How To Incorporate Gin Into Your Favorite Fall Cocktails

Nothing warms the spirit like spirits. With the cool autumn air settling over us, it's a perfect time to grab a comfy chair and a cocktail. Different drinks suit different seasons, and when it comes to the ideal fall cocktail, there's no better liquor to start with than gin. Chowhound spoke with Justin Lavenue, owner of The Roosevelt Room, The Eleanor, and RoadHaus Mobile Cocktails in Austin, Texas to get his perspective on why gin works so well in fall cocktails. It all comes down to seasonal flavors. "Most gins incorporate at least one (but often more) autumnal botanicals in their blend," he explains. Crafting the perfect fall cocktail is all about building on those notes.

Chief among the autumnal botanicals Lavenue is referring to is juniper. A traditional fall harvest, juniper berries are the defining ingredient of gin. Gin can also be infused with other botanicals, but in order to officially count as gin, juniper must be first and foremost on the palate. With this inherently autumnal flavor, gin is ideal for fall cocktails, but juniper isn't the only reason for that. Lavenue points out that gins "work great in every style of cocktail, whether it be a shaken cocktail, stirred cocktail, built, or punch-style cocktail, and it even can be amazing when used as the foundation of a hot cocktail." However, that doesn't mean you can swap any kind of gin into any cocktail recipe. There are nuances that you need to consider, starting with the type of gin.

There can be a tremendous degree of variation between different brands of gin. For the purposes of fall cocktails, Justin Lavenue says, "I suggest you do your research first and find out which ones incorporate those classic fall flavors into the botanical blend." He cites cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, cloves, mace, and star anise as the best spices for autumn. For seasonal herbs, he recommends rosemary, sage, ginger, and licorice. Some gins even incorporate flavors from nuts, such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts, which are also a great complement to fall. To add some extra warmth to your cocktail, you may also want to consider a gin infused with peppercorns.

The most common variety of gin is London dry gin, which is what many of the best gins for dirty martinis are. Some London dry gins are infused with citrus, and while that might make a bold gin choice for a negroni, it isn't a good match for fall. As Lavenue explains, "I would avoid gins with a predominant blend of citrus and other fruits, berries, and flowers as those flavors evoke the feelings of spring and summer." Instead, he recommends aged gins, such as Ransom Old Tom and Botanist Rested Gin. "The wood character these gins pick up during the aging process will pair well with other fall flavors," marrying with autumnal botanicals for a fall-inspired flavor profile. Lastly, be careful about sloe gins, as sloe gin isn't technically gin at all.

Once you've chosen the perfect gin for the season, you need to consider what to combine it with. Fortunately, Justin Lavenue sees this as an easy task. "It's hard to find something that doesn't pair well with gin," he eagerly points out. His go-to liquor for pairing with gin is whiskey, particularly scotch. Whiskey, like most gin, is distilled from grain. It has a strong flavor of its own, so Lavenue recommends using about one part whiskey to three parts gin. By doing this, you actually create a flavor close to a fine-aged gin.

Liqueurs — sweetened and flavored spirits — are staples in mixology, and there are many options that incorporate fall flavors to marry with gin. Lavenue recommends Bénédictine, a French liqueur flavored with saffron, cinnamon, fir cones, and juniper, as a particularly good choice. It shares many of the same flavors as gin, but with additional notes to make the drink more complex for the palate. He also recommends Allspice Dram and Amaro as excellent liqueurs for fall cocktails, as they both contain similar autumnal botanicals to many gins.

For the easiest additions to gin cocktails, reach for fortified wines. "Every style of vermouth, every style of sherry, Madeira, port, etcetera all make great modifiers when paired with gin," says Lavenue. He also points out that the flavors naturally complement the season, and "this is often a key to achieving that alluring, nutty finish you get after taking a sip of that fall cocktail."