Three Ways to Elevate Your Whisky Cocktails This Autumn

As the nights draw in and temperatures drop, it’s the perfect time to bring seasonal flair to your whisky cocktails. From forest-inspired ingredients to spicy riffs on classics and the rise of umami flavours, autumn offers endless opportunities to refresh your drinks at home.

1. Embrace Forest Flavours
Nature-inspired ingredients are taking centre stage in cocktails this season. Whisky drinkers looking for deeper sensory experiences are turning to flavours like pine, juniper, and lingonberry to evoke the feeling of crisp woodland air. Chivas Regal’s Pine & Rosemary Highball showcases this trend beautifully, pairing Chivas Regal Mizunara with pine soda to enhance the whisky’s floral notes and deliver an elegant, refreshing twist on the classic Highball.

2. Add a Spicy Kick
Spicy takes on beloved cocktails continue to surge in popularity. Searches for spicy Margaritas have skyrocketed, and this bold trend is crossing over into whisky creations as well. Ballantine’s has embraced the movement with its Brooklyn Mary—a whisky-fuelled twist on the Bloody Mary—featuring Ballantine’s x Flying Goose Sriracha Sauce for an extra punch. Brand ambassador Rhys Wilson notes that autumn drives a desire for warmth, spice, and flavour depth, making whisky an ideal base for seasonal reinventions.

3. Explore Umami Complexity
As tastes shift away from sweetness, umami-forward cocktails are capturing the spotlight. The Tomatini dominated social media this summer, and bars across the globe are experimenting with savoury elements like miso, seaweed, soy, and mushrooms. At Scarfes Bar in London’s Rosewood Hotel, the Free Falling cocktail pairs whisky with a mushroom-chocolate garnish for a balanced sweet, savoury, and umami finish. Director of bars Andy Loudon emphasizes that subtlety is key—mushroom fat-washed whisky adds depth without overwhelming the drink.

Johnnie Walker has taken umami innovation even further with its Johnnie Walker Blue Label Umami edition. To celebrate the release, the brand crafted an umami-infused Old Fashioned, enhanced with a drop of Worcestershire sauce and topped with a candied cherry tomato—perfect for a cosy evening at home.