Move over, Champagne — make way for cider cocktails this New Year’s Eve! To help us in this campaign, we enlisted the cider-happy forces of Blake’s Hard Cider in Armada, Michigan, to shake and swizzle up a few house-made tipples in the name of cider.
“As New Year’s Eve approaches and everyone is coming off of Thanksgiving and Christmas indulgences, we find these cider cocktails to be practical, festive, and most importantly, mindful,” says Chelsea Iadipaolo, Blake’s director of marketing. “The inspiration for these two cocktails was to showcase their fruit-forward profiles without masking what makes them so unique.”
In the Triple Punch, the Blake’s crew created a cocktail for a crowd that was easy to make with ingredients you likely have around the house. Iadipaolo says what she loves about this drink its ability to swap out the vodka for orange juice and still offer NYE party guests a flavorful and sessionable option.
In Fit for Frost, the team was striving for a low-sugar, low-calorie cocktail for anyone wanting to start the New Year off on the right, healthy foot — this cocktail has only 3 grams of sugar. “Mindful consumption is something the staff at Blake’s has been paying more attention to over the years,” Iadipaolo says. “Mixing any cocktails with a [light] cider means you’re enjoying a zero-to-low sugar option, and that always feels better on the body the next day.”
Triple Punch
Serves 6
5 (12oz) cans Blake’s Hard Cider Triple Jam Berry
5 ounces of cranberry vodka
4 ounces Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liquor (optional)
Garnish: six lime slices
In a large serving vessel, pour in all ingredients and stir to combine. Serve lime slices on the side as an optional garnish.
Fit for Frost
Makes 1 cocktail
4 ounces Blake’s Lite Cider (Apple or Mixed Berry)
1 ounce unflavored vodka
½ ounce Blue Curacao
In a mixing tin, combine all ingredients, stir and pour into a coupe or martini glass to enjoy.
