Ever wondered why spicy cider cocktails hit the sweet spot just right? Cider and a spicy agents such as peppers, hot sauce or spice powders come together to create a complex, sweet-tart-spicy drink. The spice in these cocktails isn’t there to burn your tongue. No way. It’s there to elevate the natural sweetness of the cider. With a taste that goes beyond the ordinary, no wonder that spicy cider cocktails are stealing the show.
Ready for a spicy cider cocktail but don’t know where to begin? Fret not, we spoke to our favorite cider maestros and got them to share four unique concoctions.
Hotel Charlie
Recreated by Chelsea Anderson of Finnriver Farm & Cidery and inspired by the Hot Charlotte cocktail by the late American bartender, Murray Stenson
Makes >> 1 cocktail
Ingredients
2 slices cucumber
1½ ounces gin
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce elderflower liqueur
3-4 ounce Finnriver Habanero Cider
Garnish
Cucumber slice (optional)
Directions
Place cucumber slices at the bottom of a cocktail shaker and lightly muddle. Add the gin, lemon, and elderflower liqueur. Top with ice and shake. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, top with Habanero cider and stir. Optional garnish with cucumber slice.
Spicy Guavarita
Recipe by Christine Bauman of Bauman’s Cider Co.
Makes >> 1 cocktail
Ingredients
8 ounces Bauman’s Cider Guava Grapefruit
½ ounce Simple Jalapeńo Syrup (recipe follows)
Juice of ¼ lime
Tajin Clasico Seasoning
Directions
Rim a rocks or margarita glass with Tajin. Mix ingredients into a shaker or pint glass with ice, stir and pour into glass.
Simple Jalapeño Syrup
Put equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and let cool. Once cooled, place one sliced jalapeno in the simple syrup and refrigerate for one day. Remove the jalapeño and store in the fridge.
The Spice Trade
Created by Tim Edwards at Todo Portland
Makes >> 1 cocktail
Ingredients
4 ounces La Familia Guayaba cider
1 ounce brandy
½ ounce Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
¼ ounce Velvet Falernum
¼ ounce lemon juice
Garnish
Lemon wheel
Directions
Mix all liquors with lemon juice in a pint glass or shaker and stir. Pour over ice and top with cider, then stir again. Serve in a chimney or Collins glass and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Mekong Melody
Originally published in Cider Cocktails – Another Bite of the Apple by Darlene Hayes
Makes >> 1 Cocktail
Ingredients
8-10 fresh Thai basil leaves
1 makrut lime leaf
1½ ounces dark rum
¾ teaspoon simple syrup
Juice of ¼ lime
⅛ teaspoon fish sauce
6 ounces pepper cider of your choice
Directions
Muddle the leaves in a cocktail shaker, then add a handful of ice plus the next four ingredients. Shake well, strain over ice, then stir in the cider.
