Hot Apple Toddy
This drink is another that was emblematic of American culture in the days of the early Republic but has since been forgotten. Popular in winter, as they were traditionally served hot, Apple Toddy recipes, including the one in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 book, typically call for mixing apple brandy with hot water and baked apple, and topped with nutmeg. Our version is a little more complex, with notes of cranberry, vanilla, spices, and ginger.
INGREDIENTS
1½ oz. apple brandy
½ oz. spiced rum
½ oz. ginger-molasses syrup
½ oz. cranberry shrub
2 oz. hot apple cider
3 oz. hot water
Garnish: freshly grated cinnamon
ABV LEVEL
Boil water and set some apple cider to heat. Heat your mug/teacup. In another vessel (such as a double rocks glass), pour a few ounces of hot water. Now combine spirits, syrup, and shrub in a metal cup, such as a small shaker tin. Carefully place the tin into the rocks glass of hot water. When cider is heated, toss out the warming water from your tea cup/mug. Pour in the warmed spirits mixture and the hot apple cider. Add hot water and stir to combine. Garnish with freshly grated cinnamon.