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By the time October hits, bright and chilly days lead to cozy nights, and thoughts turn to apples and spice and everything nice. Apple season is fleeting, generally spanning August to early November. Some apple enthusiasts take this time of year very seriously, with good reason. Apples are nutritious, varied, versatile in recipes, and, most of all, delicious. They also make for fantastic cocktail ingredients, instantly transforming a drink into autumn in a glass.
We’ve gathered our favorite apple-dappled cocktail recipes to fully embrace the harvest. Not quite the rich and heavy drinks you might turn to later in the winter season, these drinks utilize tequila, floral apple brandy, and hard sparkling cider for highballs and spritzes. But these drinks also come in a range of styles.
From a fresh and zippy Appletini variation with Calvados apple brandy and a crisp and bubbly French 75 riff made with dry sparkling cider, to a Hot Buttered Rum with a pumpkin pie spice kick, these apple drinks are as diverse as the apples themselves. Celebrate peak apple season with these cocktails you will apple-solutely adore.
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Cider 75
Food & Wine / Photo by Greg Dupree / Prop Stylist by Thome Driver / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer
Tart, slightly sweet, and effervescent, this apple-forward riff on a French 75 swaps out Champagne for dry sparkling cider. Elements of a traditional French 75, which includes gin, lemon juice and simple syrup, create a balanced base that combines well with a sparkling cider. Gin’s botanical qualities complement the orchard-fruit notes of the cider, and fresh lemon juice adds a pop of brightness.
Jack Rose
Food & Wine / Tim Nusog
This 19th-century cocktail is a simple and vibrant blend of applejack — a type of American apple brandy — lemon juice, and grenadine. Wildly popular in the early 1900s, the drink was a favorite of many prominent writers of the time. The Jack Rose follows the classic sour format, but instead of simple syrup for the sweet element, this recipe calls for grenadine, a pomegranate syrup, lending a uniquely fruity and tart flavor profile.
Appletini
Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Breanna Ghazali
The original Appletini cocktail, created at the now-closed West Hollywood restaurant, Lola’s, in the 1990s, was famous for its candy apple pucker and neon green color. This updated recipe, combining vodka, Calvados apple brandy, apple juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup allow real apple flavors to shine.
Apple-Ginger Highball
GREG DUPREE / FOOD STYLING by CHELSEA ZIMMER / PROP STYLING by THOM DRIVER
This bourbon-based drink combines manzanilla sherry, ginger syrup, dry sparkling hard cider, and club soda for a refreshing and autumnal take on a highball. Warming ginger and nutty aromas are balanced with sweet-tart flavors and orchard-fruit notes from the dry sparkling cider.
The combination of bourbon and manzanilla sherry creates layers of warming caramel notes and nutty and lemony flavors, while the ginger syrup adds a spicy richness and gingery kick.
Apple Cider Margarita
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
A simple combination of tequila, Cointreau, freshly squeezed lime juice, and apple cider make this Margarita variation the perfect fall cocktail. A cinnamon-sugar rim, cinnamon sticks, and fresh apple slices add festive flavors and flair.
Newark Cocktail
This spirit-forward modern classic was created by Jim Meehan and John Deragon in 2007 for the fall cocktail menu at the legendary cocktail bar PDT in New York City. The Newark is essentially a modified take on the Brooklyn cocktail, swapping out rye whiskey for overproof apple brandy, dry vermouth for sweet, and replacing Amer Picon — a bitter orange-based French aperitif — for the darker and more bitter Fernet-Branca. Maraschino liqueur rounds out this big, boozy, botanical cocktail named for the most populous city in New Jersey.
Hot Buttered Spiked Cider
This spiked hot cider has a warming pumpkin pie spice blend including cinnamon and ginger, helping to amp up the autumnal vibes. Spiced gold rum and rich butter make the drink a velvety Hot Buttered Rum variation. While heating the cider on the stovetop, make sure to whisk the mixture often as it heats up and comes to a boil. This will prevent it from separating and give the drink an especially buttery mouthfeel.
Hard Cider Sangria
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
Crisp and effervescent, this apple sangria swaps wine for hard apple cider and combines apple brandy, apple juice, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. This fall-friendly batched cocktail serves four and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Because this recipe doesn’t specify a brand or flavor of hard cider, feel free to experiment with different styles — pear cider for a more bittersweet quality, or a dry rosé cider to add floral, berry notes to the sangria.
Apple-rol Spritz
GREG DUPREE / FOOD STYLING by CHELSEA ZIMMER / PROP STYLING by THOM DRIVER
This crisp, three-ingredient riff on an Aperol Spritz swaps Prosecco for cider for the perfect fall-inspired refresher. Built directly in the glass like the traditional spritz, Aperol and club soda round out this vibrant, low-alcohol cocktail. Tangy-tart dry sparkling cider adds a crisp apple flavor as well as ample acidity, and lively effervescence.
Apple-Brandy Hot Toddy
Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele
Apple brandy, preferably Calvados, gives a basic Hot Toddy a cozy autumnal spin. The usual suspects of honey, lemon juice, warm water, and spices steep together in this boozy cold-weather drink. Whole cinnamon sticks and lemon zest are a traditional garnish that add a pop of aromatics.
