Honey Baked Apples: An Autumnal Apple Cocktail
Photo: Courtesy of Foxtail
For her autumnal apple cocktail, Razel Rustia, head bartender at Foxtail in New York, took the template for the classic Saratoga cocktail and leaned into the seasonal flavors by adding apple brandy, apple cider, and a housemade cranberry shrub. She also switches out the rye for bourbon. “I think apple brandy is very underrated and pairs perfectly with the bourbon in this drink,” says Rustia.
Ingredients
- 1 oz. apple brandy
- 1/2 oz. bourbon
- 1 oz. apple cider
- 3/4 oz. honey syrup
- 1/2 oz. cranberry shrub
- 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes apple bitters
- 1 dash pimento bitters
- ___________________________
- Cranberry Shrub
- 16 oz. cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 peeled orange
- 1 nutmeg, cracked
- 1 cinnamon stick, cracked
- 10 cloves, cracked
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- Tools:shaker, strainer, fine-mesh strainer
- Glass:rocks
- Garnish:apple slices and berry fruit leather
Preparation
Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and double strain into the glass. Garnish.
NoteThree dashes of Angostura bitters can be subbed for the apple bitters and pimento bitters.
Cranberry ShrubAdd all of the ingredients, except the vinegar, to a container, stir to combine, cover, and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days, mashing the cranberries once a day. Add the vinegar, stir to combine, and strain. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.