“I tend to drink seasonally, and as the fresh herbs and lighter flavors of summer fade away, I switch to drinks with a bit more weight to them,” says head bartender Matt Ficke. He likes to match his drinks to what’s growing, so when apples from local orchards start showing up at markets, he reaches for the apple brandy. “French Calvados is very elegant; the excellent 100 proof Straight Apple Brandy made by Laird’s is a more brash and powerful American version.” For his Apple Brandy Sazerac ($17), he uses Daron Calvados along with Absinthe and lemon. “Apple brandies have a wonderful and intense fire to them,” he notes. “Perfect for a cool evening.” [Photo:Baltasara Campos]

“I like playing with chocolate in the fall,” says mixologist Duane Sylvestre. “It works well with spices, so it’s a natural fit for fall when we use more spices in our drinks.” His new drink Death by Chocolate ($17) is a combination of vanilla vodka , crème de cacao, Bénédictine, cream and egg yolk, garnished with shaved chocolate. Though he admits he doesn’t eat a lot of the sweet treat, the way guests respond to it inspired Sylvestre to create something chocoholics will crave. “When you say the word chocolate, eyes light up and the smiles come out, and that’s always a very gratifying reaction.”

ThinkFoodGroup cocktail innovator Juan Coronado is digging the earthy flavor of toasted barley this fall. He’s using it as barley water in the Poor Man’s Pretension ($14). “We wanted to recreate a beer, but in a cocktail format. Barley is a very earthy ingredient that ranges from granola to malted flavors.”

“Star anise is always the first ingredient [I use] when fall hits,” declares Todd Thrasher, which is fragrant and more exotic than other baking spices. For his The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree cocktail ($13), he combines the aromatic pods with apples, orange peels, cloves, maple syrup, Chairman’s Reserve Spiced rum and honey maple mead.

“I grew up in a state in Austria where the world famous pumpkin seed oil comes from,” explains owner Stefan Trummer. When he came to the United States and tried pumpkin pie, he liked the big orange orbs even more. His Pumpkin Cocktail uses a house made pumpkin cider with baking spices and Virginia honey, Flor de Cana Rum, a winter spice syrup and lime; the sip is garnished with marshmallow fluff. “For me, pumpkin is the perfect fall ingredient. It is so versatile; you can add a lot of different flavors and use different techniques to process it.”

Sommelier and wine director Jonathan Schuyler is a native upstate New Yorker, who finds nostalgia in the aroma of fresh apples in the fall. He has loved using Shrub & Co.’s Tart Apple Shrub, which he calls “a sweet and tart mixture made from a combination of Braeburn and Jonagold apples that captures the essence of autumn beautifully.” The Upstate ($12) mixes it with rye whiskey, Cardamaro and Bitterman’s Tiki Bitters, garnished with a flamed orange peel. “The real joy of this drink is the interplay between the sweet burnt aromas of flamed orange, the peppery caramel flavors of rye whiskey and the tangy fresh apple and spicy earthy tones of the cardamom and raisins.”