Agave, Meet Peat

Here’s a smoky combination that won’t leave you burned: Combining tequila and peated whisky into a split-base cocktail leads to a complexity that still allows each spirit’s unique flavors to shine through. The grassy, vegetal notes from the tequila and the smoky, oaky flavors of the whisky blend together quite smoothly, says Nick Cave, bartender at Grey Hen Rx at Century Grand in Phoenix.

“Tequila brings that earthy, grounded structure, and when you pair it with a peated whisky you get contrast with clarity. The smoke lifts, the agave anchors, and the flavors meet somewhere in the middle,” adds Jayden Mohun, beverage director of New York City’s Peck Slip Social.

Shake or stir them with fall flavors like apple and baking spices, and when the smoke clears, you’ll discover a match that you won’t want to extinguish.

Teacup Battalion

Created by Nick Cave, bartender, Grey Hen Rx at Century Grand in Phoenix

“This cocktail drinks like a warm, buttery apple pie,” Cave says. “It’s very velvety and soothing.”

• ½ oz. Teeling Blackpitts (or other peated Irish whiskey)
• 1½ oz. Herradura reposado (or other reposado tequila)
• ½ oz. Cardamaro
• ¾ oz. water
• ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz. green apple brown butter syrup (recipe below)
• Biscoff cookie drizzled with green apple brown butter syrup for garnish

Combine whiskey, tequila, Cardamaro, and water in a kettle or saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and brown butter syrup to a heatproof teacup or mug, stirring for about 30 seconds. Pour hot mixture over top and gently stir to combine for about 30 seconds. Serve with drizzled Biscoff cookie.

Apple Brown Butter Syrup

• 1 cup unfiltered apple juice
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 small cinnamon stick

Combine apple juice and sugar in a bowl, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved, about 30 seconds. In a small saucepan, brown butter with cinnamon stick over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden and nutty in aroma, about 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and let the butter cool slightly. Transfer browned butter and apple juice mixture to a blender and blend on low speed for about 1 to 2 minutes. Strain into an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. Shake before use if needed.

Skull Rock

Created by Ali Martin, partner and cocktail program director, The Up & Up, New York City

Reposado adds earthy warmth, while the peat brings subtle smoke, and the remaining ingredients round things out with spice and depth in this dark, spirit-forward drink, Martin says.

• 1¼ oz. Monkey Shoulder (or other Speyside blended malt scotch)
• ½ oz. Ardbeg 10 year old (or other peated Islay scotch single malt)
• ½ oz. Gran Centenario reposado (or other reposado tequila)
• ¼ oz. dry curaçao
• ¼ oz. honey syrup (recipe below)
• 1 barspoon allspice dram
• 1 dash mole bitters
• Lemon twist for garnish

Combine all ingredients in mixing glass with ice. Stir for 15 to 20 seconds. Julep strain over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with lemon twist.

Honey Syrup

• 2 oz. honey
• 1 oz. warm water

Stir honey and water until well combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Twilight Remedy

Created by Stevie Raeann, beverage director, Fat Ox and The Mission, Scottsdale

In this balanced and viscous Sour, the peat in the scotch brings out the oak barrel flavors in the tequila, tied together with sweet and nutty amaretto, bitter fennel, acidic lemon, and bittersweet chocolate mole, Raeann says.

• ½ oz. Laphroaig 10 year old (or other peated scotch single malt)
• 1½ oz. Corrido añejo (or other añejo tequila)
• 1 oz. fennel-infused amaretto (recipe below)
• ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
• ¼ oz. simple syrup
• 5 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
• 1 egg white
• Edible flower for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 8 to 10 seconds, then strain into a shaker tin without ice. Dry shake vigorously for another 8 to 10 seconds. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass and garnish with edible flower.

Fennel-Infused Amaretto

• 1 Tbsp. fennel seeds
• 6 oz. amaretto

Combine seeds and amaretto in a nonreactive bowl and let soak for 24 hours. Strain and pour back into original bottle. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 months.

Shadow of the Harvest

Created by Jayden Mohun, beverage director, Peck Slip Social, New York City

Allspice dram ties everything together here. “It picks up the citrus and oak from the tequila while matching the toasted spice in the whiskey,” Mohun says. “It also gives a warming, aromatic finish that lingers just the right amount.”

• ½ oz. Westland (or other peated American single malt)
• 1½ oz. Lobos 1707 añejo (or other añejo tequila)
• ½ oz. St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
• ¾ oz. fresh lime juice
• ½ oz. maple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Orange twist and clove-studded lime wheel (cloves optional) for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin with ice. Shake vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds, long enough to feel shaker chill and hear ice begin to break apart. Double strain over a large ice cube in a chilled rocks glass. Express orange twist over top, then garnish with twist and lime wheel.