It's A Walk-Off! | Apple Cider Cocktail Battle

Two cocktails.  Both highly anticipated (by me).  One successful, one a halfhearted flop.  Here's their story...

Apple cider is my fall and winter thing.  It's the juice I choose to go with breakfast.  Warmed up, it's a comforting dessert replacement (nothing can replace chocolate and ice cream, let's be real).  With spiced rum or bourbon, its an easy seasonal cocktail.  Made into caramels, a la Deb Perelman, it's a chewy, stick-to-your-teeth bit of heaven.  So apple cider is inherently good.  Particularly when using a quality apple cider that isn't sickly sweet (my favorite? Trader Joe's. Which is apparently off the shelves for the season. Cue my cries of despair.).

When I stumbled upon two cocktail recipes using apple cider, I had to try them.  Yet more perfect and easy seasonal cocktails? Of course, I had to try them.  And I was going to make it a battle.  A cocktail walk-off, if you will.  Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail vs. Hot Caramel Apple Cider.

Fast forward to the epic conclusion....and the Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail won by a landslide.  It balanced adeptly between sweet and spicy, thanks to the use of ginger liqueur.  Though I'll admit the Hot Caramel Apple Cider, with just a touch less sweetness, was a strong competitor.  Either way, you won't lose.


Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail
by Amy Tobin
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
2 oz. Domaine de Canton (ginger liqueur)
1 oz. caramel flavored vodka
3 oz. apple cider
dash lemon juice

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into a martini glass.

If desired, crush a few gingersnaps into crumbs.  Rim a glass with plain simple syrup or agave syrup, then dip into the crushed gingersnaps.

Notes:
--To my taste, an excellent balance of sweet (from the caramel vodka and from the cider) and spicy (from the ginger liqueur and the cider spices).  Another good thing - it wasn't pow-in-your-face alcohol, which is still a bit too much for me.  Yes, I love imbibing cocktails, but I'm still a bit of a wuss.  I'm working my way up the ladder, right?

...versus...

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

from Amy Tobin

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:

6 oz. apple cider

1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. caramel syrup

1-2 oz. caramel flavored vodka

Preparation:

Combine cider, cinnamon, and caramel syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is melted into the cider.

Remove from heat and stir the vodka in.

Notes:

--For my tastes, this drink was too sweet.  Next time, I'd cut back on the caramel sauce or use plain vodka. Maybe add a pinch of fleur de sel or Maldon salt as a counterpoint.

--This would be a heck of a lot cozier served in a mug.  Bonus points for a dollop of whipped cream.