It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a crazy and stressful year. For us, it is even a tad crazier since, surprisingly, this is our first cocktail post this year. We did feature the Blood Orange Fizz mocktail for Dry January, but after that, nada. Our last cocktail post was almost a year ago, a good one though, The Martinez. So, we are definitely long overdue, and Kyle is on the case. He got out the gin (of course, our favorite) and two types of apple cider and created an Apple Cider French 75, a deliciously refreshing fall cocktail that will make up for the lack of drink recipes in our site.
This cocktail came together while trying to find a use for some leftover sparkling wine. With it, Kyle mixed together some barrel-aged gin, a few dashes of orange bitters and a couple glugs of Pommeau – a blend of apple brandy and unfermented apple juice.
The amazing concoction was topped with some sparkling wine and the resulting cocktail was basically a French 75 – Autumn style! The drink was light and refreshing like the original, but the gentle apple flavors of the Pommeau and the spiced notes from the barrel-aged gin gave it a distinctive Autumn vibe. We do have some great summer versions of this cocktail with the Watermelon French 75 and the French 75 Slushies, maybe this fall-inspired version will be the start for us having a “French 75 for All Seasons” cocktail menu. This refreshingly crisp and lightly sweetened cocktail (and all of its iterations) are welcome year-round, as far as I am concerned.
Pommeau may not be widely available and this cocktail recipe should be accessible to everyone. This can be done by swapping in an Apple Cider “syrup” made from reduced apple cider to provide both sweetness and a subtle apple flavor. If you can find Pommeau – great! It can be used in place of the Cider Syrup, but user beware! If using the Pommeau your drink will slightly drier than it will when made with the Cider Syrup.
This recipe yields enough Cider Syrup to make about 8 cocktails. This means you can have several nights imbibing an Apple Cider French 75, or you have enough for a handful of family and friends. Another possibility is making a big batch of these in a pitcher. The sparkling cider should be served on the side and used to top off each drink as you serve it.
For the blog recipe, a sparkling dry apple cider was used (to reinforce the apple flavors already present in the drink), but we can attest to the fact that the Apple Cider French 75 is equally delicious with sparkling wine – so you can use up whatever you have on hand!
The Apple Cider French 75 is the perfect cocktail to make your “signature drink” for your Socially-Distant Holiday festivities this year. Either in a large batch or one at a time, this drink brings the fall flavors out in the open in the most delicious and fun ways. Cheers!
- For the Cider Syrup:
- 4 cups Apple Cider
- For the Apple Cider French 75:
- 1 ounce Barrel-Aged Gin
- ½ ounce Lemon Juice
- 1 ½ Ounces Cider Syrup
- 2 dashes Orange Bitters
- 3 ounces Dry Sparkling Cider (a dry sparkling wine would work too!)
- Lemon Twist, for garnish
- To make the Cider Syrup: Bring the apple cider to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the cider is reduced to 1 cup, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow cider reduction to cool.
- To make the Apple Cider French 75, combine the gin, lemon juice, cider syrup, and orange bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a coupe glass or Champagne flute. Top with the sparkling cider and garnish with a lemon twist.
izle says
Danke fuer die schoene Zeit hier. Macht weiter so. Da kommt man gerne wieder. Dee Dwight Rosati