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Bourbon-Apple Cider Cocktail |  |
A Memorable Seasonal Cocktail, Just Three Ingredients. No Hard-to-Find Liquors or Liqueurs or Bitters or Mixers, No Cooking Simple Syrup. Barely Boozy. Scales from a Mixed Drink for One or Two to a Pitcher for Parties. Beautiful Color! Mere Minutes to the Table. Fun Picnic & Tailgate Beverage. Easily Adapted to Personal Tastebuds & Alcohol Consumption. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Perfect When Cooking for One or Two. Potluck & Party Friendly. Easy DIY. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. So Good!!
Funny Story.
Every year, we do a casual family dinner on November 10th, the birthday of the Marine Corps. We put up fresh flags, teaching the kids how to raise flags and care for the retired flags.
The food is always fall comfort food, easy to make, easy to serve, easy to clean up. This year, I went looking for the recipes I had in mind, an apple cider cocktail (for the adults, obviously) and a cheesy pasta casserole. When I found the recipes? Turns out, I'd made the exact same things for the same party a year ago!
Both recipes are winners!
So here's the first one, a simple fall cocktail. Cheers!
Recipe Overview: Bourbon-Apple Cider Cocktail
- My Bourbon-Apple Cider Cocktail is slightly sweet, slightly gingery, barely alcoholic and very sippable served over ice during the autumn months. It's easy to mix by the glass or the pitcher, making it a mainstay for those who enjoy an occasional adult beverage or for a "house cocktail" for a fall party. It calls for just one liquor, bourbon, and a total of just three ingredients plus ice. It's simple, it's refreshing, it's delicious.
- When to Serve = When you want! I like to have something tall and wet to sip on while I'm cooking dinner. It's a good drink to accompany Charcuterie for Two. My favorite time, though, is when we're having another couple over and instead of pouring wine or sparkling champagne to start, if there's a pitcher of the bourbon-cider mixture ready, odds are high they'll accept the house cocktail. But for our big fall family party in early November, I just put it all out on the outside bar, a bottle of good bourbon, a couple of half-gallon ciders (a half gallon is easier to life and pour than a gallon), a few bottles of ginger ale (both regular and diet) and some ice. Next year, I think I'll get a tabletop (or hanging) chalkboard (affiliate link) to suggest the "recipe".
- Vegetarian? Vegan? Gluten Free? Dairy Free?
- Distinctive Ingredients = Bourbon + Apple Cider + Ginger Ale or Ginger Beer + Ice
- For Garnish = Could this drink be fancied up with a thin slice of apple on the glass's edge? A curl of apple peel? A tall, thin cinnamon stick for stirring? Even a few small chunks of apple for the bottom of the glass? Sure! But me, I kinda like how this drink stands on its own, no embellishment at all.
- Kitchen Tools = Just a glass or two, possibly a pitcher. That's it!
- No special mixology techniques are used here. If you can pour a soda, you can make this drink either by the glass or by the pitcher.
- This is a time-friendly, pantry-friendly, budget-friendly and calorie-friendly recipe.
- The "recipe" is for one or more, including a pitcherful. But there's also no real need for a recipe, once you have the idea: just wing it.
- This recipe works not only for parties but also for those Cooking for One or Two.
- So good! I hope you love it!
- Looking for something non-alcoholic? Try my Mulled Apple Cider, it turns everday grocery-store cider into something special.
- Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other beverages & drink recipes.
Bourbon As an Ingredient? A Real Favorite
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Why I Love This Recipe & You Might Too
- It tastes like fall without seeming contrived or too obvious
- It really quenches thirst, especially if served in a "tall" glass
- It's flexible: more wet than heavy alcohol for lightweight drinkers but for those who want a stronger cocktail, just add more bourbon
- It calls for a single liquor, bourbon, not a bunch of specialty liqueurs and bitters and and and ...
- It calls for everyday, ordinary apple cider which is easy to find and inexpensive during the fall
- It helps us use an entire gallon of cider without any going to waste!
- It calls for ginger ale, my very favorite thirst-quenching soda
- Diet soda works just fine, it's my go-to
- Ready to get started? Here's your recipe!
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BOURBON-APPLE CIDER COCKTAIL
Time-to-table: 5 minutes
Makes 1 drink or 1 pitcher or however much
-
IN COCKTAIL SPEAK (for one or multiple cocktails)
- 1 part bourbon
- 2 parts apple cider
- Ice
- Ginger ale or ginger beer to taste
-
IN HOMECOOK SPEAK
- 1-1/2 cups bourbon
- 3 cups apple cider
- Ice
- Ginger ale or ginger beer to taste
(for a pitcher that holds about 5 cups)
-
IN "WING IT" SPEAK
- Bourbon to taste
- Apple cider to taste
- Ice to taste
- Ginger ale or ginger beer to taste
FOR ONE COCKTAIL Mix the bourbon and cider over ice in an 8-ounce (for a typical highball cocktail) or 16-ounce glass (for a "tall" cocktail). Top off the glass with ginger ale, give it all a stir. Drink up!
For light-weight drinkers like me, I fill either size glass with ice, then pour over one shot of bourbon and 2 "shots" of cider, then fill the remainder of the glass with ginger ale. Our shot glass is on the small side, just 1 ounce/2 tablespoons; the typical shot glass holds between 1-1/4 ounces and 1-1/2 ounces.
FOR A PITCHER Mix the bourbon and cider in a pitcher and if there's time, chill the pitcher for mixing drinks later, either all at once (for a party, say) or over the course of a week or so.
For light-weight drinkers like me, pour 1/3 of a cup of the mixture over ice into an eight-ounce glass or 1/2 a cup into a 16-ounce glass ("measuring" once to see how high the mixture goes, then eyeballing it thereafter) then top with ginger ale.
FOR WINGING IT You're on your own, mix to taste!
Diet ginger ale is excellent here but if you're serving for a group, be sure to make known that you're using diet ginger ale because, as I've learned from a niece, some people experience allergic reactions. I put out both, that lets people make their own choices without making a fuss or becoming an unwelcome topic of conversation.
FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more.
If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2024/11/bourbon-apple-cider-cocktail.html .
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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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2024
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna