What We’re Pouring: Apple Cider Bourbon Sour

There’s a very short window every year when I actually want my cocktails to taste like fall. This is what I’m making during it.

Our Apple Cider Bourbon Sour has everything I want in a seasonal cocktail: bourbon, fresh apple cider, a little maple and enough lemon to keep it from getting too sweet. The cinnamon-sugar rim makes it feel special without turning it into dessert.

Apple Cider Bourbon Sour

You’ll need:

• 2 oz bourbon

• 2 oz apple cider

• ½ oz fresh lemon juice

• ¼ oz maple syrup

• Cinnamon sugar, for the rim

• Thin apple slice, for garnish

To make it:

Run a lemon wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, then dip the rim into cinnamon sugar.

Add the bourbon, apple cider, lemon juice and maple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain over fresh ice.

Finish with a thin apple slice.

The Glass

A rocks glass is an easy choice here. There’s enough room for fresh ice and the apple garnish, while the shorter silhouette keeps the cinnamon-sugar rim close enough that you actually get a little with each sip.

It’s also exactly the kind of cocktail that looks better in a glass with some weight to it. Cozy, but still polished.

One small hosting detail: If you’re making these for a group, rim the glasses and slice the apples before everyone arrives. Then all you have to do is shake, pour and actually enjoy your own cocktail.

About Crystal Imagery

Crystal Imagery creates deeply sandcarved glassware designed to make even a simple pour feel a little more considered. Each design is carved directly into the glass, creating visible depth and texture rather than sitting on the surface.

For this recipe, we used one of our engraved rocks glasses, a year-round glass that happens to look particularly good with bourbon in it.