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This Apple Cider Moscow Mule is about to become your go-to! It’s a cozy … Read more
The post Apple Cider Moscow Mule Recipe appeared first on Sugar and Charm.
This Apple Cider Moscow Mule is about to become your go-to! It’s a cozy ... Read more
The post Apple Cider Moscow Mule Recipe appeared first on Sugar and Charm.
This hot spiked apple cider recipe hits all the cozy notes! Rum or bourbon perfectly complement the cinnamon, cloves, and…
This hot spiked apple cider recipe hits all the cozy notes! Rum or bourbon perfectly complement the cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. It’s a fall tradition for our family!
What’s better than a warm drink in hand when the weather is chilly? Here’s a classic that’s required for fall, in our opinion: Hot Spiked Apple Cider! There’s something about the combination of sweet cinnamon and cloves with the subtle spicy finish of rum or bourbon that’s absolutely soul warming.
Alex and I love how the liquor melds seamlessly into the hot cider, making a smooth sip and a cozy finish. This recipe has just the right balance of spices with alcohol: and a side benefit: it makes your kitchen smell like a fall candle.
This spiked apple cider recipe is simmered with mulling spices, then combined with bourbon or rum for a tasty finish. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
Making this hot spiked apple cider recipe is incredibly easy: all you need is time! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe for quantities):
Here are a few tips if you plan on serving this warming drink at a party:
Rum or bourbon are the best choices for spiked cider, but brandy also works well. You can also add a small amount of orange liqueur like Triple Sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
Rum melds most seamlessly into the flavor of cider, making it our top choice. Any type of rum works: white rum, aged rum, or dark rum. Aged or dark add more flavor complexity with vanilla and oak notes.
Bourbon is a close second, and has a slightly more prominent flavor on the finish; use your favorite brand of bourbon.
This hot spiked apple cider recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and vegan.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes 
Yield: 8 drinks This hot spiked apple cider recipe hits all the cozy notes! Rum or bourbon perfectly complement the cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.
*Or, go to Crockpot Apple Cider for slow cooker or Instant Pot instructions. Make the cider, then add the rum or bourbon before serving.
Category: Drinks
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Diet: VeganOutside of this spiked apple cider recipe, there are so many winter drinks and hot cocktails to try:
Mulled cider is the ideal cozy drink for cool weather! Here’s how to make it in a slow cooker or…
Mulled cider is the ideal cozy drink for cool weather! Here’s how to make it in a slow cooker or on the stove. Infused with mulling spices like cinnamon and cloves, everything is better with a mug in hand!
Here’s a recipe for gray days and chilly evenings by the fire: mulled cider! Not only will it lift your spirits, it makes your entire kitchen smell like a candle shop. When Alex and I make it for friends, instantly everyone gathers around the pot, chattering and cupping their hands around the warm mugs.
Mulled cider is great for entertaining (like Thanksgiving and Christmas), since it makes a big batch. It’s easy to make on the stove or a slow cooker. As two cookbook authors, here our tried and true method!
Mulled cider is made with whole spices, which infuse the entire drink with cozy flavor. If you taste straight apple cider, you’ll find the flavor is crisp and apple forward. But after simmering with mulling spices, the flavor blossoms into something warm and spiced.
Because dried and ground spices end up making the drink cloudy, you’ll use whole spices when simmering. Mulled cider spices include:
Star anise is the most unique of all these mulled cider spices. It’s star-shaped and is available at most grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can also buy star anise online.
Mulled cider isn’t rocket science, but there are a few things to keep in mind when making this drink! Here’s what makes the flavor top-notch:
There are a few different ways to make mulled cider: each have pros and cons! Here’s a breakdown:
This mulled cider is fabulous on its own, but you can step it up by stirring in rum after simmering. The rum adds a bit of warmth and takes it to another level. Spiked mulled cider is the a perfect party drink!
If you’re serving a party where not everyone is drinking, you could also leave out the rum and let guests add a splash to their own drinks. The quantity in the recipe below adds only ½ tablespoon rum per glass—so all you need is a small swig!
Looking for more cozy drinks like this one? There are so many great fall cocktails and winter drinks to try:
This mulled cider is vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, vegan, and dairy-free.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 8 Mulled cider is the ideal cozy drink for cool weather! Here’s how to make it in a slow cooker or on the stove. Infused with mulling spices like cinnamon and cloves, everything is better with a mug in hand!
*Doubles easily, and fits into a standard slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Category: DrinkMethod: Stovetop / Pressure CookerCuisine: AmericanIt’s all about easy cocktails around Thanksgiving, and this easy apple cider … Read more
The post An Easy Apple Cider Cocktail Recipe appeared first on Sugar and Charm.
It’s all about easy cocktails around Thanksgiving, and this easy apple cider ... Read more
The post An Easy Apple Cider Cocktail Recipe appeared first on Sugar and Charm.
The other day I was thinking of cocktails that were fall and winter-friendly. Calvados (apple brandy) of course is always in season, but I also had a bottle of spiced pear liqueur from St. George Spirits in California on hand that has a lovely pear flavor mingled with a bouquet of spices, that I’ve been meaning to incorporate into a cocktail. I had a hunch…
The other day I was thinking of cocktails that were fall and winter-friendly. Calvados (apple brandy) of course is always in season, but I also had a bottle of spiced pear liqueur from St. George Spirits in California on hand that has a lovely pear flavor mingled with a bouquet of spices, that I’ve been meaning to incorporate into a cocktail.
I had a hunch that it would be well-paired with French apple brandy, and that hunch proved correct in this Far From the Tree cocktail, a nod to the expression that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” as the apple brandy – and the sparkling apple cider – fell into my kitchen, which are quite far from any trees. But happily, they all made it into my glass.
(And I’m hoping that all made sense. I’ve been trying to translate some American expressions for my French partner, especially “They drank the Kool-Aid,” which I’ve decided just isn’t translatable.)
The Spiced Pear Liqueur is made by St. George spirits, a distiller in my old stomping grounds of Alameda, California. I knew the founder, Jörg Rupf, who started distilling European-style spirits in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1982. At the time, few knew what eau-de vie was.
Jörg was a wealth of knowledge and I always learned something when I spent time with him, and was surprised when he told me one day that it took around 50 pounds (23kg) of Bartlett pears to make just one bottle of pear eau-de-vie, and he laughed that his biggest restaurant account sold only a half bottle of eau-de-vie every two months. He reveled in the bounty of excellent produce in California, making eau-de-vie from everything, including kiwifruit, apples, raspberries, pears, and even holly berries.
One day while at the distillery he gave me a sip of apple brandy which he’d made but promptly forgot about, which was similar to Calvados, but without the terroir. (To be called “Calvados” the apple brandy has to be made in Normandy with only certain varieties of local apples, with a few pears added for their aroma, and must be aged in wooden barrels for at least two years.) His apple brandy had been sitting in a barrel for ten years and when he discovered it, it was delicious.
Jörg eventually retired from distilling and sold the company, which is still going strong, and St. George Spirits under master distiller Lance Winters, continues to make excellent liqueurs that include gin and other distillations (they now call their eau-de vie “brandy”), absinthe, vodka (including a green chile one), shochu and Bruto Americano, a botanically-rich alternative to Campari that I particularly enjoy, with no artificial colorant, made with an expressive blend of local botanicals and other ingredients.
But even if you’re not in Normandy, or Northern California, and far from an apple (or pear) tree, you can still enjoy these fall and winter flavors in a cocktail.
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