Autumn vibes: Essential tequila cocktails you need to try this season

As the seasons change, drinking preferences change as well. While light and fruity might be the order for summer drinks, as fall rolls around, we tend to want to leave the lighter cocktails behind and start looking for warm, rich, cozy drinks with seasonal flavors like apple, pear, and the ubiquitous pumpkin spice.

But this doesn’t mean you have to put your tequila away until spring. Tequila is more than just a Margarita spirit; it can be so much more (though there are some great fall Margarita recipes out there).

So, if you’ve got a bottle of tequila and a hankering for a cocktail, here are some recipes that put a fall spin on classic tequila cocktail recipes.

Tequila Sour

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. tequila reposado
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. sugar syrup
• One egg white
• 3 drops of Angostura bitters
• Garnish with a cocktail cherry and lemon peel

Method:

1. Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake hard without adding any ice. This fluffs up the egg white to create the foamy layer on top of the drink. T
2. Then add ice and shake again to dilute and chill.
3. Strain into a rocks glass and add garnish.

Inspired by the whiskey sour

This iconic drink is a take on the whiskey sour, simply subbing in tequila for the whiskey. Combining tequila with lemon juice is an obvious pairing, and the egg white adds a touch of froth to the head of the drink and gives it a lighter texture. You can also add your preferred type of bitters and garnishes to finish off the drink, so feel free to experiment with those. While this drink would work with any tequila, many recipes recommend reposado for its balanced qualities. But if you want a use for your añejo and you don’t mind mixing it, this would also be a great choice to show off its complex flavors.

Blackberry Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. tequila blanco
• 0.5 oz. triple sec
• 0.5 oz. lime juice
• 5-6 fresh blackberries

Method:

1. Add the tequila and the blackberries to the bottom of a cocktail shaker, and muddle either using a muddler or the back of a spoon.
2. Press down on the blackberries to crush them and release their flavors into the tequila.
3. Now add the other ingredients with ice and shake well.
4. Strain into a margarita glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

A perfect match

The margarita is the beloved tequila cocktail, and you can try a million variations using different fruits, syrups, and other flavors. But this variation keeps it simple to add fall flavors by incorporating fresh blackberries. Fall is just on the tail end of blackberry season, so you should be able to find some fresh and delicious berries. Their combination of sweetness and sharpness goes perfectly with the classic combination of tequila and triple sec.

There’s also a frozen version of this cocktail from orange liqueur company Cointreau which has you blend your ingredients with ice to form a slush. That could be fun for a margarita night on a milder fall evening!

Sweater Weather

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. reposado tequila
• 0.5 oz. Frangelico
• 0.5 oz. pear syrup
• Generous dash of Angostura bitters

Method:

1. Add the tequila, Frangelico, and pear syrup to a mixing glass with ice and stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass over an ice cube, then dash the bitters on top and garnish with your choice of fruit.

Perfectly named for the season

This famous craft cocktail is perfect for the season, as its name suggests, feeling warm and cozy and being the perfect thing to sip by the fire when the nights get cold. It combines tequila with Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur, which is an unusual choice but which matches up beautifully with the pear syrup to bring out the fruit and nut notes of the tequila. For that reason, reposado is the go-to tequila for mixing this drink.

Otońo

Created by Luis Lopez, Milagro Tequila West Coast Brand Ambassador

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ parts Milagro Reposado
• 1 part pumpkin syrup
• 1 ½ parts spiced chai black tea
• ½ part almond milk

Method:

1. Build in shaker add ice and shake for 5 seconds.
2. Then pour over ice in a rocks glass.
3. Finally, garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Well-balanced and smoky for fall

This rich, smoky drink combines the seasonal flavors of pumpkin and chai with almond milk to balance the flavors and add creaminess. If you want to get really fancy, you can also smoke the cocktail to add more flavor and drama.

Ofrenda

Ingredients:

• 2 parts Milagro Reposado
• 1 part fresh mandarin juice
• ½ part fresh lemon juice
• ¼ part green cardamom (orange blossom) honey syrup
• ½ part egg white
• One edible marigold

Method:

1. Pour all ingredients into a Boston shaker with ice.
2. Shake vigorously and double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with edible marigold.

Edible flower

This attractive cocktail uses the unusual flavors of mandarin and cardamom to add some wow to the beloved combination of tequila and fruit. It also features an edible marigold garnish as a fancy flourish.

Cristalino Clear Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ parts Milagro Cristalino Añejo
• ½ part Drambuie
• ¼ part dry vermouth
• Grapefruit peel to garnish

Method:

1. Combine ingredients over ice and stir.
2. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with grapefruit peel.

An updated classic

The Old Fashioned is an iconic cocktail, but it’s getting a new spin with the current trend for Cristalino tequilas. These tequilas are aged and then charcoal-filtered to leave a crystal clear appearance, which makes for an impressive look when used in simple and elegant classic cocktails.