7 Must Mix Apple Cocktails
By Chilled Magazine
In the US, we have approximately 7,500 apple producers who collectively grow 240 million bushels of apples on average each year across 322 thousand total acres of land.
It is the perfect occasion to enjoy apple-picking with family and friends, savoring homemade apple pies and infusing apples in to your favorite savory and sweet recipes.
For Caorunn Gin Master, Simon Buley, who uses a combination of traditional gin botanicals and locally foraged Celtic botanicals (Rowan Berry, dandelion, bog myrtle, Scottish heather and Coul Blush Apple) to make Caorunn Gin, the Caorunn + Tonic Perfect Serve is always prepared with a Coul Blush apple, a dessert apple unique to northern Scotland, which brings a crisp acidity and a clean, sweet taste perfectly complementing the other botanicals.
While Coul Blush Apples are native to Scotland and have been grown in Ross-Shire since 1827, we recommend Honey Crisp, Autumn Glory, Aurora or Golden Delicious apples to try the Caorunn + Tonic Perfect Serve here in the U.S.
Mix up these seven apple inspired cocktails to celebrate the season.
Caorunn + Tonic Perfect Serve
Ingredients:
- 1 part Caorunn
- 2 parts Premium Tonic Water
Preparation: Build over ice in a tall glass and garnish with red apple slices.
Autumn Garden G&T
Ingredients:
- 1 part Caorunn Gin
- 2 parts Premium Tonic Water
- 1 Red Delicious Apple
- Rhubarb
- Ginger
Preparation: Build ingredients in a highball glass over cubed ice. Garnish with finely cut rhubarb, apple julienne strips and a slice of ginger.
Orchard Negroni
Created by Steve Mazzuca and Hector Videla for Bathtub Gin, NYC
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. Caorunn Gin
- 1/4 oz. Laird’s Applejack Brandy
- 1/4 oz. Cynar
- 1/2 oz. Apple Syrup*
- 1 dash Organic Apple Bitters
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- 1 spritz Bitter Truth Pimento Dram
Preparation: Spritz a rocks glass with the Pimento Dram to coat. Add all ingredients into the glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice and cinnamon stick.
*Apple Syrup
Made with Organic Red Gala Apples, Granny Smith Apples, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Cloves. Bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil with one-half Red Gala apple, two cinnamon sticks and, three cloves. Allow sugar to completely dissolve, then cool for two hours.
Apple Vesper
Created by Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Caorunn Gin
- 1 oz. Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka
- 1 oz. Lillet or Dry Vermouth
- 2 dashes Baked Apple Bitters (Optional)
Preparation: Stir ingredients very well with ice and strain over 1 large ice cube into a rocks glass. Garnish with a floating star anise and apple slice on rim of glass.
Scottish Autumn
(Serves: 20)
Ingredients:
- 1 750 ml bottle Caorunn Gin
- 1 750 ml bottle Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka
- 1/2 liter Apple Cider
- 1/2 liter Lemonade
- 1 bottle Sparkling Wine
Preparation: Add ingredients directly into a punch bowl. Add lots of ice and stir to chill and dilute approximately 10 minutes before serving. Ladle out into glasses. Garnish with floating lemon wheels and apple slices inside the punch bowl. Into each glass, one apple slice.
Caorunn Apple Smash
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 oz. Caorunn Gin
- 5 oz. Premium Tonic Water
- 1/4 Red Apple
- 1/4 Green Apple
- 2 Cloves
Preparation: Muddle quartered apples with Caorunn in a cocktail shaker. Add cloves and shake hard until cold. Double strain into a tall glass over cubed ice and top with tonic water. Garnish with thinly sliced red and green apples.
Caorunn Apple Twist
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 oz. Caorunn Gin
- 3 oz. Pressed Apple Juice
- 5 oz. Premium Tonic Water
Preparation: Add cubed ice to a tall glass, add gin, freshly pressed apple juice then tonic. Stir after adding thinly sliced apples and lemon wheels until evenly spread throughout.