Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktail
A Taste Of Fall In A Glass
My Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktail is made with freshly diced apples, brown sugar, a little bit of brandy, and bitters plus cinnamon, orange, vanilla, and a hint of black pepper. You can double this recipe for the holidays and set up a drink station with a little sign on how to mix up the drinks, as the apples get better as they sit in the seasonings.
I made these Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktails yesterday while I was waiting for trick or treaters to come to my new house. The bad news is that we only had about 8 trick or treaters.
The good news is I had made these ahead of time so I was able to enjoy as many of them as I had trick or treaters! LOL!
This is a great drink to mix up for the upcoming holidays. It is festive and delicious and all the flavors will go with your holiday meals.
The Bitters
This is the Angostura Bitters. They sell these at any liquor store and at most grocery stores in the liquor department.
These bitters do have a high amount of liquor in them. I use them in my Gingerbread Cookies, but the liquor part is cooked out when you bake with it.
I also use these to make my Brandy Slush Cocktails. The brandy slush is also a great batch cocktail to make for the holidays.
If you ever have an upset stomach or heartburn, you can also add a few shakes of bitters to some club soda and it will help settle your stomach.
The flavor of the bitters is nutty and like a cinnamon or nutmeg type of flavor profile. It is very good, but very strong.
The Black Pepper
I have a feeling some of you may question the black pepper. The black pepper is very slight in this recipe but adds a great flavor profile.
The pepper also helps meld all the other flavors together and rounds it all out. You will not notice a super strong black pepper flavor when you make this drink.
Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktails have all the flavors of fall. This cocktail is perfect for all the holiday parties coming up. Made with apples marinated in bitters, brandy, brown sugar, and a few other simple ingredients. This is a perfect drink for making batch cocktails.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 large granny smith apples
- 1 tablespoon of Angostura Bitters *pictured in post before recipe card for reference
- 2 tablespoons of brandy
- Juice of one orange + a tiny bit of orange zest
- 2 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
- 2 large Honey Crisp (Red) Apples
- 4 to 6 cups of good quality apple cider
- Brandy or Whiskey of your choice
- 3 cans of Sprite
Instructions
- Wash the green apples and dice them into a VERY small dice. No need to peel but you can peel if you prefer. Add to a bowl.
- To the bowl of apples add the orange juice and a tiny bit of the orange peel, zested. Add the bitters, brandy, cinnamon, vanilla, brown sugar, and black pepper.
- Give the bowl a really good stir. This is best if you make it ahead of time and let the apples hang out in the mix to soak up the flavors. You will see a juice forming in the bowl. This is what you want.
- When ready to make drinks, add a couple of table spoons to the bottom of a rock glass. Add as many shots of the brandy or whiskey as you prefer. Give this a good stir. Add ice, then top with apple cider and a splash of sprite. Add a slice of the red apple to the top for garnish. You can also add cinnamon sticks if you like.
- When making a new drink, keep the apples you already have in the glass and add a few more and some more of the juices the apples make.