Entertaining

7 Fall Cocktails for Your Cozy Date Night In

Take advantage of seasonal fresh-pressed apple cider by making this cocktail from Nick Korbee of New York’s Egg Shop. Piping hot cider combines with fresh lemon, Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon, a touch of amaro and homemade salted caramel sauce. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and freshly-grated nutmeg, and you have a crisp fall day distilled into a mug.

Get your seasonal flavored latte fix without ever leaving the house. This delicious version is spiked with Cognac, Baileys Irish Cream and homemade gingerbread syrup—made with fresh ginger, dark molasses, vanilla, sugar and baking spices. Go the extra mile by making a ginger-cinnamon spiced whipped cream for garnish, and sip merrily.

Red Velvet cake, hot chocolate, red wine—what more could you ask for? This cocktail combines all three by mixing fruity red wine—like a Merlot or Shiraz—with both dark and milk chocolate, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and red food coloring. But the best part is the cream cheese whipped cream on top, the signature flavor of any great Red Velvet cake, which can be made even more indulgent with a topping of actual Red Velvet cake crumbs.

Before there was Eggnog, there was Tom & Jerry, an early 19th-century-era cocktail that’s the ultimate guilty pleasure. The key ingredient is Tom & Jerry batter, made from whole eggs, dark rum, cream of tartar, cane sugar and vanilla extract. The ooey, gooey batter gets mixed with more dark rum and Cognac, and it’s topped with steamed milk and freshly grated nutmeg. We hope you and your significant other are comfortable enough to pop the top button of your jeans—you’re gonna need to after this indulgent drink.

A cozy cocktail doesn’t need to be hot to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. This romantic cocktail from New York’s Ayza mixes coffee liqueur with Chambord raspberry liqueur and heavy cream, before it’s garnished with a sprinkling of dark chocolate shavings and a plump raspberry. It’s a decadent way to end a meal on the couch and still feel fancy.

Turn up the heat on date night by adding a little spice with this hot cocktail from Lana Gailani of New York’s Seamstress. A crossover between a Mexican hot chocolate and a chai tea latte, the Warm Hearted combines silver tequila with Patrón XO Incendio (a spicy liqueur made with Criollo chocolate and arbol chili), chai masala, coconut milk and galangal syrup. A large toasted marshmallow makes for a tasty garnish, but you’ll really impress your partner by serving it with a homemade chocolate dipped spoon, which melts chocolate into the cocktail as you stir.

Can’t be bothered to do any sort of shaking or stirring because you just want maximum snuggle time with bae? No worries. Just dump all of the ingredients for this mulled wine—like brandy, cloves, peppercorns, sugar, citrus and, of course, wine—into a slow cooker, and it’ll be ready to enjoy in two to three Stranger Things episodes.