This refined rum cocktail from Chicago's Sepia hides a festive tiki core. A burnt-sugar backbone from the aged Guatemalan rum is deepened with the sweet, nutty, baking-spice notes of falernum, a syrup typically made from almond, ginger, clove and lime that's a staple of many a Caribbean bar. Calvados, the French apple brandy, lends a telltale flavor of the season. More

In this autumnal cocktail from Brian Block of Aldea in NYC, calvados pairs wonderfully with chai-infused sweet vermouth and apple cider foam. More

The Widow's Kiss is a powerfully flavored mixture of the distinctive French apple brandy, Calvados, plus ample measures of yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine —French herbal liqueurs with a long monastic heritage. Tinged with Angostura, the Widow's Kiss is rich, heady and potent; with a crackling fire in front of you and one of these inside you, February doesn't stand a chance. More

This is a perfect autumn cocktail. With the color of its namesake foliage, the Fallen Leaves has a rich, delicate flavor derived from that most seasonal of spirits, aged apple brandy. It's fine to use Calvados in one of these, but I like to reach for the 8-year-old Eau de Vie de Pomme, from Oregon's Clear Creek Distillery. At a time when the autumn chill is becoming a little more apparent each night, a Fallen Leaves can be a great evening companion. More