10 Fall Cocktail Garnishes That Add Instant Seasonal Flair

Do you feel the crisp fall air wafting around your knit scarf? Do you smell the telltale aroma of pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and cloves in the air? When fall has officially arrived, with it comes our favorite seasonal foods and beverages. Our team at Tasting Table loves trying new fall food and drinks, so we can recommend the best seasonal offerings. Right now, we're loving festive fall cocktail garnishes that add instant seasonal flair to any drink you make. 

Cocktail garnishes do more than just make for a fancy drink; in fact, they have a long, rich history. Adding a garnish to a cocktail evolved from being a practical way to preserve drinks and mask the flavor of low-quality alcohol to becoming a way for bartenders to add their own signature artistic flourish to their cocktail recipes. By the mid-1920s, bartenders were concocting elaborate garnishes that offered a multi-sensory experience and elevated each drink's aroma, taste, and appearance.

You can use those same techniques to elevate your fall cocktails using seasonal themes, ingredients, and flavors. As you make your way through our list of 13 cocktails to make this fall, try out some of these garnishes to add taste and aroma of fall to your beverages. Whether you like your cocktails iced, chilled, or hot, here are our 10 favorite cocktail garnishes to use this fall.

We asked three experts how to use bourbon in fall cocktails and got some amazing, creative answers. And salted caramel apples are the perfect garnish for a bourbon-forward fall cocktail. Slice up some apples and put them in the microwave with some pieces of caramel candy and a sprinkling of salt. Then, nuke them until the caramel melts. You can also make your own salted caramel sauce and drizzle it over some crisp apple slices.

Sugared cranberries make a great topping for an apple or pumpkin pie, and can also be used as a sweet-but-tangy garnish for a fall drink. They pack some punch and will be a delightfully tart addition to your drink. We love pairing this garnish with a crisp fall apple cider margarita. Use our simple recipe for festive sugared cranberries and then use a cheese slicer to make perfect orange peel curls.

A dried orange slice or candied orange slice is the perfect garnish for an old fashioned. You can give your old fashioned a fall upgrade by dusting the orange with cinnamon and using cinnamon syrup in your cocktail instead of simple syrup. You can also use caramelized oranges to take your whiskey cocktail to the next level. When caramelizing, add some cinnamon to the pan.

Instead of throwing out your lemon peels, use them to make candied lemon twists. After you're done, add just a pinch of cardamom to the candied lemons. They can be used to garnish almost any fall drink, but we love adding them to hot spiked apple cider.

A classic French martini is made from vodka, pineapple juice, and a splash of Chambord. It is usually garnished with a raspberry, but for a little bit of a spicy fall kick, you can dip chunks of pineapple in Tajín. The result is a bright, tropical drink with an edge.

A warm and cozy hot toddy is one of the most festive fall drinks you can have. It's the perfect way to enjoy hot tea with a boozy kick, and it's great for fighting a fall cold or flu. Make your hot toddy even more festive by garnishing it with a cinnamon stick, crisp apple slices, and star anise. You can also use this garnish trio to transform a whiskey sour into the coziest fall cocktail.

Fall is a great time to harvest your rosemary plants and use sprigs for baking and cooking. Rosemary is the perfect complement to a gin cocktail as it gives it a boost of tangy, herby flavor. Infuse your favorite gin cocktail with fall syrup flavors like pear, apple, and cinnamon. Then, garnish your drink with cinnamon sticks and sprigs of fresh rosemary and mint.

Toasted marshmallows are the perfect garnish for campfire mules, the fiery cocktail that will warm your soul. You don't need a campfire to toast your marshmallows, either. You can toast them in your toaster oven and then skewer them with a toothpick or cocktail pick and stick them in your mug. Drizzle some high-quality dark chocolate syrup over them and enjoy.

A dark and stormy cocktail is the perfect drink for a cool, crisp fall night, especially if you're watching scary movies. Instead of garnishing yours with a plain, boring lime wedge, dip the wedge in cinnamon sugar and then chili powder to give your drink a sweet and spicy edge.

A pumpkin martini is the hallmark, gold standard fall cocktail. You can either add pumpkin spice liqueur to your favorite martini recipe or build a balanced pumpkin martini that's not overly sweet by adding a little bit of pure pumpkin puree. Garnish your drink with a dollop of homemade pumpkin spice or cinnamon whipped cream and a drizzle of bourbon maple syrup.