Earlier this week I happened to walk into a local establishment selling adult spirits and stumbled across a sales rep – supplier offering samples of an adult beverage to the staff along the brandy aisle.
Turns out she was a charming young lady from South Carolina hawking a very winsome apple brandy; being naturally curious about all good things related to food and beverage I peeked over a shoulder and was soon offered a small sip to savor.
(I know next to nothing about brandies, though have learned over the past several months that attractive redheads with southern accents can be wildly intriguing. Miss Becky certainly held the group’s attention that morning…)
The discussion turned to cocktails and her recommendation was to start with the Sir Isaac Newton, recently featured in this article in Garden and Gun magazine. If you’re at all interested in mixology a very quick and entertaining read by the way.
We’ll have apple cider reducing on the stove in a few hours and will report shortly on our success.
Here’s to Sir Isaac, his ‘discovery’ of gravity and Miss Becky.
1 and 1/2 ounces apple brandy
1 ounce apple-cinnamon syrup (see note below)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 very thin slice of apple, for garnish
Add to an ice-filled cocktail shaker the syrup, lemon juice, brandy and bitters; shake like a madman then strain into a cocktail glass. Float the apple slice for garnish and go to it.
See the recipe for the apple cinnamon syrup via the Garden and Gun link above (basically apple cider reduced with a cinnamon stick).
Enjoy.
