grey Goose vodka
.5 ounce Southern Comfort
4 ounces Salanganes or bird’s nest water (available online or at Asian grocers)
.34 ounce mandarin orange juice
.17 ounce lime juice
Housemade brine (with white vinegar, green apple and orange)
.34 ounce simple syrup
Orange twists
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with cubed ice. Double strain into a chilled stemless wine glass without ice. Garnish with orange twists pierced on a cocktail pick.
Apricot Collins
Envision sitting outside at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills’ picturesque The Rooftop by JG and savoring this fruity concoction on a cool autumn day.
2 ounce Black Infusions apricot vodka
1 teaspoon apricot jam
.5 ounce Busnel Calvados
1 ounce lime
.5 ounce simple syrup
Tonic water
Soda water
Fill a shaker with ingredients and dry shake (that is, shake without ice) vigorously. Add ice, shake again and pour into a highball glass. Finish with a splash of tonic water and fill with soda. Then garnish with a lemon twist.
Tokyo Station
This well-balanced namesake sip from The Tokyo Station Hotel mimics the hue of autumn leaves.
.8 ounces Tanqueray gin
.7 ounces Suze
.3 ounces fresh lime juice
.2 ounces sugar syrup
.2 ounces grenadine syrup
Cut fresh lime
Put all the liquid ingredients in the shaker and shake. Pour into a glass and hook a lime slice on the edge. After you drink half, squeeze the lime in the remainder of the glass. It will add some sharpness and almost taste like a different cocktail.
Pear of the Dog
For a refreshing and sophisticated drink reminiscent of the Lowcountry, sip on this tipple with notes of lime from the River House Lounge at Montage Palmetto Bluff near Hilton Head.
1.5 ounces Grey Goose La Poire
.5 ounce Domaine de Canton
1 ounce fresh lime juice
.5 ounce (rich) simple syrup
Egg white (optional)
Powdered cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a shaker then strain into a coupe or rocks glass. Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered cinnamon.
Mandaretto Love
For its seasonal selection, Gardena Grödnerhof in Italy’s scenic Dolomites region spotlights an underrated fall fruit: the tangerine.
2 ounces tangerine juice
1 ounce white rum
.5 ounce Disaronno amaretto
Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Then pour the mixture into a coupe glass.
The Beetnik
A nod to San Francisco’s Beat generation, The Beetnik showcases The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay’s commitment to using locally and sustainably sourced seasonal ingredients from the NorCal coast. If you can’t get ahold of beet juice, the swap in pomegranate — it will still impart that ruby color.
1/2 peach
Fresh thyme
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1 ounce beet with baby beet green juice (cold pressed, if available)
1.5 ounces whiskey
Tonic water
Lemon slice
Muddle the peach, thyme, simple syrup and beet juice in a shaker. Add whiskey and ice and shake. Serve in a lowball glass over ice and finish with a splash of tonic. Garnish with a lemon slice.
Holy Mary!
Crown Towers Perth’s glamorous TWR bar puts its own spin on the classic bloody mary. The result is a robust and spicy quaff.
1.4 ounces Rutte celery gin
.34 ounces Talisker 10 (the bar uses salmon fat-washed Talisker 10, where salmon belly is scored and heated for 90 minutes and washed through the whisky to achieve a buttery mouthfeel)
4 ounces spiced tomato shrub (consisting of tomato juice, watermelon rind, kombu, shiitake mushrooms, sumac, celery salt, black pepper, demerara sugar, apple cider vinegar, sriracha hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce)
1 ounce lemon juice
Mix all ingredients in a glass.
Crowned Monkey Rum
If the only mixology skill you can muster is pouring, opt for a snifter of Four Seasons Resort Nevis’ new bespoke rum. Crowned Monkey Rum was produced by Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados and aged for 14 years in a single Jim Beam bourbon barrel. The warming sip has a smooth and creamy mouthfeel with notes of burnt caramel, vanilla and light golden raisins.
