Fall has officially arrived, ladies and gents. The cool down after an extremely hot summer has already been embraced with wide open arms. Many folks have jumped on the pumpkin spice latte trend, but so many other fall inspired beverages 
exist beyond PSL. While cardamom lattes are absolutely out of this world, for those of us who are of age fall cocktails are an even better option.
In my book, autumn-inspired cocktails are the most fun to create. There are so many new savory flavors to explore like numerous cider flavors, apples, ginger, and cranberry. There’s nothing better than a hot fire cider after a crisp walk among the falling leaves.
The beauty about making a cocktail is that you can really make it based on your taste preferences. The drinks below are rather light on the alcohol so the other flavors shine through. Read on for instructions on how to make apple cider margaritas, gin fizz and fire cider.
Apple Cider Margarita
Invite your friends over for a movie night or a small get together and impress them with your newfound cocktail. Make sure you have lots of bubbly on hand for the entire night because these margaritas go quickly.
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup tequila (gold preferred)
- ¼ cup of sparkling wine (like Asti)
- Splash of lime
- Slice of apple
- Salt or brown sugar for the rim
Instructions
Place ice in margarita glass to chill. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, apple cider, tequila and lime and shake until the contents are combined and chilled. (If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, stir the content in a tall glass.) Remove the ice from the glass. Run a sliced apple around the rim of the glass. Pour the apple cider mixture into the glass and top off with sparkling wine.
Gin Fizz
I simply couldn’t put this drink 
down after I made it. The fruity flavors pair pair so well with the gin. In this drink, you don’t have to worry about making a simple syrup and save time with agave syrup instead.This is my new go-to drink when I hit the town.
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- 2 slices of lemon
- 2 slices of orange
- ¼ cup gin
- 2/3 cup cranberry juice
- 1 tsp Agave
- Top off with ginger ale (roughly a ¼ cup)
Instructions
Fill a highball glass with ice. Muddle a lemon and orange in a cocktail shaker. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway with ice and add the gin, cranberry juice and agave and shake the contents until well mixed. Pour the gin mixer into the highball glass and top with ginger ale.
Fire Cider
The iced version of fire cider is great for a punch at a party. You only need two ingredients and ice on hand for the glasses. The fire cider works well to treat yourself or a great addition to an end of a date.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup apple cider
- 1 cup Fireball whiskey
- Ice cubes
Instructions
Iced: Combine the apple cider and Fireball whiskey in a highball glass with a few ice cubes.
Hot: Heat the cider in the microwave or in a pan on the stove. In a mug, combine the hot cider and Fireball whiskey.
Let us know your favorite hard autumn beverages by tweeting @litdarling!
