15 decadent autumn drinks

Autumn is one of the most magical times of year. As we bid farewell to summer and the nights begin to draw in, the trees perform their annual dance, shedding their flame-like leaves that crunch pleasingly underfoot.

With apples, blackberries and mushrooms in abundance, autumn is time for bracing country walks, tweed blazers, brown boots and roaring fires.

Londoners have a plethora of parks in which to marvel at the ruby, burnt orange and amber hues of the trees during this season of “mist and mellow fruitfulness” as Keats so beautifully described it. Richmond park is particularly pretty at this time of year but beware of rutting stags.

As “barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day”, a log fire and soft armchair beckons. Increasingly in tune to the passing of time, the capital’s best bars are becoming ever more seasonal in their focus and cocktail lists are being elaborately tweaked to reflect and celebrate the ingredients in season.

After a long walk through Regent’s, St James’s or Hyde Park, you can warm your cockles with these autumnal sips that shine a light on everything from apples and figs, to cinnamon, birch sap and cider brandy. Read on for our cherry picked crop of autumn cocktails on pour in the Big Smoke.

Forest Floor at Nightjar

Served in and adorable owl-shaped pitcher billowing with smoke, this punchy drink, part of the Nightjar’s new menu, is guaranteed to warm you up with its blend of Glenfiddich 12 Year Old, Hennessy Fine Cognac, holy syrup, birch and mushroom soda, apple ice wine, clementine and mastiha.

Combined Arms at Hawksmoor 

Hawksmoor has long carved a niche for its craft cocktails and this autumnal sip is a bold way to begin the evening or a cosy way to end it. Served with a giant hand-carved ice cube, it marries Caol Ila 18 year old Scotch, birch tree syrup, Cocchi Rosa and Del Maguey Minero.

East India Barrel Punch at Aqua Shard

New to the menu at Aqua Shard this autumn is the East India Barrel Punch, a warming blend of Cognac, arrack, hazelnut syrup, cinnamon tea and nutmeg served in a tall glass with a hunk of ice or in a barrel-shaped, wax-sealed bottle that you can pop in your handbag and enjoy at home.

Woodland Negroni at Duck & Waffle 

Part of cocktail wizard Rich Woods’ Urban Foraging vs Urban Decay menu, this autumnal sip is not to be missed by Negroni lovers, twisting on the Italian classic with a “woodland” Campari infusion made by slow dripping Campari for 24 hours through layers of wood, moss, leave and soil and marrying it with “damp” gin, moss vermouth and formica rufa bitters. As Time Out says, it tastes like “getting a warm hug from a drunk squirrel”.

Neck Oil #2 at Worship Street Whistling Shop

Forming part of Worship Street Whistling Shops bold cocktail menu inspired by the four elements: earth, air, fire and water, the Neck Oil No.2 features barrel-aged Hennessy, Woodford apple brandy, duck fat, cider, sour apple and barrel-aged bitters. Central heating for the journey home.

Apple Pie at Scarfes Bar

At Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood Hotel, where a special corner of the bar has been dedicated to Brexit cartoons, you’ll find this charmer, which patriotically blends English sparkling wine with an apple cinnamon shrub made with apple purée, cinnamon powder and apple cider vinegar.

Gin and Milk at the Bloomsbury Club Bar

Currently being shaken at this quaint Bloomsbury bar twinkling with fairy lights that pays homage to the ten members of the Bloomsbury group, the curiously delightful Gin and Milk made with Hayman’s Old Tom gin, milk and nutmeg, was said to be the Queen Mother’s favourite drink.

Combine Harvester at Oskar’s Bar at Dabbous

Nothing says autumn like cider brandy and this indulgent sip from Oskar Kinberg will take you to a warm and fuzzy place with its blend of cider brandy, Pedro Ximenez, Maraschino, lemon juice, apple juice and honey. The apple and honey are amplified by the rich, unctuous PX.

The Tragedy of Lord George at Plateau

Inspired by new Penhaligon’s fragrance The Tragedy of Lord George, a “masculine”, elegant” scent with notes of “brandy, shaving soap, and tonka bean”, Plateau in Canary Wharf’s edible version features a fiery blend of Atlantico Rum, chilli truffle tea and Lapponica lingonberry liqueur.

Gentleman’s Sympathy at Reverend JW Simpson

Served on a vinyl record with a fig and a square of dark chocolate, this decadent drink combines Four Roses Bourbon infused with truffle, homemade a fig shrub and bitters. We’re not sure if you’re allowed to take the record home afterwards but we very much hope so.

Oh my Gourd! at City Social 

Created by bar manager Tim Laferla at Jason Atherton’s Michelin-starred City Social, pumpkin is the star of the show here, popping up in a Tapatio Blanco Tequila infusion alongside lychee, lime and agave. For the final flourish, the pretty peach-hued drink is garnished with a pumpkin crisp.

Natural Born Gatherer at Dandelyan 

With autumn an ideal time to start scouring your local woods for mushrooms poking through the forest floor, Ryan Chetiyawardana pays homage to the humble shroom in his Natural Born Gatherer cocktail, which blends Ford’s Gin, melon wine, truffle aperitivo, elderflower and soda.

Smells like Tea ‘n’ Spirits at K Bar 

Perhaps the prettiest sip in our line up (we’re a sucker for a pastel-hued edible flower), K Bar’s riff on the iconic Nirvana track marries Earl Grey tea infused Sipsmith gin, Sipsmith London Cup, grapefruit, sugar and egg white – wailing Kurt Cobain in the background optional.

5pm Lullaby at White Lyan

Part of White Lyan’s new Heaps Primal Bro menu, the first of 10 revolving cocktail menus before it closes to become a creative development space, the 5pm Lullaby is guaranteed to send you into a deep sleep with its blend of Mr Lyan Bourbon, candelilla wax, rye vermouth and ‘bedtime bitters’.

Robin Hood Quince of Thieves at Blind Pig

With a name like this it can only be the work of one bar: Soho speakeasy The Blind Pig. A firm favourite on the menu, this autumnal sip mixes Somerset 5yr apple brandy, quince liqueur, honey mead and lemon, it’s garnished with an adorable mini apple bullseye.