Tag Archives: apple cider

Cocktail Corner: Apple Cider Floats

Cocktail Corner / December 15, 2016 / No Comments.

We all have guilty pleasures. Ours? Soda and ice cream. They might not be the best for us but nothing beats an ice cold soda or an ice cream sundae. Someone realized that these two junk foods would be even better if they were combined. And thus the “float” was born. We all know about the classic root beer float. But we’re ready to step up our game. We’ve discovered Apple Cider Floats and our lives will never be the same.

Not only is this float easy to make but it’s even easier (and yummier) to make it a ~non-virgin~ cocktail. Spike with a shot of Fireball, cinnamon vodka, or any other type of liquor that tickles your fancy.

Friendsgiving Cocktails

Cocktails / November 21, 2016 / No Comments.

Happy Friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving means spending time with friends you’ve chosen, not the family that’s been forced upon you. Where conversation is light and fun, food is abundant, and alcohol is in mass quantities. Instead of trying to impress your friends with weird, complicated Pinterest recipes that will most likely end up looking nothing like the photos, get them sufficiently buzzed on some delicious Friendsgiving cocktails. We teamed up with BACARDI and SMIRNOFF to bring you 6 easy recipes that you and your friends will definitely be thankful for.

1. BACARDÍ Friendsgiving Rum Punch

This punch will appeal to everyone from the pickiest spirits aficionado to the casual beer drinker.

Ingredients:

1 part BACARDÍ Gold rum
1 part BACARDÍ Superioer rum
3 parts Apple Cider
2 parts lemonade (sweetened)
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
4 sticks of cinnamon (garnish)
1 apple cut into slices (garnish)

Directions: In a large punch bowl, combine all ingredients with an ice block. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and apple slices. Serve on the rocks.

2. Treacle

This cocktail is an impressive yet straightforward drink to sip on this Friendsgiving. Made with BANKS 7 Golden Age Rum, it is a complex, full flavored drink with a dryer flavor than most Golden Rum cocktails.

Ingredients:

2 parts BANKS 7 Golden Age Rum
1 part apple cider
5 parts Grade B Maple Syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Directions: Stir with ice and strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with one large cube.

3. The Original Moscow Mule

This cocktail is for the minimalist. No need to stalk up on fancy ingredients. The Original Moscow Mule is perfected with only three, making it the perfect cocktail to bring to holiday gatherings.

Ingredients:

5 oz. SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka
4 oz. premium ginger beer
Fresh lime

Directions: In a copper mug with ice, add SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka, ginger beer and a squeeze of lime and stir. Garnish with a fresh lime slice.

4. Cranberry Apple Rosemary Sangria (serves 16)

This is for the whole squad. Whether it’s time for brunch, watching football or enjoyed a slice (or three) of apple pie. (Courtesy of Megan Marlowe, Strawberry Blondie Kitchen).

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2-3 springs of rosemary
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Cranberry Apple Rosemary Sangria
- 3 apples, diced
- 2 pears, diced
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- 1 cup SMIRNOFF Sourced Cranberry Apple
- ½ cup triple sec
- 2 bottles of white wine
- 1 cup of Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 32 oz. club soda

Directions:

Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup: In a small pot, bring water and sugar to a boil. Drop in rosemary and cinnamon sticks and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool completely.
Cranberry Apple Rosemary Sangria: In a large pitcher, place fruit into the bottom. Top with SMIRNOFF Sourced Cranberry Apple, triple sec, wine and simple syrup. Stir to combine. Refiigerate for 6 hours up to overnight. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, rosemary spring and/or frozen fruit.

5. The Apple Cider Mule

For those who prefer to drink their dessert, this one’s for you. Out with the apple pie, in with the apple cocktail! (Courtesy of Kendra Darr, Simply Darrling)

Ingredients:

5 oz. SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka
3 oz. premium ginger beer
2 oz. apple cider
Splash of simple syrup
Apple slice and caramel sauce for garnish

Directions: In a cocktail shaker, combine the Smirnoff vodka, ginger beer, apple cider and simple syrup and shake. Then rim a copper mug with caramel sauce. Pour cocktail over ice into the copper mug and garnish with an apple slice.

6. Spicy Moscow Mule

For those who love the heat, this is a kicked up version of the original Moscow Mule, incorporating Serrano peppers and fresh mint sprigs for a surprising twist. (Courtesy of Annette Vartanian, A Vintage Splendor)

Ingredients:

1 thinly sliced Serrano pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
5 oz. SMIRNOFF No. 21 vodka
1 cup premium ginger beer
2 lime wheels/wedges for garnish
2 fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Directions: Put cupper mugs in freezer for 5 minutes to chill. Squeeze lime juice and drop in 1-2 Serrano pepper slices in copper mug. Use the back of a wooden spoon to muddle together the Serrano slices and lime juice. Pour in vodka and stir. Fill copper mug with ice and top off the ginger beer. Serve with additional Serrano slices, a lime wedge, and a mint sprig for garnish.

Caramel Apple Day Mimosas

Cocktails / October 21, 2016 / No Comments.

Happy Caramel Apply Day! Nothing screams fall more than a caramel apple. We thought what better way to celebrate this October holiday than with something a little boozy. Which brings us to the caramel apple mimosa. This ain’t your momma’s mimosa. We brought this sh*t to the next level.

You can make a more low-key version of an apple cider mimosa, which are appropriate for family brunches or Thanksgiving morning. Rim a champagne glass with cinnamon sugar and pour two parts apple cider and one part bubbly. Even your grandma will dig this refreshing drink.

Now if you’re anything like us, we were looking for something a little stronger. With the help of Delish, we found the perfect solution. A splash of salted caramel vodka (they recommend Pinnacle). And the rim is better too. Instead of dipping the glass in water to help the cinnamon sugar better stick, we coated it in caramel and then the cinnamon sugar, so you get that flavor with each sip (YUM).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8jjXyrs-x0

Now that you’ve got the “in-cider scoop,” get your mimosa game on!

Happy International Eat (Drink) an Apple Day

Cocktails / September 19, 2015 / No Comments.

Today is a special day: it’s International Eat an Apple Day. It’s also a day where we will be employing our all important “use any excuse to drink” rule. So, we hereby dub this, the third Saturday in September, International Drink an Apple Day.

Therefore, no matter your prior commitments, your level of sleep deprivation, or your mood, you can use this day to sample as many boozy apple drinks as you’d like. That way, hopefully by the end of the day, you will have ingested a whole apple anyway. One point for multitasking!

Here, you can find a variety of drinks for each temperament. So, we here at DIA strongly encourage that you whip up a few different ones in efforts to find your personal favorite.

For Apple Sangria, you’ll need:
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup applesauce
half an orange, sliced
half a lime, sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup lemon-lime soda, chilled
ice
additional apple slices and cinnamon sticks

Combine wine, juices, applesauce, and sugar in a large pitcher and stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange, lime, and apple slices. Refrigerate until chilled. When serving, add lemon-lime soda and ice, and garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks.

If you’re keen on making Hot Ginger Apple Cider, get together…
4 cups apple cider
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
5 (1/8th-inch-thick) slices peeled ginger
4 ounces applejack
4 extra cinnamon sticks

In a medium saucepan, bring apple cider, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and ginger to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let it infuse for 10 minutes. Then, add the applejack and pour through a strainer into serving glasses. Garnish each glass with a cinnamon stick.

Or, if you’re more into something abstract, try a Ginger’s Lost Island with…
Pinch of cinnamon
1 1/4 ounces ginger liqueur
2 cardamom pods
1 1/4 ounces mezcal
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce apple juice
1/4 ounce Agave nectar
Ice
1 apple wedge, cut into thin slices and fanned, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, crush the cardamom. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients. Shake shake shake. Pour through a fine strainer into an ice-filled double rocks glass. Garnish with the apple fan.

And then, there’s the classic Appletini. You’ll need:
15 ounces vodka
15 ounces green-apple liqueur, such as Sour Apple Pucker
10 ounces clear apple juice

Fill a large pitcher with ice. Pour in all ingredients, and stir vigorously. Strain into glasses. Serve immediately.

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Cocktail Corner: Apple Cider Sangria

Cocktail Corner / August 26, 2015 / No Comments.

Yes, it would definitely be delightful is summer lasted all year long, but that wouldn’t be fair to the other seasons. Autumn is right around the corner and eager to greet the day with all of its pumpkin spice, crunchy leaf wonderfulness. We know some of you will find this seasonal change bittersweet, but we promise we’ll make the transition easy for you. Start out by making yourself a big batch of sangria—sparkling apple cider sangria to be exact. The weather may be getting colder, but a few sips of this cocktail will only make your insides feel as warm as your memories of sweet summertime.

Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria: (8 servings)

2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
½ cup cognac
2 cups apple cider
750ml bottle dry sparkling wine, chilled
¼ cup pomegranate seeds

In a large pitcher, add the apples (saving about ½ cup for garnish), cognac, apple cider, and chilled wine. Stir and fill the pitcher with ice. Pour the sangria into glasses filled with ice and garnish with sliced apple and/or pomegranate seeds.

Recipe found on thekitchn.com

Photo source: Personal Creations

Tequila Takes on Flavors of Fall

Cocktails / October 4, 2014 / No Comments.

Tequila is traditionally thought of as a summertime spirit. On any sizzling summer day, there’s nothing more refreshing than a tangy mojito or frozen margarita. Still, now that we have entered autumn, we’ve come to think that tequila should also be considered a transitional beverage. Without a tropical twist, tequila can actually compliment many flavors of fall. So with today being National Taco Day, we urge you to celebrate by pairing your tacos with these tasty recipes for seasonal tequila treats.

Apple Cider Margarita (1 serving)

5 oz. apple cider
1 oz. grand marnier
1 oz. tequila
splash of triple sec

Mix together all the ingredients and serve over ice. This cocktail rendition has quite a sweet sip, so combine yours with a savory taco selection such as Acorn Squash Tacos with Avocado.

Orange Salted Caramel Margarita (1 serving)

1 ½ oz. tequila
1 ½ oz. orange juice
1 oz. salted caramel sauce
½ oz. triple sec
½ oz. lime juice

Rim a chilled margarita glass by dipping it in some salted caramel sauce then in a combo of salt and sugar. Combine all the ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake for at least 30 seconds. Pour into ice-filled glasses and enjoy. If you’re wondering what to pair with this drink, go for these more-than-basic Pumpkin Spice Tacos.

Blackberry Thyme Margarita (1 serving)

9 blackberries, divided
1 ½ small sprigs of fresh thyme
½ cup crushed ice
2 ½ tbsp. tequila
2 tbsp. simple syrup
juice of half a lime
½ tbsp. orange liqueur (i.e. triple sec)
2 tbsp. sparkling water

Blend 7 of the berries together with the thyme leaves. Pulse to puree until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl (press on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible). Combine the puree, ice, tequila, simple syrup, lime juice, orange liqueur and sparkling water in a blender. Blend until smooth and well mixed.

Pour into a glass and garnish with the remaining berries and/or additional thyme. Try this cocktail with Chorizo-Yam Tacos with Lime-marinated onions—you won’t be sorry.

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