Make Delicious Hard Seltzer at Home: 3 Easy Fall-Themed Cocktails

Hard cider, mulled wine, and apple martinis abound this time of year, helping us get cozy at home, festive with friends, and excited for the joys of the fall season. Of course, autumn cocktails have one caveat: They’re high in sugar. Hard seltzer, on the other hand, tends to be low-sugar and low-calorie, so it might be a good choice — but individual cans get expensive, and they rarely come in fall flavors. So, why not create your own hard seltzer at home? It’s actually less difficult than you might think.

Check out these three fall-themed hard seltzer recipes to get you into a festive mood without spiking your blood sugar. They’re quick and easy (you don’t have to cut fruit or use a shaker) and all three drinks — apple cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and cranberry ginger — are packed with flavor.

Bonus tip: Don’t want to buy individual club soda bottles? Try Drinkmate, an easy sparkling water maker (Buy from Bed Bath & Beyond, $110.99) that lets you make your own fizzy stuff at home.

Apple Cinnamon Hard Seltzer

Here’s a secret: Hard seltzer is traditionally made with vodka, but you can add whatever liquor you like. We used spiced rum to give this recipe a festive flavor.

Ingredients:

• Cinnamon sugar (optional)
• Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1 part spiced rum
• 2 to 3 parts apple juice
• 1 dash vanilla extract
• Ice
• Seltzer (to top off)

Instructions:

1. Wet rim of glass and dip in plate of cinnamon sugar.
2. Add rum, apple juice, and vanilla and mix at bottom of glass. Add ice, fill glass to top with seltzer. Stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Pumpkin Spice Hard Seltzer

You know that delicious pumpkin syrup that baristas use in pumpkin-spice lattes? It’s available online (Buy from Amazon, $13.43), and you can use it to make cocktails. We chose a sugar-free version, but you can also find natural-sugar syrups online.

Ingredients:

• 1 part pumpkin spice syrup
• 1 part bourbon
• Ice
• Splash of apple cider or apple juice
• Seltzer (to top off)
• Cinnamon stick (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add ice, syrup, and bourbon to glass.
2. Top with seltzer and splash of apple juice or cider. Stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Cranberry Ginger Hard Seltzer

This recipe couldn’t be simpler — avoid slicing fresh ginger or adding ginger flavoring by using a ginger-infused vodka. (One we like: Belvedere Ginger Zest Vodka (Buy from Drizly, $34.49).

Ingredients:

• 1 part ginger vodka
• 2 to 3 parts cranberry juice
• Ice
• Seltzer (enough for remainder of the glass)
• Mint sprig (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add vodka, cranberry juice, and seltzer to glass filled with ice. Stir. Garnish with mint sprig.

Wow your guests at your next fall gathering with these recipes — they don’t need to know they were as easy as pour, mix, serve.