Death & Co. reveals the fall cocktails of 2024

A change in season calls for a chance in your beverage program. Currently, we’re naturally shuffling from things like crisp session ales and bright sauvignon blanc to amaro and cocktails like the Boulevardier. Just as we put another layer over our arms and switch from shorts to pants, we add a little body and warmth to our favorite drinks.

“Cooking a delicious meal and crafting a perfect cocktail share a few similarities, one of those being relying on nature to source seasonal ingredients that will enhance flavor and curate a timely mood,” said Joshua White, bartender at Death & Co. “Fall and winter season is an especially opportune time for creativity, with a plethora of herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables to play with.”

Read on for the best fall cocktails of 2024, specially prepared for The Manual by the mixology magicians at Death & Co.

Harvest Club

Combining whiskey, brandy, and amaro, this cocktail looks and tastes like autumn.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Wild Turkey 101 Rye
• 1/2 ounce D&C x Clear Creek 15-year Apple Brandy
• 1/2 ounce Brucato Orchards Amaro
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 3/4 ounce raspberry syrup
• 1 egg white
• Peychaud’s Bitters

Method:

1. Dry and wet shake all ingredients except bitters.
2. Strain into a glass with a large ice cube.
3. Drizzle a stripe of bitters.

La Chica Bacan

This vibrant cocktail takes advantage of a lesser-known beverage, otherwise known as Bolivia’s national spirit.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Christopher Hoch Pet Nat
• 1 ounce Capurro Acholado Pisco
• 1/2 ounce Singani 63
• 1/4 ounce Lustau Pedro Ximenez San Emilio Sherry
• 3/4 ounce Pear-Aji Amarillo Shrub
• 1 ounce seltzer
• Sliced pears for garnish

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients except fruit in a flute and stir gently.
2. Garnish with fanned sliced pears.

French Impressions

A relatively rare cognac cocktail, the French Impressions is a wonderful sipper that can function as a great digestif.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
• 1/2 ounce J. Rieger Caffe Amaro
• 1/2 ounce coconut syrup
• 1 dash Bittermens Xocolat Mole Bitters
• 1 dash saline
• Coffee grounds and mint sprig for garnish

Method:

1. Build all ingredients in a shaker tin and stir with a swizzle stick.
2. Pour into a pebble ice-filled julep glass.
3. Garnish with coffee grounds and mint sprig.

Staycation Essentials

A proper staycation requires a proper cocktail. Here’s your new go-to for just that.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces AK San Zanj Rum Agricole
• 1/2 ounce Clear Creek Pear Brandy
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 3/4 ounce tarragon cane syrup
• 2 dashes Chartreuse Vegetal Elixir

Method:

1. Shake all ingredients in a tin with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

Midnight Rider

Balance is the name of the game with this upstanding citizen of a cocktail.

• 1 ounce Great King Street Glasgow Blended Scotch
• 1 ounce Mizu Lemongrass Shochu
• 1/2 ounce Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 ounce Dolin Dry Vermouth
• 1/4 ounce Kalani Coconut Liqueur

Method:

1. Shake all ingredients in a tin with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass.
2. Garnish with lemon.

Riot Act

An excellent drink featuring Japanese whisky, the Riot Act is a little woodsy and a lot of delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 ounces Toki Japanese Whisky
• 3/4 ounce Martini & Rossi Ambrato Vermouth
• 1/4 ounce Clear Creek Douglas Fir Brandy
• 1/4 ounce Benedictine
• 2 dash Angostura Bitters

Monument Valley

What’s better than a good apple and bourbon-driven drink? One touched by the earthy elegance of amaretto and a bit of amaro.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 ounces Elijah Craig Bourbon
• 1/2 ounce Fumus Pumila Smoked Apple
• 1/4 ounce Caffo Amaretto
• 1/4 ounce Averna Amaro
• 1 teaspoon Demerara Syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Method:

1. Shake all ingredients in a tin with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large cube.
2. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Samurai Story

White refers to this drink as a riff on a classic hot toddy. “As soon as we add Angostura, green anise, cinnamon, and hot water, the aromatics begin to remind me of what the season is all about,” White said. “For me, that’s family gatherings where everyone comes together with the common goal of leaving with full bellies and good memories.”

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce Toki Whiskey
• 1/2 ounce Brenne Single Malt
• 1/2 ounce Goro Sweet Potato Shochu
• 1/4 ounce panadan syrup
• 4 ounces water
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 dash absinthe

Method:

1. Build all ingredients in a mug and top with hot water.
2. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

More fall cocktail-making tips

White starts with a solid foundation. “First, we select drinks with structural backbones that are easy to build on,” he said. “Some fun styles that we gravitate toward are Vieux Carre, mint julep, Clover Club, and of course, the usual suspects — Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and hot toddies.”

Then it’s on to the base spirit. “Spirits alone provide their own unique flavor profiles and some are particularly great for building cocktails for the cooler seasons,” he explained. “For example, the peppery and baking spices from rye whiskey, fruitiness of brandy, earthiness of sweet potato shochu, and herbaceous digestifs, all fall in line with the colder season.”

There are some cool add-ons this time of year, too, all ready to be called up for a cameo in a good seasonal cocktail. “Some interesting ingredients you can catch us using to amplify the seasonal component of these classical cocktails are Douglas fir, pandan, aji amarillo, coconut, and lemongrass, just to name a few,” he said. “I personally love fruit-forward fall flavor combinations like apple brandy and raspberries.”