Our cocktail today is inspired by the carol, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, a hymn that Drew often used to sing in his university choir. There are two origin stories of this carol. One - that it references the apple tree in Song of Solomon which is often interpreted as a metaphor for Christ "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." The second - that it comes from an attempt to Christianize several English winter season songs that were often used in wassailing the apple orchards.
We like the second origin story better.
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Cocktail
1/2 an apple (a good crisp fall apple - we used a Pink Lady)
1 part bourbon (you want something smooth - we used Trace - we tried Maker's Mark, but it was too fiery)
1 park calvados (we used Père Magloire)
1 part Sortilège (a Canadian whiskey & maple syrup liqueur)
1 dash Apothecary's General Ambrose's Bitters
fresh egg
ice
random cool glass
- Coarsely chop apple into shaker. Muddle it.
- Add alcohol to shaker. Shake to combine. No ice.
- Strain it.
- In a clean shaker, add the strained liquid and the egg - no ice.
- Dry shake for a good long while (listen for a change in viscosity). Once you hear that, add the ice in and continue to shake.
- Since this is a flip, it will probably take longer to shake than you think it will.
Cocktail Notes
When you're making a lot of cocktails there's always one that turns out to be your white whale. It just doesn't usually happen this early in the process. Turns out apple is a tricky flavour profile. At one point we thought, to hell with this, let's just make a Sour Puss Green Apple Martini. But we persevered.
First draft: brandy, Apfelkorn and Giffard's Ginger of the Indies. Hmm .. that base ain't right. Is it the ginger? Must be the ginger - ditch the ginger. (Spoiler alert: it wasn't the ginger).
Second draft: brandy and Apfelkorn. We need a bitter element. We tried Fernet Branca (No! HELL no!!); Dubonnet (No - tastes like spoiled vegetables); Suze (better, but you lose the apple so what's the point); B&B (no, terrible).
Third draft: bourbon (we used Trace), calvados and Apfelkorn. OK, pretty good base - moving to bourbon was a good idea. Needs some sweet. B&B (no); Tuaca (no).
ARGH!
Here's where Drew says "Eff it. I'm muddling an apple."
Fourth draft: Muddled apple, bourbon (again, the Trace - it is really smooth), calvados (this is so nice and subtle) and Sortilège (maple to the rescue!). OK, this is a great base. Ditching the Appelkorn was a good idea. Let's finish it with some bitters: Apothecary Smokey Pear (Drew's preference - works well); Apothecary Latin Lime (Kate's preference - brings out the right apple notes); Apothecary General Ambrose (the one we can agree on).
And that's how you concoct a cocktail.
Oh, if you don't want to muddle an apple, you can try plain fresh apple juice. We did in a 1 part ratio. It was not as apple-y. Fresh ingredients are better, kids. It might taste OK with a double part of apple juice.
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