The Story Behind The Apple Cider Bourbon Sour

Even though The New York Times argued this weekend that summer lasts for another month, for most people – including myself – Fall is definitely in the air post Labor Day, and that means it’s time to celebrate our seasonal transition with a strong drink.

I love when the weather is crisp and just starting to turn, making it the perfect time to celebrate fall’s flavors. To start the season off right, I like incorporating a few of my favorite things – apple cider and bourbon. And what better way to incorporate these two ingredients than by making a spin on the classic Whiskey Sour.

Cider seems to have exploded in popularity over the last few years, giving you many different varieties to choose from. I ultimately landed on a honeycrisp (nonalcoholic) cider that I found at Trader Joe’s, which has proven to be the perfect accompaniment to this cocktail. In addition to cider, this cocktail has bourbon, lemon juice, a little bit of agave nectar, and an egg white. The egg white is really optional. I love the flavor and texture that the egg white gives the cocktail, but when I first started making cocktails with egg whites I was really intimidated. It seemed like it would be very hard to make a drink with such froth, and an uncooked egg white just seemed weird. But after a couple of trials the egg white has become one of my staple ingredients, because it is actually a very easy technique to master. So don’t be intimidated.

Start shaking into fall with this Apple Cider Bourbon Sour. It will definitely help you ease into the changing weather.

Ingredients

1.5 ounces of bourbon
½ lemon, juiced
2 ounces of apple cider
1 teaspoon of agave nectar (sweetness may need to be adjusted based on the sweetness of the cider)
1 egg white
1 cup of ice

Directions

Fill a shaker with bourbon, lemon juice, apple cider, agave nectar, and egg white, then shake for 20 seconds.
Add ice and shake mixture again until it is mixed and chilled – the shaker should feel cold in your hand.
Strain cocktail into serving glass and garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon.