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Cocktail History
The Apple Brandy Sour is an autumn cocktail that was created by Jassy Davis and was first published in her book Winter Warmers: 60 Cosy Cocktails for Autumn & Winter. It uses a standard sour template that calls for a spirit, lemon, egg white, and bitters, but this one is dressed up with apple brandy and maple syrup.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Apple Brandy: This is a type of brandy made with apples, pears, spices, sugar, and alcohol. We used Calvados because it’s a high-quality apple-flavored brandy with notes of pear, apricot, and baking spices. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative and apple cider in place of the apple brandy.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Maple Syrup: This is a syrup made with the sap from maple trees. We used a local maple syrup.
Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. We used fresh egg whites because they add a rich, silky smooth texture.
Aromatic Bitters: This is a food product made with botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. We used Angostura Aromatic Bitters. For a mocktail version of this drink, try All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters.
Cherry: This is a fruit that has been soaked in rich syrup.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
The Apple Brandy Sour starts with prominent apple and allspice aromas and features the unmistakably sweet taste of apple backed with citrus, a pleasantly thick mouthfeel, and the lingering taste of maple syrup after the swallow.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: We both found this recipe to be quite good since you can’t really go wrong with such tasty ingredients. If we made it again though, we think a split base of bourbon or rye or maybe some walnut or cardamom bitters would take the fall flavors up another notch because as is this really is just a boozy and frothy (albeit delicious) apple cider.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The Apple Brandy Sour is pretty much exactly what you think it will be: an apple-flavored sour recipe. The addition of the maple syrup is important, and it’s seasonally appropriate because it gives the drink the extra flair of fall flavors while the bitters add just a touch of spice to the mix. The drink is very good, but it’s pretty unsurprisingly sweet; I’d suggest trying a split-base of apple brandy and rye or bourbon or possibly even a more aggressive flavor of bitters, like cardamom.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“As far as sours go, this one’s really tasty. The most prominent flavor is definitely apple, and the maple is a nice touch to add even more autumnal flair. Egg white aside because I still can’t really get past the fact that egg is in my drink, I could see myself sipping on this after a day of apple-picking when I’m really craving the fruit. To make it a little more complex, I’d add in cinnamon or Alex’s gingerbread syrup too.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Winter Warmers: 60 Cosy Cocktails for Autumn & Winter by Jassy Davis.
Add apple brandy, lemon juice, maple syrup, egg white, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a sour glass.
Garnish with cherry.
Ingredients
Directions
Add apple brandy, lemon juice, maple syrup, egg white, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a sour glass.
Garnish with cherry.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative and apple cider and All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Apple Cocktails
If you like this apple-flavored cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Mott & Mulberry: A rye cocktail made with Luxardo Amaro Abano, apple cider, lemon juice, Demerara syrup, and apple slices
Salted Caramel Apple Martini: A gin and apple brandy cocktail made with salted caramel syrup
Apple Crush: An apply brandy and vodka cocktail made with apple cider, lemon juice, simple syrup, maple sugar, honeycrisp apple, and a cinnamon stick
Stone Fence: A bourbon cocktail made with apple cider, Angostura Aromatic bitters, and mint
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