Holiday Spiced Honeycrisp Apple Cocktail

Honeycrisp apples combine with a holiday spiced simple syrup and bourbon for the perfect holiday apple cocktail. Don’t forget the cinnamon sugar rim!

Oh man, I have a serious case of jet lag. But I promise I’m not complaining because I just spent a glorious 12 days in Hawaii and I have zero right to complain about anything right now. My vacation involved sun and food and pools and beaches and cocktails and books and hikes and adventure. Basically, all you could want in life.

And now I’m home and this week is Thanksgiving and I have NO idea how that happened since I’ve been off gallivanting in the sun with no indication that the holidays are here. But they’re here!!

In an effort to force myself into the holiday spirit as efficiently as possible, I’m cranking up the Christmas music and getting my holiday cooking and baking on this week. Also, doing ridiculous amounts of laundry. And snuggling with my dog (I missed her a ridiculous amount!). And trying desperately to stay awake all day so I can go to bed at a normal time and get back in the Mainland East Coast timezone.

Probably the last thing I need is a cocktail since I had about a million of them on vacation and having one right now would put me to sleep in an instant. But even if I’m not sipping on this Holiday Spiced Honeycrisp Apple Cocktail, I do know that having this holiday spiced simple syrup simmering away on  my stove will make my house smell deliciously like the holidays and will have me in the spirit in an instant.

And hopefully by Thursday, I’ll be ready for another drink or two because these would be the absolute perfect Thanksgiving cocktail!

HOLIDAY SPICED HONEYCRISP APPLE COCKTAIL RECIPE

This apple cocktail recipe is pretty easy and consists of making a simple syrup and an apple puree before shaking up with some bourbon and pouring into a glass.

First, can we talk about the glory that is honeycrisp apples? Are they not the most delicious apples in the universe? I’m a longtime macintosh lover, but have been buying more honeycrisp apples this fall. Of course, if you can’t find honecrisp apples (boo!), you can really use any type for this cocktail. It will still be delicious!

If you’ve never made simple syrup before, I promise that it’s super easy! This one is simply brown sugar, water, and some holiday spices. You bring to a boil in a saucepan and then let simmer until the syrup thickens. Store it in a mason jar or other container in the fridge.

This holiday spiced simple syrup is my everything. If you’re not an alcohol drinker (or are just in need of a detox, like me), you can certainly add this syrup to soda water. I think it would be awesome swirled into oatmeal or yogurt, too!

For the apple puree, you’ll combine apple slices and water in a blender and then push through a strainer to get out as much liquid as you can. The first time I made this drink, I didn’t strain the puree, but once I put it in the fridge it thickened up a lot, so I recommend straining it. After rimming your glasses in cinnamon and sugar, shake together simple syrup, apple puree, and bourbon with ice and then pour into glasses.

Garnish your apple cocktails however you choose, but I especially recommend cinnamon apple chips and star anise. If you are making your own apple chips with a mandoline, I recommend being extremely careful since apples can be a little awkward. Yes, I’m speaking from experience and no, you don’t want to hear any more details about this. Just trust me.

You can also use any type of glass you have on hand, but I think this apple cocktail is best served in a coup glass; these are the glasses (affiliate link) I have if you’re looking for some good budget-friendly ones.

This is a cocktail I’ll certainly be sipping all holiday season long. When it comes to bourbon cocktails, I only need one to be happy. If bourbon isn’t for you (it’s not everyone’s favorite!), this apple cocktail would also be delicious made with vodka.

There’s certainly nothing complicated about this apple cocktail, though you can make it sound all kinds of fancy by bragging that you made your own apple juice/puree and slaved over a spiced simple syrup.

If you serve it on Thanksgiving or Christmas, your guests will be seriously impressed that you had the time to pull it together. But really, you can make the puree and syrup in advance and just have everything ready to go for your guests’ arrivals.

On second thought, perhaps I need one of these honeycrisp apple cocktails this evening, so I can fall asleep at 11:00 p.m. instead of laying in bed feeling like it’s 6:00 p.m. (and wondering why it’s so freaking cold) and can power through my crazy to-do list the rest of the week.

I can’t wait to share my Hawaii adventures with you and will be sharing a post on the Big Island and a post on Maui in the coming weeks. But for now, I really need to get my head off the islands and into New England during the holidays. Here we go.

Are you feeling the holiday spirit yet?

For more delicious and festive holiday cocktails, check out my Hot Spiced Cranberry Cocktail and my Cranberry Pomegranate Sparklers. I also can’t wait to try these Peppermint Pina Coladas from The Blond Cook!