5 Delicious Fall Drinks

Labor Day has come and gone, and you know what that means. Cue the violins; summer is (unofficially) over.

Once I'm through mourning the end of the summer, I'll stop to recall all the great things about this time: the gorgeous weather (warm sunny days and cool, brisk nights), calmer, quieter weekends, and cozy sweaters. So let's raise a glass to fall!

Here are 5 delicious drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that'll carry you from the still-hot days of early September right into fall.

Related: Wines for Every Occasion

Spindrift Sodas and Waters: Made with fresh fruit, this line of sodas and waters is shipped refrigerated and needs to stay refrigerated. While this seems a little high-maintenance, the proof is in the flavor: bright, not too sugary, and refreshing. Our favorite sodas were the orange mango and the grapefruit flavors. The waters are a nice low-cal alternative to the sodas, perfect for people who hate drinking plain water, like my sister.

PlanTea Black Tea: Currently only available in the Tri-State area, this iced tea is sweetened with only a drop of honey and tastes like pure, freshly brewed tea, a really refreshing change from all the saccharine sweet bottled iced teas out there. And if the great taste isn't reason enough to try it, they also donate 5% of their annual sales to charity.

Fever Tree Tonics and Ginger Beer: Something I'll miss as summer fades away are ice cold gin and tonics (with extra limes!). I love the Fever Tree tonics, which have more depth of flavor than regular tonic, plus they have a very tasty light option. My summer gin and tonics will eventually be replaced with Dark and Stormy's (Fever Tree Ginger Beer, lime, and dark rum) come fall.

Related: Tasty Fall Apple Recipes

Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer: With a nod to Harry Potter's butter beer, this concoction, fortunately, is not made with butter, but is actually a butterscotch cream soda. Non-alcoholic and very sweet, this soda would appeal to kids and adults alike.

Angry Orchard Hard Cider: Forget any notion you have of hard (alcoholic) cider being overly sweet, this line of ciders is wonderfully complex and well balanced in flavor. We're big fans of the traditional dry, which, as the name suggests, is a less sweet cider closer in flavor to classic English cider. We also love the apple ginger flavor. Like a cross between hard cider and ginger beer, this tasty brew has a spicy gingery kick in the finish and would make for a great harvest twist on the Dark and Stormy.

What are your favorite fall drinks? Let me know in the comments!

- by Sherry Rujikarn

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