Name: Autumn Leaves
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 22.5 ml Calvados apple brandy; 22.5 ml Vermouth alla vaniglia; 7.5 ml Strega liqueur; 2 dash Aromatic bitters

Autumn Leaves
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Photographed in an Urban Bar Fluet Old Fashioned 1920 34cl

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
³⁄₄ oz	Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
³⁄₄ oz	Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
¹⁄₄ oz	Liquore Strega
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Vermouth rosso alla vaniglia (e.g. Antica Formula) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

5th December 2025 is Repeal Day

Review:

Whiskey, apple brandy, vermouth and herbal liqueur combine delightfully in this autumnal cocktail.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2008 by Jeffrey Morgenthaler at Bel Ami Lounge in Eugene, Oregon. Jeffrey's recipe calls for 22.5ml (¾oz) Wild Turkey rye, 22.5ml (¾oz) Clear Creek apple brandy, 22.5ml (¾oz) Carpano Antica Formula, 7.5ml (¼oz) Strega and 2 dashes of his house made cinnamon tincture.

More cocktails by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Nutrition:

One serving of Autumn Leaves contains 159 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
28.39% alc./vol. (28.39° proof)
21.5 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Cameron Carter

8th December 2024 at 19:59

A wonderful reason to buy Strega!

Brett Luttrell

8th October 2024 at 04:52

Just an FYI... Jeffrey's recipe actually calls for 2 dashes of cinnamon tincture instead of Angostura:
https://jeffreymorgenthaler.com/autumn-leaves/

Simon Difford

8th October 2024 at 13:07

Thanks, Brett. I've added a note above.

1 reply

David Selle

4th September 2024 at 16:22

Another winner from Jeffrey Morganthaler! I don't think I've had a bad recipe from him. His Flannel Shirt and Norwegian Wood cocktails are great fall drinks too.

Nikolaus Linder

5th December 2024 at 20:01

Just tried Norwegian Wood -- you are right :)

John CARR

4th September 2024 at 13:42

Retrying and even better the second time. Definitely going in the favourites. Depth, sweetness and spice.

John CARR

14th August 2024 at 13:51

Glad I hung out till I had a bottle of Strega- it’s subtle but really makes this. Truly autumnal flavours. I’d be tempted to flame the orange twist next time to suggest bonfires. Could also potentially work with cognac… thinking of my recently acquired bottle of Courvoisier vsop which is quite spicy and looking for some suitable friends to mix with… !

Simone Chisena

14th April 2024 at 22:29

What a glorious drink! Made it in the most inappropriate of seasons (early Spring) but gave me great satisfaction all the same. This will become a favourite evening go-to!

Steve Trax

12th August 2023 at 23:03

Bloody brilliant

Marie-Therese Straus

4th January 2023 at 03:52

Tried this for the second time. The first time we made this we used Yellow Chartreuse rather than Strega as we did not have a bottle of the latter. We liked the cocktail quite a lot that first time but I think this second time with Strega is even better-spicier, not as honey sweet, a tad more interesting. We'll be adding this to our favourites.

John CARR

14th August 2024 at 14:01

Agreed. The Strega is perfect here.

Frederic D.

9th October 2022 at 00:24

Made with Knob Creek rye, Busnel VSOP, and Dashfire spiced apple bitters. This is a drink that definitely benefits from resting in the glass for a few minutes. It read as unremarkable to me at first, but once it breathed for a while, the subtlety of the apple and herbal flavors really came to the fore.

Carl Tornell

24th September 2022 at 21:29

Very pleasant, and pleasant cocktails are rare, as you will know. I skipped the Strega because I didn't have any. Very autumn, and we played Autumn Leaves with Paul Desmond to make it perfect.