6 Surprising Ingredients Bartenders Love For Fall Cocktails

Stop it with the pumpkin spice already. When it comes to crafting autumnal cocktails, there are plenty more flavor profiles and ingredients one can – and should – use instead of the same old stuff. Ingredients like pumpkin, warm apple cider, cranberry juice and baking spices are tried and true fall flavors, but why not explore and experiment with others? Here are a few suggestions from cocktail experts so you can vary your fall cocktail repertoire.

1. Tomatoes

Bartenders are starting to craft tomato cocktails that go way beyond the Bloody Mary, using the fruit’s versatility to fit into a wide variety of drinks, from savory to sweet and bitter. And although we associate a juicy, ripe tomato with the summer, they can also work in fall cocktails to add a mellow acidity and balance flavors, especially when sun-dried.

“Tomatoes work beautifully in fall cocktails because they balance brightness with umami,” says BarChef New York beverage director at Bar Chef, Gianluca Passuello. “They can cut through richer spirits while still adding an earthy depth, making them a natural fit as we move into autumn. The Heirloom Garden reflects that idea perfectly; it takes the vibrancy of late harvest tomatoes and frames it with aromatics in a way that feels refreshing but still grounded.”

Since their flavor is concentrated, sun-dried tomatoes are great for infusing spirits for fall cocktails. They will add an earthy fruitiness to balance a heavier drink. A sun-dried tomato old fashioned, maybe? Think outside the box and experiment with your favorite spirits.

Heirloom Garden

• .25 oz. celery bitters
• .25 oz. roasted chicory maraschino
• .50 oz. sweet vermouth
• .50 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. sundried tomato infused Bombay London Dry gin

Stir ingredients together and strain. At Bar Chef, Passuello garnishes the cocktail with dehydrated heirloom tomato, nasturtium leaf and flower, and bergamot spray.

2. Spices, But Not The Usual Suspects

We know about all the classic fall spices: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg. But there are other spices that will work to add depth and unique flavor profiles to your cocktails. Think cumin, caraway, cardamom – you get the picture. In his Charred Strawberry, Passuello takes an ingredient associated with spring and summer and gives it a fall twist with some of these spiced flavors.

“The Charred Strawberry is about transformation, about letting an ingredient tell a new story as the season changes. By introducing smoke and caramelization, we’re taking something usually associated with summer -strawberries- and reimagining it for autumn,” says Passuello.

“The Maraschino liqueur infused with roasted chicory root adds roasted coffee notes, a little bitterness, and depth that balances the sweetness. Caraway Maraschino is infused with caraway seed, which brings a savory, spiced profile and makes the liqueur feel more layered and aromatic. Both are ways we take a classic ingredient and give it new character.”

Charred Strawberry

• .125 oz. Laphroaig Whiskey
• .25 oz. caraway maraschino
• .25 oz. TCS Bitters
• .25 oz. roasted chicory maraschino
• .25 oz. star anise syrup
• .50 oz. strawberry and elderberry bitters
• 1.50 oz. strawberry infused Bombay London Dry Gin

Stir ingredients together and strain. At Bar Chef, Passuello garnishes the cocktail with a torched strawberry slice with sugar and frankincense spray.

“The choice of Bombay Sapphire in these cocktails, with its citrus brightness and layered botanicals, elevates the savory and herbal notes of fall ingredients, giving the cocktails structure while letting the seasonal flavors remain the focus.”

3. Beets

Beets are a classic fall vegetable that works wonderfully in cocktails. Its sweet, earthy flavors and variety of colors make it perfect for various applications. “Beetroot has an earthy sweetness and unique color. It works well clarified for brightness or roasted for something richer, and pairs nicely with darker spirits,” says Passuello.

Infusing your favorite spirit with fresh beets for a few hours to extract the flavor and color might be the easiest way to use them in your cocktails. You can use any spirit you like – tequila, vodka, gin and whiskey work wonderfully. You can also use fresh beet juice, or even make a beet shrub that can keep in the fridge for longer. Golden beets will give a fall cocktail a lovely seasonal color, and deep red ones can be the perfect base for your Halloween libations.

Aidan Bowie, beverage director of The Dead Rabbit in New York and Austin, Texas, created the Vice & Virtue, a beet Old Fashioned made with Teeling Irish Whiskey. “It’s a modern Old Fashioned flipped on its head,” he says. “Earthy beetroot, silky cacao butter, and tart raspberry thread through a base of Genmaicha tea–infused whiskey, topped with a delicate matcha foam, nodding to traditional Japanese tea rituals.”

Beets also play well with other fall cocktail flavors such as apple, ginger, citrus and spices like cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and coriander.

4. Herbal infusions

There are plenty cocktail recipes out there that use herbal infusions. For fall cocktails, think flavors like lavender, chamomile, rosemary, thyme, calendula, hibiscus and sage.

“Herbal infusions have gained prominence in modern mixology because they allow bartenders to expand the aromatic and flavor spectrum of spirits,” says Gerardo Romero, bartender at Mondrian Mexico City Condesa. “They work as a bridge between the botanical and the liquid: extracting essential oils, adding unique nuances, and creating complexity without overloading the cocktail with too many ingredients. They also enhance the sensory experience, as each sip is perceived not only on the palate but also through the nose, with fresh, evocative aromas.”

Romero points to hoja santa as an example f herbs that are increasingly used to add local identity and create a cultural connection in drinks.

“Hoja santa is one of the most emblematic herbs in Mexican cuisine, with an anise-like aroma and spiced notes that completely transform the drink,” he says. “For our Brujo Verde – Green Warlock – we make an infusion in mezcal: we let the fresh leaves rest in the spirit for several hours until we achieve a perfect balance between the smokiness of the mezcal and the herbal freshness of the hoja santa. That’s what gives the Brujo Verde its identity: a deep, aromatic, and very Mexican cocktail.”

Brujo Verde

• 2 oz. mezcal infused with hoja santa
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• ¾ oz. fresh orange juice
• ½ oz. agave syrup
• Fresh rosemary
• A splash of soda (optional)

Infuse the mezcal with fresh hoja santa leaves and let rest for at least 6 hours. In a shaker, combine the infused mezcal, lime juice, orange juice, agave syrup, and rosemary. Shake with ice and fine-strain into an old-fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with a hoja santa leaf or rosemary.

5. Mushrooms

At Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, which holds the title of Best Bar in the World 2024, new seasonal creations are added through the year. But there’s a cocktail that they will always serve – at least if they don’t want a customer mutiny. “The Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned is a cocktail that takes a lot of preparation,” says co-owner Rodrigo Urraca.

“First, our staff cook the mushrooms with butter until they are golden brown. Then, they add them to Bourbon and place the mixture in the freezer. This makes the butter and the mushrooms provide flavor and texture to the spirit. 24 hours later, this liquid is strained and ready to prepare our drink, which is decorated with little enoki mushrooms.”

The cocktail’s flavor profile is complemented with walnut and maple, also on the list of less used fall cocktail ingredients. “This drink has a spectacular creaminess and smoothness; it is a strong but sweet drink,” says Urraca. Eating the adorable mushroom garnish as you sip the cocktail is highly recommended to enhance its mushroominess.

Dried mushrooms also find their way into cocktails, as an infusion in alcohol or water, or in some cases, as bitters. “Mushrooms are a great way to add depth and umami to fall cocktails,” says Benjamin Kirk, beverage director at Bastia in Philadelphia. “Our Gallura’s Harvest includes mushroom bitters made with dehydrated mushrooms and fall flavors like thyme, rosemary, and cinnamon. Perfect for the fall season.”

Gallura’s Harvest

• 1.25 oz Calvados
• .5 oz Lustau brandy
• .5 oz Joseph Cartron T Thé Noir Fumé
• .5 oz oloroso sherry
• .25 oz dry curacao
• 1 tsp Laphroaig
• .25 demerara syrup
• 5-6 dashes mushroom bitters
• 1 dropper MSG

Combine all ingredients above into a mixing glass. Fill almost full with ice. Stir for 30-40 rotations with a stirring spoon. Strain with a julep strainer into a Nick and Nora or coupe glass. Express the oil from a strip of orange peel over the cocktail and drop it in the glass. Garnish with two or three drops of a nice sesame oil.

6. Tea

And not your garden variety supermarket tea. Mixologists are gravitating toward specialty teas that provide different flavors and structures to cocktails, as in the Vice & Virtue. Whether using them to infuse the spirit directly or adding to the cocktail as a water infusion, there are so many varieties of tea to play with, depending on the end result you seek.

Black tea is an assertive ingredient to which bartenders reach when they seek a cocktail with toasted notes and pleasant bitterness. Tural Hasanov, Director of Beverage at The Tampa EDITION, serves a Turkish Tea Manhattan made with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Averna Amaro, black tea infused Cocchi di Torino and orange bitters.

“Turkish tea is a bold, full-bodied black tea made from Camellia sinensis leaves grown along Turkey’s eastern Black Sea coast. Unlike some delicate teas, Turkish tea undergoes a traditional oxidation and drying process that deepens its flavor while preserving a rich tannic structure,” says Hasanov. “This tea, when infused into vermouth, brings layered warmth, dryness, and subtle spice. Brewed strong, it delivers earthy, malty notes with a touch of dried fruit and floral sharpness which is great for autumnal cocktails. In the Turkish Tea Manhattan, that infusion adds depth and aromatic complexity.”

Mariena Mercer Boarini, master mixologist of Wynn Resorts North America in Las Vegas, serves the Shizen at Mizumi, a drink that combines Shibui Pure Malt Japanese Whisky with spiced pear liqueur, Genmaicha tea, red shiso and apple soda. Genmaicha is a Japanese green tea mixed with roasted popped brown rice.

“In Japanese aesthetics, Shizen speaks to a natural, unforced beauty with a sense of harmony that feels effortless but deeply intentional. That’s the guiding principle of this cocktail. Each ingredient is chosen to layer flavor while remaining in balance, so nothing feels contrived or heavy-handed. Spiced pear brings warmth and acidity; Genmaicha adds toasted notes, and red shiso and apple soda give herbaceous acidity. The result is a drink that celebrates the elegance of fall, where warmth and freshness coexist in a way that feels both organic and surprising.”

These are just a few suggestions to up your fall cocktail game with flavors that forego the tired profile of pumpkin spice.