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Cocktail History
The Mott & Mulberry is a modern classic cocktail that combines Italian amaro, American whiskey, and apple. Named for two intersecting streets in Little Italy, it was created as a cold version of mulled cider that could be sipped year-round by Leo Robitschek of the former NoMad Bar in New York City.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Rye: This is the base spirit. It’s a type of whiskey made from at least 51% rye grain. We used Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey because it has a nice spiced whiskey flavor with notes of vanilla, pepper, and herbs. For a low-proof version of this drink, try The Gospel Responsible Rye Non-Alcoholic Whiskey in place of the whiskey.
Luxardo Amaro Abano: This is a digestif that adds its unique spiced flavors of cardamom, cinnamon, condurango, bitter orange peels, and cinchona.
Apple Cider: This is a beverage made with freshly pressed apple juice and baking spices. We used The Glass Orchard Apple Cider because it’s delicious and made locally to us.
Lemon Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled juice and tastes better.
Demerara Syrup: This is a sweetener made with Demerara sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Apple Slices: These are the garnish. They add fresh apple aroma and can serve as a crunchy snack while you sip the cocktail.
Tasting Notes
The Mott & Mulberry features light aromas of apple, the taste of rich whiskey and apple accented with a much darker and herbal amaro note that’s backed with lemon bitterness, and the aftertaste of spiced apple that lingers on the palate.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: The amaro in this drink is not for the faint of heart. Kendall wasn’t used to its unique flavor and preferred the Apple Brandy Sour we shared a few weeks back over this one because of its taste. Alex though enjoys the complexity amaros bring and thought this might just be a new favorite whiskey sour riff of his.
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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I was very pleased with this drink! Amaro Abano doesn’t get used too often in our house; as far as amaro goes, it isn’t very far on the bitter scale, and it brings a lot of herbal flavors to this without much added bitterness. The rye provides a good amount of spice and the amaro adds more, and it’s all backed up with apple cider flavors and a touch of lemon’s sourness. As far as whiskey sour riffs go, I was a big fan of this one, but it’s definitely for people like me who want a contemplative drink rather than an easy one.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“Of the apple-forward recipes we’ve tried, this is probably near the bottom of my list of favorites, just because the amaro was too prominent to my palate. I’ve learned that I do usually like apple and rye together, but the amaro in this one has a bitterness I didn’t care for. I much prefer the Apple Crush or Stone Fence.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.
AuthorThe Essential Cocktail BookPrep Time5 minsAdd rye, Amaro Abano, apple cider, lemon juice, Demerara syrup, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass.
Garnish with apple slices.
Ingredients
Directions
Add rye, Amaro Abano, apple cider, lemon juice, Demerara syrup, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass.
Garnish with apple slices.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
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
Spiced Pumpkin Punch: A gin cocktail made with apple cider, pumpkin purée, honey syrup, lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sticks
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