Apple Cider Martini

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What do you do when one of your favorite bloggers asks you to come to a cocktail party? Besides take a shower, change into a party dress and put some lip gloss on? You say, Hell to the YES I’ll come. But can I bring my Mom? Cause it’s her birthday and I don’t want her to feel left out.

Apple Cider Martini Recipe - www.mountainmamacooks.com

Today is a special day for two reasons. First off, Barb from Creative Culinary is celebrating one year of weekly boozy recipes, aka, The Friday Cocktail. What’s not to love about that idea? And secondly, it’s my mama’s birthday. She’s 63 years young today. I can’t think of a more influential person in my life so a major shout out to my madre on her special day! Though I’ve never actually met Barb in person, we became fast friends via twitter as we bonded over happy hour recipes and home cured bacon. I just know we’d be great friends in real life. Or at the very least we’d make great drinking buddies who like to dine on swine.
Initially I thought I would make an appetizer to share today. One that would pair with this Mexican Coffee or perhaps this gin cocktail made with with lemon and rosemary. Both on the lengthy list of Barb’s tasty concoctions. But in the end, I decided on making my own cocktail. I just couldn’t get the idea of an apple cider martini out of my head. And when I have a really good idea, it usually plagues my noggin until I do something about it. So alas, I present you the apple cider martini.

spiced-rum-apple-cider-martini-www.mountainmamacooks.com

The choice to make a cocktail was a good one because it gave me the excuse to have a drink in the afternoon. It’s not often that I do it and truth be told, I’m not even a big drinker anymore, but there’s something about having a cocktail in the afternoon that I just love. I suppose it’s because I feel like I’m doing something naughty and I’ve always loved doing what I”m not supposed to. PLUS, I thought I could invite my mom over for a pre birthday celebratory cocktail yesterday afternoon. But it was only noon so she politely declined. Whatever! It just meant more for me!!

spiced-apple-cider-martini-with-applejack-mountain-mama-cooks

This cocktail could easily be renamed “Fall in a Glass.” Apple cider, cinnamon simple syrup and just a touch of lemon are combined with Applejack, an apple brandy but still in the whiskey/bourbon family. It’s perfect for this time of year. The key to this cocktail is the cinnamon simple syrup. If not for any other reason than the way it will make your house smell like comfort. If you can find unfiltered apple cider, please use it. It has so much more depth than regular apple juice. I drank my martini(s) cold but I’m sure this would be awesome slightly warm. Perfect for curling up beside the fire. I had so much fun creating a drink recipe that I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of them in the next few months. So cheers to Barb and the birthday of the Friday Cocktail. And lastly, a happy birthday to the original mountain mama. My daily confidant and sometimes drinking partner, I love you!

Hope you all have a great, GREAT weekend!!

Bottoms up!

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Apple Cider Martini Recipe - www.mountainmamacooks.com

Cheers! An Apple Cider Martini

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  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 1 large or 2 small martinis 1x
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1.5 oz Applejack Brandy (or bourbon)
  • 4 oz unfiltered apple cider
  • 1/2 oz cinnamon syrup (recipe to follow)
  • juice of 1/2 lemon + more for rimming martini glass
  • apple slice & cinnamon stick to garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. To make the simple syrup, combine water, both sugars and cinnamon sticks in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
  2. On a small plate, combine turbinado sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. To make the cocktail, combine Applejack, apple cider, simple syrup and juice of half of a lemon in a cocktail shaker or large glass. Shake or stir to combine.
  4. Using lemon wedge, wipe around the rim of the martini glass. Dip the rim in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour apple cider martini into glass and garnish with apple slice and cinnamon stick if desired.