Apple Cider Old Fashioned

 A few weeks ago, I shared a new Apple Pie recipe.  

The recipe - surprisingly to me - called for no thickener to the filler (whhhhaaaat?!?) but instead called for straining out ¾ of the accumulated juices…again…whhhhaaaat?!?

I did as the recipe suggested and came out with a delicious pie.  And yet, I had those juices.  Delicious appley, cinnamony juice that I simply couldn’t part with.  So I put them in a jar in the refrigerator until I could figure out what to do.

So what to do with concentrated apple juice?  It felt a lot like simple syrup, which seemed like a great ingredient for a cocktail. I thought about making a martini, but I’ve been there done that with an Apple Pie Martini (complete with a pie crust twist!).

Then I read Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. Here’s my review:

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh the tragedy!

There are so many tragic events in this book, i becomes trite and boring. Young Florence was literally the only interesting character.

One positive - it pretty accurately captured small-town midwest

View all my reviews

Ok, not my favorite.  It kept my attention, but sheesh.  Drama.

Anyhow, Old Fashioned appeared many times in the book.  His recipe is by no means a traditional Old Fashioned.  The biggest swap is swapping the traditional whiskey or bourbon for spiced rum.  I made this choice since I love spiced rum with apple cider.  For a more traditional old fashioned, use bourbon.

Recipe Note:

-For the apple syrup, I used the juices that I strained out after making the filling to this apple pie (I couldn’t stand to discard them!)

-If you don’t have apple pie juices, make an apple syrup by combining 1 cup apple cider (or juice) with ½ cup brown sugar and 1 cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved.  Cool to room temperature.  Remove the cinnamon stick and use in recipes.

Apple Cider Old Fashioned

Adapted from Mitten Girl

2 ounces spiced rum

1 ½ ounces apple syrup (see note)

½ ounce orange juice

Dash of orange bitters

Ice

2-inch piece of orange zest

Place the rum, apple syrup, orange juice, and bitters in a mixing glass and stir.

Strain the mixture into an ice-filled glass. Twist the orange zest over the drink and serve.