Name: Fallen Leaves
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Calvados apple brandy; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 7.5 ml Dry vermouth; 5 ml Cognac (brandy)

Fallen Leaves
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Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ oz	Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
¹⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
¹⁄₆ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino), Dry vermouth - 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:

11th November 2025 is The first global conflict ended this day

Review:

Suitably autumnal in colour. Two vermouths and two brandies presented in harmony.

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History:

Created in 1982 by Charles Schumann in Munich, Germany, and first published in his book American Bar.

Fallen Leaves (1982)
¾ oz vermouth rosso
¼ oz dry vermouth
¾ oz Calvados
Dash brandy
Lemon peel
Stir in a mixing glass filled with ice cubes, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, twist lemon peel over drink and drop it into the glass.
Charles Schumann, 1982

More cocktails by Charles Schumann

Nutrition:

One serving of Fallen Leaves contains 110 calories

Alcohol content:

0.9 standard drinks
21.84% alc./vol. (21.84° proof)
12.6 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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John CARR

28th October 2024 at 13:49

Amazing how the 5ml of Brandy can completely the final character of the drink. I’ve used both Courvoisier and Martell , with profound transformation. Your results may vary!

John CARR

2nd July 2024 at 13:58

Wonderful interplay of the vermouth sweetness bringing out the deeper apple flavours, dry mineral and herbal characters of the other vermouth, and the unctuous sweetness of the cognac highlighting the fruit and adding mouthfeel. Delish!

John CARR

5th June 2024 at 14:08

Also good with a splash of rye ;)

John CARR

28th May 2024 at 13:31

A wonderfully delicious autumnal apple bite. Crisp, fresh, tart and sweetly juicy all at once. Like kicking one’s feet through a pile of golden leaves.
Looking at the recipe I was tempted to add s a little sweetener, but was glad that I didn’t. Perfect as it is.

Anna Thompson

31st December 2023 at 19:13

Delicious, dry but fruity. A nice alternative to a Manhattan.

Chris English

4th October 2023 at 21:16

I followed the recipe closely except for using a fine Calvados in place of Avallen. Found it very herby and lacking centre. 5ml maple syrup brought the vermouths together with the Calvados very nicely. Maybe I have a slightly sweet tooth!

John CARR

28th October 2024 at 13:46

Maybe use a fuller bodied vermouth, eg half-half your regular vermouth with carpano.

S BA

4th December 2022 at 22:26

I didn't like it too much. I just looked it up in my version of Schumann's Bar. The recipe is slightly different than mentioned above:
2 cl. Vermouth rosso
1 cl. Vermouth dry
2 cl. Calvados
Dash Brandy

So the vermouth dry is half of the other two main ingredients. Don't think that it would help the recipe though.

james McMakin

11th November 2022 at 23:20

I upped the Apple brandy to 25mg but only had Laird AJ, 10mg of dubbonnet,20mg, M&R Rosso, 10mg of Dolin dry Vermouth de Chambery and finally for the coup de grace 12.5 of by Rem’i Martin. The lemon twist tied it all together

J W-S

11th November 2022 at 20:13

A very tasty digestivo. Needed to make a double portion to put enough in the glass though.

Miguel Perales

13th October 2022 at 23:01

Lots of apple on the nose; however, apple flavor gets lost in the drink (Used VSOP Calvados which might have been the reason). Rouge Vermouth very prevalent upfront. Agree with others that it needs a little "something else" to set it apart.