Three Fall Drinks + The Popcorn To Pair With Them

There’s something about the first crisp day of fall that makes a drink taste better.

Maybe it’s the colder air. Maybe it’s the excuse to put cinnamon in everything. Maybe we’ve just been waiting all summer to declare it officially cozy season.

Whatever the reason, we picked three fall drinks and paired each one with the Opopop flavor we’d want sitting next to it.

Consider your next fall happy hour handled.

MAUI HEAT + SPICY APPLE CIDER MARGARITA

Sweet apple cider. Fresh lime. Tequila. A little cinnamon.

And then Maui Heat comes in with that sweet-meets-spicy kick.

The cool, crisp apple plays especially well with the heat, while the sweetness in both keeps you going back and forth between sip and handful.

For the drink:

• 2 oz tequila

• 2 oz apple cider

• 1 oz fresh lime juice

• ½ oz orange liqueur

• Pinch of cinnamon

• Apple slice for garnish

Shake everything with ice, strain over fresh ice, and garnish with an apple slice.

The pairing: Maui Heat

Sweet. Spicy. Crisp. Basically fall with a little kick.

SUPER BUTTER + MAPLE BOURBON OLD FASHIONED

This one is for the first night you actually need a sweater.

Bourbon, maple, bitters, orange. Simple, warming, and just sweet enough.

Pair it with a warm bowl of Super Butter and you get rich, buttery popcorn against the caramel and vanilla notes of bourbon, with maple making the whole thing feel appropriately October.

For the drink:

• 2 oz bourbon

• 1 tsp pure maple syrup

• 2–3 dashes aromatic bitters

• Orange peel

Stir bourbon, maple syrup, and bitters with ice. Strain over a large ice cube and finish with an orange peel.

The pairing: Super Butter

Buttery popcorn. Maple bourbon. We see no reason to complicate this further.

CINNALICIOUS + CRANBERRY APPLE FIZZ

Not every fall drink needs bourbon in it.

This one is tart, crisp, bubbly, and extremely easy to make. Cranberry and apple keep it firmly in fall territory, while Cinnalicious brings the cinnamon-sugar moment.

For the drink:

• 2 oz cranberry juice

• 2 oz apple cider

• ½ oz fresh lemon juice

• Sparkling water or ginger beer

• Fresh cranberries or apple slices for garnish

Add cranberry juice, apple cider, and lemon juice to a glass with ice. Top with sparkling water for something light and crisp, or ginger beer for a little more bite.

The pairing: Cinnalicious

Tart cranberry. Crisp apple. Cinnamon-sugar popcorn.

It’s giving apple orchard, minus the part where you pay $37 to pick your own apples.

NOW PICK YOUR SIP

Cocktail, mocktail, something warm, something fizzy. Fall drinking rules are pretty loose around here.

Our only strong opinion?

Whatever you pour, make the popcorn warm.

Happy sipping. Happy popping.