Your New Favorite “Fall in a Glass” Cocktail
My girlfriends and I had brunch last week, and I brought my entire bar in a shopping bag to our hostess’s house. No joke. I had so many bottles that I needed a stroller to transport all of it to my car (which has to be parked two blocks away from my house for the next two weeks due to ongoing road construction, hence needing a cocktail, but that’s another story).
What I really wanted them to try was a cocktail I concocted to replicate something delicious I had overindulged in one of my most recent date nights.
When your group of mom friends hasn’t seen each other in well over a month, the conversation flows — and so does the booze. This spiced cider martini met everyone’s approval (almost), and we nicknamed it “fall in a glass.” (If you’re not a fan of spice or fall flavors, you might want to pass on this one; to much laughter, another friend noted that it tasted “like a fall candle.”)
But if you’re Team Autumn like I am and love all things cozy, spiced and sweet, get your simple syrup ingredients simmering on the stovetop. Your whole house will smell like a fall candle, but better. Then have your cocktail shaker at the ready and invite your best girlfriends over to gossip, laugh, and complain about your husbands and kids. This drink — or really any drink — goes perfectly with that.
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Pomegranate-Cider Martini with Spiced Orange Syrup
Spiced Orange Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- The peels of 2 clementines or 1 orange (approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peel)
Instructions
1. Add sugar, water, and all spices to a small pot on the stovetop over medium heat.
2. Stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, bring the mixture to a rolling boil and add the citrus peels.
3. Cover pot and boil for 7 minutes over medium heat.
4. Remove from heat and strain through mesh colander or coffee filter.
5. Cool simple syrup and store in sealed container (a mason jar works best) for up to two weeks in the fridge.
Spiced Cider Martini
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz vodka
- 1.5 oz pomegranate juice
- 0.75 oz lemon juice
- 3 oz. apple cider (Whole Foods Ginger Apple Cider is perfect!)
- 1 Tbsp Spiced Orange Simple Syrup
- 1/4 tsp Angostura Orange Bitters (add additional to taste after shaking)
- Cinnamon stick and orange peel for garnish
- Cinnamon-sugar to rim martini glass
1. Prepare martini glass by rimming with cinnamon-sugar.
2. Add ice, vodka, pomegranate and lemon juices, apple cider, Spiced Orange Simple Syrup, and orange bitters to cocktail shaker.
3. Shake well and pour into martini glass.
4. Garnish with cinnamon stick and orange peel.
Cheers to fall, friends, and Sunday brunch! Share your favorite fall flavor in a comment below or on social media with #NeverDoneWithFun!
