Gallery: Celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month With These 6 Expert Recipes

Apples are in season every fall when the desire for richer cocktails strikes again. This cocktail, created by Jeremy Allen, bartender at MiniBar in Los Angeles, combines apple cider and bourbon, which is a classic combination. Then, Allen adds apple cider vinegar, to cut a bit of sweetness.

Created by Ruben Pasqual, bartender at Crossings Restaurant in South Pasadena, this cocktail combines the classic American spirit with imported flavors like tamarind and passion fruit. The coupe glass adds an elegant touch.

This bourbon cocktail, created by Alex Barbatsis, bar director at Good Housekeeping in Los Angeles, is a frothy delicious variation. A bit sweet, a bit savory and oh-so fragrant. 

Bourbon is often a warming campfire spirit, so it's fitting that this recipe incorporates smoke. Sarah Mengoni, lead bartender at Double Take in Los Angeles, created this cocktail and explains how her bar gets that smoky reveal: "We use a literal 'smoking gun' to make this cocktail. It has a bowl that we load with cedar chips. We flip a switch on the gun that sucks air through the bowl then pushes it out of a tube. Once the switch is on, we use a lighter to start the cedar burning, and as soon as it starts coming out of the tube, we turn off the gun and remove the hose from glass while simultaneously covering the glass to keep the smoke in. The cover we use is a coaster that looks like a New York City manhole cover, a reference to the movie Escape from NY that inspired the cocktail's name. The short amount of time that it takes to carry the drink to the guest is enough time for the flavor of the smoke to really become integrated with the spirits, providing a smoky flavor with every sip."

This recipe combines bourbon with the other flavor of fall: apples. A classic combination that just tastes like autumn. This variation was created by Kevin Felker, beverage director, Water Grill, Downtown Los Angeles.

The standard at-home bar probably doesn't have some of these ingredients but that means this is the perfect excuse to expand your collection. Kevin Felker, beverage director at Meat on Ocean in Santa Monica, used an artisanal liqueur from the French Alps produced since 1875 from sweet and bitter orange peels as well as small-batch bitters.