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Cocktail History
The Apple Pie is an autumn cocktail that was created by food writer and author Jessica Strand and was first published in Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season. It’s a simple highball recipe that mixes whiskey, allspice liqueur, honey, and vanilla with sparkling apple cider to create an effervescent drink that’s seasonal but still light.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Bourbon: This is a type of whiskey made in the United States with at least 51% corn, grains, malted barley, and water. We used Buffalo Trace Distillery Benchmark Bourbon because it has a delicious whiskey spice with notes of caramel, stone fruit, tobacco, oak, and cherries. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Allspice Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with allspice berries, spices, sugar, and rum. We used St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram. For a mocktail version of this drink, try homemade allspice Demerara syrup in place of the allspice liqueur.
Sparkling Apple Cider: This is a beverage made with apples and carbon dioxide. We used Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider.
Vanilla Extract: This is a flavoring made with vanilla beans, ethyl alcohol, and water. We used Simply Organic Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract.
Cinnamon Stick: This is a spice. We used cinnamon sticks from the bulk section at our local grocery store.
Apple: This is a red fruit with a mealy texture. We used a Honeycrisp apple.
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.
Apple Corer: This is used to core and slice apples. We used the OXO Good Grips Apple Corer, Slicer, & Divider.
Tasting Notes
The Apple Pie has aromas of apple cider and cinnamon followed by a taste that seamlessly mingles apple, spice, and honey before finishing with pleasant baking spice and bourbon notes.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Although far from revolutionary, we did both really enjoy both this recipe’s flavors and its lightness, even more so after the edits we made to up the spice and tone down the sugar content.
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 Pie was definitely tasty, but it was fairly simple in its execution based on the recipe we found. The addition of allspice liqueur really made all the difference; the added autumnal spices complemented the bourbon and cider incredibly well, and they made for a tasty drink that goes down just a little too easily.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“This cocktail is a pretty good interpretation of apple pie in drink form as far as flavors go. I did have two qualms with it, and that’s why I rated it three stars. First, the honey, even in syrup form, sunk right to the bottom, so I had to keep stirring; otherwise, I got a mouthful of honey through my straw. Second, the recipe isn’t very complex. I think it would benefit from maple or an amaro of some sort to kick it up another notch. As is, it’s seasonally appropriate, and most people would like it. I just wanted a bit more from the cocktail.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season by Jessica Strand.
Add whiskey, honey syrup, allspice liqueur, vanilla extract, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass over fresh cubed ice.
Top with sparkling apple cider.
Stir for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with cinnamon stick and apple slice.
Ingredients
Directions
Add whiskey, honey syrup, allspice liqueur, vanilla extract, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass over fresh cubed ice.
Top with sparkling apple cider.
Stir for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with cinnamon stick and apple slice.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey and homemade allspice Demerara syrup in place of the allspice liqueur 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:
Apple Crush: An apply brandy and vodka cocktail made with apple cider, lemon juice, simple syrup, maple sugar, honeycrisp apple, and a cinnamon stick
Salted Caramel Apple Martini: A gin and apple brandy cocktail made with salted caramel syrup
Apple Brandy Sour: An apple brandy cocktail made with lemon juice, maple syrup, egg white, Angostura aromatic bitters, and a cherry
Mott & Mulberry: A rye cocktail made with Luxardo Amaro Abano, apple cider, lemon juice, Demerara syrup, and apple slices
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