Years ago, when I first got into cocktails, I tried making my own. I had no idea what I was doing, and they were terrible. Undrinkable. I had no clue about balance, not to mention the basic building blocks of a cocktail. So, I took a class. I learned that the classic definition of a cocktail is spirit, sugar, bitters, and water. Those components can be interpreted at the discretion of the cocktail artist. With this information in hand, I built up my booze collection and tried my hand again. This time, the results were much better.

One the drinks I created is a riff on an Old Fashioned. It uses a bourbon base and blends in notes of fall: walnuts, apple, maple. The result is a a warm, well-rounded drink, with sweetness from the maple balanced by walnut bitters. As I said, this was years ago, and a friend of mine recently encouraged me to share this, already, so may I present what I call the Hayride, or Fall in a Glass:

2 oz Mackenzie Bourbon from Fingerlakes Distilling
1/2 oz Maplejack Liqueur (or 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup)
1/2 oz Pommeau from South Hill Cider (or any apple brandy)
2-3 dashes black walnut bitters

Place into a beaker containing ice and stir until cold. 
Serve in a Nick & Nora glass or martini glass.