This imagined Julep is one I think could have existed in the 1860s in New England, where October brings Concord grapes, and sage and apples are abundant.

Adapted from Jerry Thomas’s 1862 Fancy Brandy Cocktail recipe, this variation on an Old-Fashioned puts boiled cider in the role of sweetener, which lends a certain dimension to the whole.

Even back in the 1860s, not all drinks were simply iterations on the major templates --- there were one-offs, too. This liqueur-laced sour is inspired by a Jerry Thomas original called the Knickerbocker, wherein we swap out rum and raspberry syrup in favor of autumnal apple brandy and Concord grenadine.

Essentially a single-serving sparkling punch, our Daisy honors the apple harvest with apple brandy, boiled cider and dry fizzy cider on top.