Despite the weather not quite cooperating, now that it’s October I’ve been working on getting into the fall spirit, while continuing to avoid the pumpkin spice craziness and jack-o-lantern cheesiness of the season. In the last week, I’ve gotten my home fall-ready, worked on some fun DIY projects that I will be sharing on Instagram very soon, and perfected my new go-to fall cocktail round-up. I wanted to share recipes for three very different cocktails, but wanted to be sure they all incorporated seasonal ingredients, and were a “cozy up + sip by the fireplace” kinda drink.

thyme-infused plum prosecco

• Prosecco

• Plums

• Thyme

• Lemon

• Thyme Simple Syrup

spiced cider sangria

• Chardonnay

• Apples

• Oranges

• Bartlett Pear

• Frozen Cherries

• Lemon

• Cinnamon Sticks

• Spiced Apple Cider

citrus + cinnamon whiskey smash

• Whiskey

• Orange Juice

• Soda or Sparkling Water

• Oranges

• Cinnamon Sticks

thyme-infused plum prosecco

ingredients:

• 2 Plums

• 6 Thyme Sprigs

• Juice from one Lemon

• 4 Tbsp. Thyme Simple Syrup

• 1 Bottle of Prosecco

directions:

1. To make your own Thyme Simple Syrup: combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and a couple of thyme sprigs in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir and let cool. Chill until ready to use

2. Chop the 2 plums.

3. Muddle the plums with the thyme simple syrup and lemon juice until all of the plum juices have been released.

4. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker.

5. Pour over crushed ice evenly between two glasses.

6. Top off with prosecco and garnish with extra plum slices and thyme sprigs.

7. Serve immediately.

spiced cider sangria

ingredients:

• 2 large red apples cored and sliced thin

• 1 large orange thinly sliced

• 1 Bartlett pear cored and diced

• 1 cup frozen cherries

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 3 cinnamon sticks

• 2 cups spiced apple cider

• 1 bottle Chardonnay

Directions:

1. Add the apples, orange, pear and cherries to a large pitcher or wine decanter.

2. Place the cinnamon sticks on top of the fruit.

3. Add the lemon juice, Chardonnay and spiced apple cider. Stir a few times.

4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before serving to allow all of the flavors to blend.

5. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or two.

6. Serve immediately.

citrus + cinnamon whiskey smash

ingredients:

• 1 cinnamon stick

• Zest from half an orange

• 2 oz whiskey

• 1 ozl orange juice

• Splash of soda or sparkling water

• 1-2 orange slices to garnish

directions:

1. Break the cinnamon stick into pieces and muddle with orange zest in a shaker.

2. Add orange juice and whiskey and shake it up.

3. Strain into a whiskey glass with ice and top with soda or sparkling water.

4. Garnish with orange slices.

5. Serve immediately.

We did a little tasting of our fall cocktail round-up, and the plum + thyme Prosecco was the obvious front-runner. It was refreshing, and the plum and thyme complimented each other perfectly. Okay, and the gorgeous color may have given it some bonus points.

Which cocktail are you going to try?

Let me know in the comments!

Images by Kimi Domino.