A Jigger of Blog

I love apple cider. Not the alcoholic kind, the good ol’ fashioned, freshly made, New England bounty that comes around every fall. Last weekend I picked up a quart of delicious local apple cider and had been enjoying it throughout the week. Yesterday I decided to whip up a cider-based cocktail to enjoy while watching my NY Giants play the Eagles. I knew I wanted to play with some of the cinnamon syrup I recently made, but wasn’t sure exactly what direction to go in. Here’s what I ended up with, largely because it was handy and I wasn’t in a terribly creative mood.

Apple Toast

1 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. calvados
.5 oz cinnamon syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

Mix ingredients in a highball glass. Top with apple cider and stir.

Now I would have played with the proportions a bit more, but I actually ran out of cider after one drink. I think it would benefit from having a stronger pour of booze. The cinnamon syrup and cider make it for a very sweet drink, though the spice of the cinnamon mitigates the sugar a bit. I also think the choice of doing this in a highball was a poor one — had I used cider in proportion to the liquor, I bet it would make for a tasty drink chilled and served in a cocktail glass.

Oh well — I’ll just have to get more cider and keep playing.

Do you have any favorite cider-based cocktail recipes?