My stint in Georgia is [rather regrettably] over, and I now find myself in Ohio. After flying back to LA for a day and hammering out a baby quilt that someone had custom ordered long ago, I got back on a plane and flew east to Toledo, Ohio, my hometown.
I'm here right at that perfect autumn time, when the nights are cold and crisp and the trees are brilliant, almost unnatural shades of red and gold, but the afternoon temperatures climb into the balmy 60's. Upon my usual exploration of the kitchen [which always happens almost immediately after I arrive], I was happy to discover a jug of MacQueen's Apple Cider in my parents' fridge. MacQueen's is a local apple orchard just down the street from my house, and they make good stuff. Good, good stuff. To me, the taste of their apple cider is the taste of fall.
So I thought I'd break my blogging silence with a little autumn cocktail recipe using that delicious cider.
Bourbon Apple Cider
makes 1 drink
1.5 oz bourbon
3 oz apple cider
2 oz cranberry juice
cinnamon sugar (I used Domino's premixed blend)
lemon wedge
ice
1. Rub the rim and insides of a martini glass with the lemon wedge. Pour some cinnamon sugar on a small plate and dip the rim of the glass in it.
2. Mix the bourbon, cider and cranberry juice in a drink shaker with the ice and shake. Or, if you're like me and you don't have a shaker, mix it with some ice in a measuring cup and use a strainer to catch the ice when you pour.
3. Pour the drink into the martini glass and enjoy.
P.S. That scary assassin-cat in the background of the picture is Peanut. Don't mind him.
i'll take one of each, please (cat and cocktail).
ReplyDeletepeanut's relaxing after having some spiked cider for himself 8)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm... sounds good! Just the thing for a cold evening in front of a cracking fire...
ReplyDeletenora, i thought you'd like this one.
ReplyDeleteand yes, anon. my thoughts exactly. :]
what if I wanted to have hot apple cider? would the bourbon taste good in that too? I'm planning for a halloween movie marathon...
ReplyDeletebtw, I heart Peanut <3
yes i think it would! a little of the alcohol will evaporate off from the heat, but other than that it would work well i think. i might skip the cranberry juice and replace it with cider if you're going hot, not sure how hot cranberry juice would taste. also instead of the cinnamon sugar rim, you could get cinnamon sticks (most grocery stores have them with the other spices) and put those in the drinks. the hot liquid will steep a nice cinnamon taste from them into the cider. and if you want to go totally crazy, you could drizzle some caramel sauce into the bottom of the mug before you poured in the hot cider. good luck!
ReplyDeleteoh and Peanut <3's you back. :]
aaand that idea with the cinnamon sticks and caramel sauce just got added to my menu for my next book club meeting. (the boy took over the planning for the halloween movie marathon, so pumpkin beer it is)
ReplyDeleteThis is my new autumn cocktail. I grind a 50/50 blend of sugar and cinnamon with a mortar and pestle since I don't like sweet drinks and I use Maker's Mark for the bourbon. So great. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDelete