This punch, from Zac Overman of Sitka & Spruce in Seattle, is mouthwateringly tart and slightly fizzy, juicy and a little herbal, thanks to fresh strawberries, thyme, and Bonal, a flavorful French aperitif that's bittered with cinchona and gentian. It's easy to batch up the punch mix in advance, then combine it with Cava, Crémant, or another dry sparkling wine in each serving glass. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Small lidded pitcher or quart-size Mason jar, fine-mesh strainer, Collins glasses for serving INGREDIENTS For the Strawberry-Thyme Syrup: 1 cup (240ml) water 1 cup (195g) sugar 1/2 cup quartered strawberries (about 5 to 6 small berries; 65g) 7 sprigs fresh thyme For the Punch Mix: 4 ounces (120ml) Strawberry-Thyme Syrup 6 ounces (180ml) pisco (such as Barsol) 6 ounces (180ml) Bonal 6 ounces (180ml) fresh juice from 4 lemons To Serve: 1 (750ml) bottle dry sparkling wine, chilled DIRECTIONS 1. For the Strawberry-Thyme Syrup: Add water, sugar, strawberries, and thyme to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove solids. Let cool before using. Syrup can be refrigerated up to 1 week. 2. For the Punch Mix: Combine Strawberry-Thyme Syrup, pisco, Bonal, and lemon in a small lidded pitcher or quart-size Mason jar. (You will have 22 ounces of the punch mix.) Stir to combine. At this point, mix can be used immediately or covered and refrigerated up to 10 hours. Extra Strawberry-Thyme Syrup can be served with seltzer for a nonalcoholic drink. 3. To Serve: Fill each Collins glass with ice. Add 3 ounces sparkling wine and 2 3/4 ounces punch mix to each glass and stir gently. Serve immediately.
A potent mix of applejack, grenadine, and lemon juice flavored with a dash of Peychaud's bitters. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Cocktail shaker, strainer INGREDIENTS 2 ounces Laird's Applejack 3/4 ounce grenadine, preferably homemade 3/4 ounces fresh squeezed juice from 1 lemon 1 dash Peychaud's bitters Lemon twist DIRECTIONS 1. Combine applejack, grenadine, lemon juice, and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Squeeze lemon twist over surface of drink, skin-side-out to release fragrant oils. Rub rim of glass with skin side of lemon twist and discard twist. Serve immediately.
Juicy apples meet bubbly prosecco, rich sherry, and sweet orange liqueur in this cocktail. WHY IT WORKS Juicy apples add a mild, fresh sweetness to sherry and prosecco. Dry, nutty oloroso sherry offsets the sweetness of the apples and Mandarine Napoléon liqueur. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Muddler, mixing glass NOTES: Super-thin apple slices make gorgeous garnishes. However, to keep the slices looking crisp and white, remember to soak them in a bowl of water with a small spritz of lemon juice after slicing. Use your favorite kind of apple here; both sweeter, softer varieties and more tart, firm types work well. If you can't find Mandarine Napoléon liqueur, you can substitute with Grand Marnier or a good dry orange curacao, such as Pierre Ferrand. INGREDIENTS 1/4 apple, cored and diced 1 1/2 ounces apple brandy, such as Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy 3/4 ounce Mandarine Napoléon liqueur 1/2 ounce oloroso sherry, such as Williams & Humbert 4 ounces prosecco sparkling wine Orange twist, for garnish Thinly sliced apple, for garnish DIRECTIONS 1. Add diced apple to the bottom of a mixing glass and muddle until apples are broken down and have released their juice. Fill the mixing glass 2/3 full with ice and then pour in apple brandy, Mandarine Napoléon liqueur, and oloroso sherry. Stir to chill until mixing glass is very cold, about 20 seconds, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with prosecco. 2. Twist orange peel over top of drink to release oils, then discard peels. Garnish with a thinly cut round of apple.
Fresh, sweet summer cherries transform into something deeper in this simple cherry liqueur. NOTES: Bing cherries are sweet and easy to find. However, you could use tart cherries for a less sweet result, or mix a variety of cherries together. If using frozen, let them defrost before use. To add a little bitterness and a slight almond flavor, you could leave the pits in some or all of the cherries. Cinnamon is optional; you could skip or substitute another spice such as allspice, cardamom, or mace. If you prefer a stronger brandy flavor, substitute more brandy for the vodka. Other spirits such as bourbon and rum could also work well. INGREDIENTS 6 cups Bing cherries, pitted 1 cup brandy 1/2 cup vodka 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 cinnamon stick, broken (optional) DIRECTIONS 1. Put the pitted cherries at the bottom of a sealable glass jar and muddle them with a wooden spoon or muddler to release some juice. Drain the juice into a separate container and set aside. Then add the brandy, vodka, and cinnamon stick to the muddled cherries. Seal and shake the jar. Let steep for one week at room temperature away from direct sun, shaking every few days. 2. Combine the reserved cherry juice, sugar, and water in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. Once the syrup is cooled, add it to the steeping jar, seal, and shake. Then let it steep for an additional 2 to 5 days. Strain through fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into glass jar or bottle. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
This cocktail is an apple orchard in a glass, bursting with three layers of apple flavor from fresh sweet cider, 100-proof apple brandy, and fizzy hard cider. This recipe starts with fresh apple cider, the unfiltered type you find at farmers markets, orchards, or the refrigerated section of your grocery store. If you'd prefer not to make our spiced cider concentrate, you can also purchase boiled apple cider concentrate at specialty stores or online. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: medium sauce pan, strainer, shaker, highball glass INGREDIENTS For the Spiced Cider Concentrate: 4 cups fresh apple cider 2 cinnamon sticks 4 allspice berries, whole 1 teaspoon cloves, whole 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, whole For the Cocktail: 2 ounces Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy 1 ounce apple cider concentrate syrup 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice from about half a lemon 4 ounces hard cider such as Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider Apple slice or apple chip for garnish (optional) DIRECTIONS 1. For the Spiced Cider Concentrate: In a medium saucepan, combine cider, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and black pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Keep at a simmer, uncovered, until reduced by 3/4, and consistency is viscous like maple syrup, about 2 hours. Strain and let cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. 2. For the cocktail: Combine apple brandy, spiced cider concentrate, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with hard cider. Garnish with apple slice or apple chip if desired. Serve
Bottle up this bright and tangy pisco cocktail today for brunch tomorrow. This drink is especially delicious in winter, when grapefruits are at their peak flavor. Batching the drink in advance means you're all ready for lazy weekend day-drinking. Note: Use a vegetable peeler to remove zest for the syrup; trim off as much white pith as much as possible. A mix of Ruby Red and Oro Blanco grapefruits yields especially fragrant juice, but you can also use all Ruby Reds with good results. Encanto Pisco from Peru has a wonderful herbaceous quality, but you can substitute whatever pisco is available to you. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: medium saucepan, fine-mesh strainer, air-tight container, 24-ounce carafe or swing-top bottle INGREDIENTS For the Grapefruit Syrup: Zest from one medium grapefruit (see note) 1 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice from 2 to 3 grapefruits (see note above) 1 cup granulated sugar For the Bottled Cocktails: 3 sprigs fresh thyme 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 3 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice from 3 limes 9 ounces pisco, such as Encanto 4 1/2 ounces Grapefruit Syrup 6 sprigs fresh thyme for garnish DIRECTIONS 1. For the Grapefruit Syrup: Combine grapefruit zest, juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Strain into an air-tight container. Refrigerate until ready to use or up to 1 week. 2. For the Bottled Cocktails: In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle together thyme and salt. Add lime juice and stir. Fine-strain into a 24-ounce carafe or swing-top bottle and then pour in grapefruit syrup and pisco. Cap and gently shake to combine. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. 3. For each cocktail, add one large ice cube to a double rocks glass. Pour in 2 3/4 ounces of the bottled cocktail. Gently stir and garnish with a sprig of thyme.
This apple brandy–based variation on the classic Negroni cocktail is spicy, rich, and bittersweet. It's as simple as could be to make, but the magic is in the proportions: It's not the standard equal-parts setup. Instead, you'll use two parts warming 100-proof apple brandy, along with one part Campari and one part sweet vermouth (I like Carpano Antica here), so that the brandy can cut the Campari's considerable sweetness. The recipe, created by Andrew Friedman of Liberty Bar in Seattle, originally appeared in Gary Regan's The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita, With Recipes & Lore. If you like Boulevardiers, this cocktail is a cold-weather essential. To make a big batch of it, multiply each ingredient by the number of drinks you'd like to make, and add about 25% of the total volume in water. (Use filtered if you don't love the flavor of your tap water.) For example, to make eight portions of the Mela d'Alba, add 16 ounces Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy, 8 ounces sweet vermouth, 8 ounces Campari, and 8 ounces water to a resealable jar or bottle. (You'll need a container that holds at least 40 ounces.) Refrigerate until ready to serve, then pour into individual ice-filled rocks glasses. NOTE Don't use Applejack here; you want the strong stuff, marked "bonded." INGREDIENTSES: 2 ounces (60ml) Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy (see note above) 1 ounce (30ml) sweet vermouth 1 ounce (30ml) Campari Lemon twist, for garnish DIRECTIONS 1. Add apple brandy, sweet vermouth, and Campari to an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. Stir until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Express lemon oils over drink and add lemon twist. Serve immediately.
