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Cocktail History
The Poison Apple is a Halloween cocktail that was first published on Delish, an online food and beverage blog. The original recipe was created to be somewhat of a sweet seasonal spectacle because it called for Fireball whiskey, cranberry juice, apple cider, grenadine, and edible glitter. We chose to turn it into a more sophisticated concoction that’s still tasty but uses rye instead of Fireball, omits the grenadine and glitter, and adds lemon for more balance.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Rye: This is a type of whiskey made with at least 51% rye grain, malted barley, corn, and water. We used Hudson Whiskey Do The Rye Thing because it has a bold, spicy flavor with notes of honey and citrus. For a mocktail version of this drink, try The Gospel Responsible Rye Non-Alcoholic Whiskey in place of the whiskey.
Cinnamon Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cinnamon sticks, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, saline solution, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Cranberry Juice: This is the liquid juice of a fresh cranberry. We used Simple Organic Cranberry Cocktail.
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 fresh, delicious, and made locally to us.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
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.
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.
Apple Corer: This is used to core and slice apples. We used the OXO Good Grips Apple Corer, Slicer, & Divider.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used the Barfly Stainless Steel Skull Top Cocktail Pick.
Tasting Notes
The Poison Apple features zingy aromas of baking spices and has a fairly sweet candied apple taste that combines spicy rye undertones with seasoned apple cider and a touch of tart fruit flavor before going down with an aftertaste of fruit and rye notes.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Its inspiration may have been less than desirable to us because we prefer more complex cocktails, but this simple seasonal take is sweet enough for a Halloween get together while still being palatable to the more discerning drinkers. Not to mention the Poison Apple’s tastiness could definitely fool an unsuspecting princess or two.
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 headache I got just thinking about the original recipe’s two juices, Fireball, grenadine, and edible glitter made me want to try to improve this drink. Rye whiskey and cinnamon syrup recreate the better parts of Fireball, while adding more apple and lemon and using less cranberry gave it more spice and better balanced flavor. Overall, the drink turned out quite tasty despite it being sweeter than I usually prefer my cocktails, and it would definitely be a crowdpleaser.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“As far as custom variations go, this is probably one of the sweetest Alex has ever made. It has a bit of a candy apple quality to it, but it still manages to be quite serious in spicy flavor and list of ingredients. I would call this a great Halloween drink for a large party where you want something unique and seasonal that will still please every palate.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Delish, an online food and beverage blog.
Add whiskey, cinnamon syrup, cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with apple slices.
Ingredients
Directions
Add whiskey, cinnamon syrup, cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with apple slices.
Make It a Mocktail: Use The Gospel Responsible Rye Non-Alcoholic Whiskey in place of the whiskey to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Halloween Cocktails
If you like this Halloween-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Vampiro: A tequila cocktail made with tomato juice, orange juice, lime juice, grenadine, hot sauce, salt, black pepper, and a lime slice
Butterbeer (Harry Potter): A stout beer and spiced rum cocktail made with evaporated milk, butter, margarine, vanilla extract, brown sugar, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and nutmeg
Empress Corpse Reviver No. 2: A gin cocktail made with triple sec, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, absinthe, and an orange twist
Tatooine Sunset (Star Wars): A tequila cocktail made with blue curaçao, pomegranate juice, grenadine, orange juice, lemon juice, and cherries
This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2023-10-02.
