Moonraker

 

This cocktail can't be named after anything but the Roger More as Bond film of the 70s, and that makes me wonder. There is nothing about this cocktail that strays from classic ingredients, so the association with a movie that is notable for being far-fetched and space-age doesn't pan. Perhaps it was only a product of its time, like all cocktails, and the fact that it may be trying to riff on the Moonlight--the first drink I made with Laird's Applejack 86. 

But this drink is a much more advanced design compared to the apple brandy Sour that the Moonlight was once upon a time. It is blended to a thick slush with rum and falernum thrown in for heat and spice and served in a globe-shaped glass with an apple slice. 

For this recipe, I'm proud to show off my homemade falernum in a new bottle with a vintage label. I'm also excited to have used Mt. Defiance light rum for the first time. This rum is richly flavored and yet blends well with other spirits. It's the perfect Daiquiri rum when you want more than a lime juice Sour drink--you want it to taste like the Caribbean. Falernum, a spiced rum and juice spirit normally associated with the Caribbean as well, is a shorthand here for apple pie spice. Altogether, this cocktail tastes familiar--and very good--despite its disparate parts. It looks even better. 

• 1 1/2 oz. applejack (Laird's 86 used)
• 3/4 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat or falernum (homemade falernum used)
• apple slice garnish

Combine liquid ingredients with cracked ice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled squall glass (large stemless wine glass pictured). Garnish with the apple slice. 

Diki-Diki

 

From the name, you might guess that this is a tropical drink. And I would say you're not quite wrong. Swedish punsch isn't exactly a Nordic ingredient--it's a recipe. A punch cocktail known as caloric or Swedish punch was popular at the beginning of the 20th century. Eventually it was bottled like a bottled cocktail or a punch ingredient that had wide distribution. Prohibition ended this, however, and now the only Swedish Punsch you can find is in the Scandinavian countries. (Note: this is not the modern Kronan Swedish Punsch but a recipe I've made that replicates it in a bottle with a fake lablel.)

The Diki Diki is very tropical in fact. Swedish punsch includes cloves and cardamon, so it has that equatorial bitter note. There's also black tea and lemon scent sweetened with brown sugar. The spirits are a combination of rums, but in this case, my recipe involves mixing MurLarkey lemon and three tea whiskies with rum. 

• 1 1/2 oz. applejack (Laird's applejack 86 used)
• 1 oz. Swedish punsch (homemade recipe used)
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice 

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Apple Blossom #1 & #2

 

This is a double post featuring both Apple Blossom recipes. These drinks are similar but use different spirits. The Apple Blossom #1 (pictured right) is an apple juice and brandy cocktail, but the inventor of the Apple Blossom #2 went one step further and made the cocktail with apple brandy. The second is a major improvement, one because there is even more apple flavor, but also because it is better balanced with maple syrup.

Here they are in order:

Apple Blossom #1

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Korbel used)
• 1 oz. apple juice
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• lemon slice

 Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice.

 Apple Blossom #2

• 1 1/2 oz. applejack (Laird's used)
• 1 oz. apple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• lemon slice

 Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice. 

Apple Blow Fizz

This is another drink made with Catoctin Creek Apple Brandy. I love this stuff! I wanted to try this unusual cocktail because it has fizzy egg white and real apple flavors going on. It sounds mysterious too. Like something is going to be blown--like your mind.

But it wasn't what I thought. More lemon would help get the foam up, as would really prolonged shaking. The flavor was a kind of silky, tangy apple, though. I won't do it again, but feel free to experiment.

• 3 oz. apple brandy or applejack
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• sparkling water

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a shaker with cracked ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled highball glass with fresh ice in it. Top with sparkling water.

Royal Smile

This drink is a variation on a Jack Rose, the old Applejack cocktail. I guess it is intended to be made with apple brandy, but since that's expensive, they cut it with gin. Grenadine seems to be an easy fix for most drinks of this kind, but I recommend using more of it than the recipe calls for. It's pretty tart.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine (2 recommended)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Apple Daiquiri

The Apple Daiquiri requires real apple brandy, which I got on a trip to Catoctin Creek distillery. This small, expensive bottle is made from distilled apple juice from local orchards. Unlike Applejack, it really tastes like apples. It is very rare; I got one of the last eight bottles. Here's the recipe for this treat.

• 4 oz. light rum
• 3/4 oz. apple brandy
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. sugar syrup
• apple slice

Combine all ingredients except apple slice in a shaker or blender with ice. Shake or blend and pour into a chilled highball glass.

Dempsey

I wish I knew who this drink is named after; there's conjecture it is named after boxer Jack Dempsey. It's a boozy drink with a strong absinthe flavor despite the small proportion of it. Grenadine makes for a soft rouge color and keeps the drink from getting too dry. I used Bluecoat Barrel Aged Reserve gin for this recipe because the oak and vanilla flavor would play well with apple brandy. That was a very good move. Usually apple brandy and gin don't go together easily: the apple brandy loses its color, the gin covers softer notes in the apple brandy. With Barrel Reserve, the drink was spicy--in a good way--and the gin contributed without standing out too much. I shudder to think how it would have tasted with a cheap London dry style gin.

• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat Barrel Reserve used)
• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 tsp absinthe or Pernod

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Deauville

The Deauville is a sour but brandy-heavy drink that I appreciated after trying out so many drinks with added sugar in the form of grenadine. Apple brandy can absorb some of the acidity of lemon juice, and fortunately this drink is strong enough to not need simple syrup. You can really taste the apple brandy and oak from the aged brandy. Deauville is similar to a Sidecar in this way.

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Hugo Bracer

I'm doing a few brandy and grenadine drinks lately, and it is surprising how many there are. The obscure Hugo series of drinks uses lime juice with grenadine in place of sugar as a sweetener. This changes the color to a brilliant red despite the brownness of the Picon. This drink was very tart and I felt that upping the alcohol content (perhaps with 1/4 oz. of 100-proof vodka and a dash more Picon) improved the balance without making it too sweet.

• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. grenadine
• 1/2 oz. Amer Picon (Picon Biere used)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Applejack Sour

Meghan will drink anything with lemon sour, but I haven't made her a sour with Applejack yet. This is brighter than a whiskey sour and very approachable.

• 2 oz. applejack
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• lemon wheel

Combine all ingredients except lemon wheel in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Applejack Manhattan

So I said I was done with doing variations of Manhattans. One is enough; you don't need to do a Canadian and a brandy version, much less a pisco or tequila one. But I broke down when I got this bottle of Carpano Antica Formula vermouth. It is really bitter and rich. It should stand up to your funkier whiskeys and still be a key element. My guess is there is significant amounts of quinine in it and so it tastes like a rich red tonic.

In that weird instance where you don't have whiskey but you happen to have Applejack, make this drink.

• 2 oz. applejack
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• cherry

Combine all ingredients except cherry in a shaker with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Red Apple

More pink than red, the Red Apple is still a fine drink using grapefruit juice and applejack. There's not much else to it, so I added a wafer-thin apple slice as a garnish.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 3-5 dashes of grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Apple Brandy Cocktail

Focus. It's hard to focus when you are serving drinks and trying to photograph--while enjoying one of your own. This one is mostly a twist on a Jack Rose and a pleasing drink for someone who is looking for fruity UP drinks.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Star Cocktail

This must have been the "Star Cocktail" of some party. It was ridiculously good. This is pretty much an Apple Brandy Manhattan (a subset of Brandy Manhattan which I don't enjoy as much as the original.) I like how the vermouth brings out the apple flavors of the Apple Jack and makes you appreciate the spiciness of the herbs in the vermouth. Brandy cocktails usually have so few flavors other than silky smoothness that it is nice to have a mouthwattering fruity drink that tastes what you expect apple brandy to taste like.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• dash bitters
• lemon twist

Combine apple brandy and vermouth in a shaker with ice. Shake or stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add bitters and lemon twist.

Barton Special

 Sometimes a hard liquor drink on the rocks is just you need after a hard day. This one is very good quality, and one of its qualities is being less than the sum of its parts. Let me explain. There's apple jack, but there's also a good helping of gin and scotch. It should be a mouthful of flavors, but somehow it is mellow and subdued, and this works to its favor. Here's how to make it.

• 2 oz. apple jack (Laird's pictured)
• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. scotch (Barrelhound pictured)
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice. Garnish with the twist.

Grand Apple

I made a few modifications to this cocktail that I think improved it. First, I couldn't understand why a drink with so many strong liquors would be served on ice when it would make sense to stir them and serve them up where you can smell the orange of the Grand Marnier. The other thing I did was try to make the apple in applejack more apparent. I stole this trick from Stanton & Greene in D.C.'s Capital Hill.

Cut an apple chip off an apple and put a dash of Pernod or absinthe on the cut side. This will float under your nose and give you a spicy scent with every sip.

•  2 oz. Calvados or apple brandy
• 1 oz. cognac
• 1 oz. Grand Marnier
• apple chip optional

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with apple chip float with a dash of Pernod or absinthe on top.

A. J.

This applejack cocktail solves the problem of what to do with a giant grapefruit. It's also easy to make and surprisingly light tasting. It is from the Greyhound/ Salty Dog family, and I'm sure that a salty variant would do equally well.

• 1 1/2 oz. applejack
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice

Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Apple Cart

A cute name for a cute drink. This was fresh tasting and nice on a summer day. It's also easy to make.

• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 3/4 oz. Cointreau
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

Pour all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Stir well and pour into a chilled Old Fashioned glass.

Angel Face

This drink took me a long time to acquire the ingredients, and I'm still not sure it was worth it. I bet a higher quality apricot brandy is the key. Otherwise, it started out as a classic tasting cocktail with gin and apple jack, but when it warmed up it became almost too syrupy.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. apricot brandy
• 1/2 oz. apple brandy

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Apple Swizzle

This is a swizzle, which is a really cool way to serve rum. The nice thing I've found is that apple jack makes for a great dark rum substitute. There is no garnish for this recipe, but I thought a granny smith apple would be perfect to compliment the sour flavors.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 2-3 dashes of bitters

Mix all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Stir well until very cold. Pour into a Collins glass full of fresh ice.