The Best Whiskeys for Autumn: Bourbon, Rye and Cocktail Ideas

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

Their flagship release, this Kentucky Straight Bourbon shows off exactly why Buffalo Trace has won so many awards. Crafted using a traditional low-rye mash bill of corn, rye and malted barley, it is then aged in new, charred oak barrels in the distillery’s centuries old warehouses. Here it develops layers of dried fruit, vanilla and brown sugar sweetness with hints of toffee and warm spices – exactly what you want in a bourbon.

This is the kind of whiskey that can do it all. It’s delicious neat or on the rocks but also shines in classic and modern cocktails alike.

Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old Bourbon

A rich small-batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Eagle Rare captures the patience, tradition and artistry of Buffalo Trace’s whiskey-making team. Masterfully crafted and matured for no less than 10 years in meticulously selected barrels, creating complex toffee, orange peel, honey and leather aromas that are backed up by flavours of cocoa, tobacco, candied almond and oaky spice.

This refined, elegant whiskey is a favourite among collectors and newcomers alike.

Sazerac 6-Year-Old Rye Whiskey

America’s first branded cocktail was born in New Orleans, in the 1800s, at the Sazerac Coffee House. Locals enjoyed toddies of spicy rye whiskey and Peychaud’s bitters, known as the ‘Sazerac’. This is the whiskey that started it all – a spicy, peppery rye that embodies the rich history and traditions of New Orleans.

Sazerac Rye is made with Buffalo Trace’s low-rye mash bill and aged in charred American oak barrels for six years. This creates a sweeter character than other rye whiskeys, without losing its iconic peppery spice. It’s brimming with aromas of vanilla, clove, anise and pepper, followed by sweet, candied citrus and warm spice flavours, with lingering hints of liquorice and pepper that make it perfect for cocktails.

Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 60ml Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• 12.5ml sugar syrup
• 2 dashes Peychaud Bitters
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• Twist of orange to garnish

Method:

1. Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice, add all ingredients.
2. Stir with a bar spoon.
3. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
4. Squeeze orange zest over the glass then add the twist to garnish.

Eagle Rare Whiskey Sour

Ingredients:

• 60ml Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old
• 25ml lemon juice
• 25ml sugar syrup
• 1 egg white*
• Peychaud Bitters to garnish

Method:

1. Shake all ingredients over ice.
2. Strain into a clean shaker.
3. Dry shake (without ice).
4. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass, allow egg white foam to rise to the top.
5. Add bitters and gently swirl.

*To make this cocktail vegan, use 30ml OGGS aquafaba or Giffard Vegan Egg White Syrup in place of egg whites.

Sazerac Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 45ml Sazerac 6-Year-Old Rye Whiskey
• 1 sugar cube
• 10ml Herbsaint or absinthe
• 3 dashes Peychaud Bitters
• Twist of lemon to garnish

Method:

1. Pack a rocks glass with ice and set aside.
2. In a second rocks glass, place the sugar cube and add the bitters, then crush the sugar cube.
3. Add the whiskey to the glass with the sugar and bitters.
4. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat it with the Herbsaint, or absinthe, and discard the remaining liquid.
5. Add the whiskey, sugar and bitters mix to the now-coated glass, garnish with a twist of lemon.

Hot Toddy

Ingredients:

• 25ml Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• 10ml lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons honey
• 75ml boiling water
• ½ cinnamon stick and lemon wheel to garnish

Method:

1. Add whiskey and honey to a heatproof glass or mug and stir well.
2. Add cinnamon stick and pour over boiling water.
3. Add lemon juice and stir.
4. Garnish with lemon wheel.