These refreshing bourbon cocktails are made with sweet and tart honeycrisp apples and comforting maple syrup… they’re the perfect Fall cocktail!
Get ready to take a big sip of Fall! These maple honeycrisp bourbon cocktails are incredibly refreshing and a great mix of sweet with a bit of tart.
Now that schools are back in session, and September is a couple of weeks away, I’m starting to get excited about Fall!
I know Fall is unofficially pumpkin season, but I prefer to think of it as the apple season. Apples and apple cider are so versatile, and with so many varieties of apples to choose from, the possibilities are endless! In this house, our favorite apple is the honeycrisp. Have you had one? They are SO sweet, and like their name denotes, very crisp.
If you can’t get your hands on any of the honeycrisp variety, you could substitute with your favorite snacking apple… like a fugi, gala, etc.
I originally found this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine, but when I made it as written there, it was a bit on the tart side. To keep the cocktail “light” they didn’t use any additional sugar, just the small bit of maple syrup. So I’ll include that version in the recipe notes section (just below the recipe itself), in case you want to keep your drink lower in calories… but I made some tweaks that made it taste so smooth and lightly sweet… I think you won’t mind the few extra calories 😉
The first thing I did was add a bit more apple cider, which if you get the chance, try to go for the unfiltered fresh cider… but honestly any cider will do just fine. It adds an extra punch of apple flavor, plus some sweetness. I also added touch more maple syrup, to balance out the stronger apple flavor. Lastly, I added just a bit of granulated sugar. It’s not much, but I think it helps make the drink a smooth combo of sweet with some tartness, and not mostly tart.
CAN THIS BOURBON COCKTAIL BE MADE NON-ALCOHOLIC
Yep! Sometimes we don’t want a spiked drink, or we’re having a party where there will be a lot of kiddos, so there’s 2 easy ways to make this a “mocktail”.
- Substitute the bourbon for an equivalent amount of ginger ale
- Substitute the bourbon for an equivalent amount of club soda
I think these bourbon cocktails would be perfect on Thanksgiving, or any other Fall party… but they’re also nice and refreshing if your area of the world is dealing with some unseasonably warm weather! I know here in the Midwest, we routinely have weather in the high 80’s well into Fall.
So go on, whip up a batch and pour yourself a glass… you deserve it!!
HELPFUL TOOLS:
- Blender – I have many blenders, but I really like this one the best!
- Stemless wine glasses – With kids around, stemless glasses feel less prone to being knocked over!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 medium honeycrisp apples, sliced (gala or fuji work as well)
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup apple cider (fresh is best)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 - 2 tsp granulated or superfine sugar
- 2/3 cup bourbon (approximately 5 oz)
- additional honeycrisp apple slices, for garnish
- fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Add apples, water, cider, lemon juice, maple syrup and sugar to a blender and process about a minute, or until smooth.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over the top of a pitcher and pour blender mixture through the sieve, pressing with a rubber spatula to remove all liquid down into the pitcher. Discard solids.
- Stir in bourbon and chill for an hour or two. Serve over ice, and garnished with apple slices and fresh thyme sprigs.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
Non-alcoholic version:
- Replace bourbon with equivalent amount of ginger ale or club soda
Lower calorie version (from cooking light):
- decrease apple cider down to 1/2 cup
- decrease maple syrup down to 1 1/2 Tbsp
- omit sugar
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Tristan says
Looking forward to trying this. Can I make it like 48 hours ahead of time, refrigerate, and then mix in the alcohol or ginger ale later?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, you can definitely do that 🙂
Mrs D. Garcia says
Definitely delicious cocktail. Easy to make, made two batches, chilled for 2 hours. Served over ice, delightful.
LINDA MANZA says
DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE ONLY ONE DRINK?
CAN THIS BE MADE FOR A PITCHER OF DRINKS AHEAD OF TIME?
The Chunky Chef says
As listed in the recipe, it makes 4 drinks, approximately 8oz per drink. But yes, you can make this in a larger batch if you’d like.
Cheryl Smith says
Does this make one drink?
The Chunky Chef says
It makes approximately 4 cups.
Jessica | The Novice Chef says
This will be perfect for fall!
Jenny Bullistron says
I love love love apples & bourbon together! This will be the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving cocktail tray this year.
Jamielyn says
This looks like fall in a cup!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
Healthy and yummy! Love this for summer! Hot summer day perfection.
Delaney | Melanie Makes says
This makes me so excited for fall!
Demeter says
This is the perfect way to celebrate being VERY close to fall. I’m so ready! Cheers!
Lee Caviness says
Would a cinnamon stick ruin the flavors??
The Chunky Chef says
Not at all 🙂