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Trying out different seasonal recipes is a fun way to get festive during the fabulous season of fall.  And for all of our 21+ collegiettes, what could better complement your favorite apple and pumpkin recipes than delicious fall-inspired cocktails?  Read on for some awesome autumn drinks that can spice up your parties and pregames from Halloween to Thanksgiving!

1. Pumpkin Sour Cocktail (recipe from SheKnows)


Ingredients:

  • 2 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
  • 1/2 part fresh orange juice
  • 1/2 part lemon juice
  • 1/2 part maple syrup
  • 1 heaping bar spoon canned pumpkin puree
  • 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • 1 part allspice dram
  • Ice
  • 3-4 pieces candy corn

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.
  2. Strain into a rocks glass over ice.
  3. Garnish with skewered candy corn.

 

2. Amberjack (recipe from Food & Wine)


Ingredients:

  • Ice
  • 1 ounce apple vodka
  • 1/2 ounce Macallan Amber (Scotch-based maple-flavored liqueur)
  • 1/2 ounce Calvados
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1 1/2 ounces chilled apple lambic
  • 1 thin green apple slice

Directions:

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
  2. Add the vodka, Macallan Amber, Calvados and lime juice; shake well.
  3. Strain into a chilled martini glass, stir in the lambic and garnish with the apple slice.

 

3. Cranberry-Spice Cocktail (recipe from Food & Wine)


Ingredients:

  • 1 orange wedge
  • 13 cranberries
  • Three 1-inch pieces crystallized ginger (2 minced and 1 whole for garnish)
  • 2 ounces Aperol
  • 1 ounce Lillet Blanc
  • Ice
  • 4 ounces hard cider
  • 4 dashes of Peychaud’s cranberry bitters

Directions:

  1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the orange wedge with 10 of the cranberries and the minced ginger.
  2. Add the Aperol, Lillet Blanc, bitters and ice. Shake well.
  3. Double-strain the drink into an ice-filled Collins glass and top off with the hard cider.
  4. Garnish with the 3 remaining cranberries and the slice of ginger skewered on a toothpick.

 

4. Baileys Caramel Appletini (recipe from Delish)


Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Baileys Caramel Irish Cream
  • 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Green Apple Flavored Vodka
  • 1 slice apple
  • 1 teaspoon caramel

Directions

  1. Add Baileys Caramel Irish Cream and Smirnoff Green Apple Flavored Vodka.
  2. Shake with ice and strain into a prechilled martini glass.
  3. Garnish with an apple slice and caramel.

 

5. Spiced Wine (recipe from Saveur)


Ingredients:

  • 1 750-ml bottle medium-bodied red wine, such as zweigelt

  • 1⁄2 cup sugar

  • 8 whole cloves

  • 4 lemon wedges

  • 4  4″ sticks cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Bring ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally, in a 4-qt. saucepan and remove from heat. Discard cloves.
  2. Ladle wine into 4 glasses and garnish each with 1 of the cinnamon sticks and 1 lemon wedge. Serve hot.
  3. Serves four.

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6. Pumpkin Martini (recipe from About.com)


Ingredients:

  • 1/2 ounce cream liqueur
  • 2 ounces vanilla vodka
  • 1/2 ounce pumpkin liqueur or pumpkin spice syrup
  • 1 tsp whipped cream (optional)
  • Cinnamon stick for garnish

Directions:

  1. Pour the cream liqueur and vodka into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  2. Shake well.
  3. Add the pumpkin liqueur or syrup.
  4. Shake again.
  5. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  6. Top with a teaspoon of whipped cream.
  7. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

 

7. Autumn Punch (recipe from Better Homes and Gardens)


Ingredients:

  • 2 
 teaspoons whole cloves
  • 1/2
 of a vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 1 
64-ounce bottle apple-cranberry juice
  • 4 
medium purple and/or green plums, pitted and sliced
  • 1 
750-milliliter bottle Gewurztraminer, or other fruity white wine
  • 
Ice cubes

Directions:

  1. Place cloves and vanilla bean in center of a double-thick 6-inch square of 100 percent cotton cheesecloth.
  2. Bring corners of cloth together; tie closed with clean string.
  3. Pour apple-cranberry juice into a large container or pitcher.
  4. Add plums and spice bag.
  5. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.
  6. Remove and discard cheesecloth bag.
  7. Stir in Gewurztraminer.
  8. Serve beverage and plum slices over ice (or omit the ice and heat the juice mixture and wine in a 4-quart Dutch oven until hot. Serve in heatproof mugs.)
  9. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

 

8. Ginger Snap (recipe from Delish)


Ingredients:

  • 3/4 ounce Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
  • 1/2 ounce ginger brandy
  • 4 ounces eggnog

Directions:

  1. Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, ginger brandy and eggnog in blender.
  2. Blend to desired consistency and pour into glass.
  3. Garnish with ginger snap for dunking if desired.

 

9. Hot Apple Pie Cocktail (recipe from About.com)


Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Tuaca
  • hot apple cider
  • Whipped cream
  • Cinnamon stick for garnish

Directions:

  1. Pour the Tuaca in an Irish coffee glass.
  2. Fill with hot apple cider.
  3. Top with whipped cream.
  4. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

 

10. Autumn Spiced Apple Brandy Cocktail (recipe from HonestlyYUM)


Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz apple brandy
  • 1/4 oz Averna
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1 oz unfiltered apple juice
  • 1/2 oz demerara spiced cordial
  • 2 dashes of old fashioned bitters
  • Apple chip for garnish

Directions:

  1. Add the apple brandy, Averna, lemon juice, apple juice, cordial and bitters to your shaker.
  2. Fill your shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
  3. Strain and serve up in a chilled coupe glass.
  4. Float a freshly made apple chip on top for garnish.
Allie Sutherland is an Architecture Student and Alpha Phi sister in the Syracuse University class of 2015. http://alliesutherland.com/