It’s October! That means all us Mr. Autumn Men and Ms. Autumn Women are putting on those cardigans and enjoying the flavors of fall. (Notwithstanding you freaks who have been ordering pumpkin spice lattes since late August.)
Here are a few places around Madison who are serving up special fall beverages, from flavored lattes in the morning to autumnal alcoholic concoctions at night.
The local coffee chain’s autumn drink menu includes the special PSL, but I tried the Maple Pumpkin Matcha Latte, which includes the two standard fall drink flavors, but is also green enough to still remind us of summer.
The ice cream shop on King Street recommends getting its pumpkin spice latte iced so the whipped cream and pumpkin spice cold foam on top lasts longer. And if that wasn’t sweet enough, they add a mini pumpkin spice donut as a garnish.
Ancora has a full line-up of limited edition fall drinks, including a miso pumpkin spice cold brew and a caramel black sesame zombie. I went with the sweet/savory salted maple latte (at the Maple Bluff location, of course).
The Alchemist is back! Madison Chocolate’s popular fall drink mixes together fall spices, brown sugar, single origin espresso, and black walnut bitters. It’s like a brisk walk in the woods in drink form.
The Fitchburg cafe embraces the end of summer with its Back-2-School Spritz, a cold pick-me-up that combines seltzer water, pomegranate syrup, strawberry syrup, and Lotus Energy.
The east side brewery is the place I’d go for an Oktoberfest beer, and Working Draft has two. The Stackenblochen is a traditional Oktoberfest beer brewed with Munich and Pilsner malts, while the Kettenraucher is a smoked Marzen-style Oktoberfest that’s a collab with Full Mile Beer Co. and Kitchen in Sun Prairie.
This Verona restaurant won Best Micro-Cidery at the 2026 GLINTCAP awards. They’re celebrating with AppleFest from Oct. 6 to 10, celebrating all things apple with cider pairings, special menus, and seasonal cocktails.
This Fitchburg craft cocktail bar has a full lineup of fall cocktails to try. Some imbibers will go for the charm of the pumpkin spice espresso martini, but you’ll find me with a maple walnut old fashioned in hand.
This award-winning cocktail bar on East Johnson Street just dropped its fall drinks menu, and it’s a wild one. My money’s on the Carrot en la Posset, featuring Tullamore D.E.W., Turkish delight pumpkin-spiced carrot cordial, and heirloom flora, served with a lemon posset.
