Honey Apple Spiked Cider

Nothing says "holidays" like getting a little tipsy with family, am I right? So my first thoughts when I wanted to make a holiday cocktail were: must have apples, must have cinnamon, must be warm. Well after some more thinking (and experimenting, hehe), I decided I would like the option to have my drink served cold with some bubbles. So this recipe for my honey-whiskey cinnamon apple cider can be served warm or on the rocks topped off with ginger beer. Drink responsibly, have fun, & Happy Thanksgiving!

Honey Spiked Whiskey Cider

Serves ~ 4 warm + 8 cold

Ingredients

• 8 cups apple cider
• 1 bottle Honey whiskey (I used Honey Jack Daniels)
• 4 - 12 oz bottles Ginger beer
• 3 honeycrisp apples, cored and thinly sliced into rings
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon, divided
• 5 cinnamon sticks, plus one for each glass for garnish
• Ice

Directions

~ Always read through the ingredient list & do all of your cutting/chopping at the beginning -- it makes things much easier. For this recipe, that includes: apples. ~

1. Core and slice your apples.
2. Combine apple cider, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 5 cinnamon sticks, honey, and apples in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Combine sugar and remaining cinnamon on a small, shallow plate. On another small, shallow plate, pour a small amount of whiskey. Carefully dip the rims of the glasses into the whiskey, then spin them in the cinnamon sugar to coat the rims. Set aside.
4. If serving warm, pour 1 cup of the cider mixture into each of the rimmed glasses.
5. If serving cold, cool the cider mixture in the fridge for about an hour.* Once cooled, pour 1/2 cup of the mixture in each glass over ice and top off with 1/2 cup of ginger beer. **
6. Add a shot or 2 of whiskey, depending how strong you make your drinks. Mix with a cinnamon stick, add a few apple slices, and serve. Enjoy! ***

Tips
*  If you don't want to wait for it to cool in the fridge, you can pour it directly over the ice, just note that it will be much more watered down.
** I totally spaced and didn't put ice in my glass for the photos. I added ice afterwards and definitely prefer it with the ice!
*** How I like mine made: 1/2 cup cider mixture, 1/2 cup ginger beer, over ice, with 2 shots of whiskey :)