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Prep time
5 minutes
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Cook time
15 minutes
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Serves
2
Author Notes
Here, we’re making two holiday cocktails to pair with my holiday cheese ball. Both of these cocktails have syrups because I love flavored syrups.
Because it's holiday season and I love apple pie, the first cocktail we are going to make is an Apple Pie Spice Mojito which obviously means that our syrup is going to be flavored with everything that's in an apple pie—with the exception of the butter. The apple pairs so nicely with the bourbon, you get a really subtle sweet apple pie, then the spicy flavors and then the lime cuts through everything to remind you that you're drinking a cocktail and not eating a slice of apple pie.
Because I'm a fan of sparkly, glittery things, the second cocktail is a Ginger Cranberry Sparkler, which means that the syrup is going to have fresh ginger. Fun fact: you don't have to peel ginger; I don’t. I don't know who started that rumor, but it's completely not true. You're not going to get any off-flavors so no need to pull out a peeler and get that dirty. The weight of the ginger and the Prosecco play with each other. You get a little bit of spiciness from the syrup, and then you get that like the bubbly effervescent burn from the Prosecco, the cranberries are just more of a back note, because the citrus is so incredibly delicious.
Tip: when you’re shaking up your cocktails, you want to take about 20 seconds. It’s the optimal time to dilute the cocktail and also to make sure everything is ice cold. You don’t even have to time it; just when your hands start to hurt because the glass is super cold that means it is time.
—Rick Martinez
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Holiday-Spiced Cocktails, Two Ways
Ingredients
- Apple Pie Spice Mojito
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Apple Pie Syrup (yield: 1 cup)
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3/4 cup
granulated sugar
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1
3" cinnamon stick
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5
whole allspice berries
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2
whole cloves
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1
chopped apple of your favorite variety
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Mojito
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1 1/2 ounces
apple cider
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1 1/2 ounces
dark rum
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1 ounce
apple pie syrup
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1/2 ounce
fresh lime juice
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3
mint sprigs, plus more for serving
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apple slices, for garnish
- Ginger Cranberry Sparkler
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Spicy Ginger Syrup (yield: 1 cup)
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3/4 cup
granulated sugar
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1
3" piece fresh ginger, chopped
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3
chiles de árbol
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Ginger Cranberry Sparkler
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4 ounces
tequila añejo, rye whiskey, or bourbon
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2 ounces
orange juice
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2 ounces
cranberry juice
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1 ounce
spicy ginger syrup
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4 ounces
chilled prosecco
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orange slices and cranberries, for garnish
Directions
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Make the apple pie syrup: Bring sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes; let cool. Strain spiced syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring glass; discard spices.
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Make the Apple Pie Mojito: Fill a shaker with ice and add cider, rum, syrup, lime juice and mint. Shake for 20 seconds and strain into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with the mint sprig and apple slices.
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Make the ginger syrup: Bring sugar, ginger, chiles and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes; let cool. Strain spiced syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring glass; discard spices.
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Ginger Cranberry Sparkler:Fill a shaker with ice and add tequila, orange juice, cranberry juice and syrup. Shake for 20 seconds and strain into an ice filled highball glass. Top with prosecco and garnish with orange slices and cranberries.
Rick Martinez is currently living his dream—cooking, eating and enjoying the Mexican Pacific coast in Mazatlán. He is finishing his first cookbook, Under the Papaya Tree, food from the seven regions of Mexico and loved traveling the country so much, he decided to buy a house on the beach. He is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit, New York Times and hosts live, weekly cooking classes for Food Network Kitchens. Earlier this year, he was nominated for a James Beard Award for “How to win the Cookie Swap” in Bon Appétit’s holiday issue.
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