Apple Crush

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Cocktail History

The Apple Crush is an autumn cocktail that was created by bar manager and author Nick Mautone and was first published in his book The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails. The recipe pairs many of the go-to flavors of the season, such as apple, maple, and cinnamon, with the potency of brandy and vodka and the tartness of lemon to make a delightful punch.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Apple Brandy: This is a type of brandy made with fermented apple juice and yeast, which is distilled and aged to develop a smooth, fruity flavor.

Vodka: This is a spirit made with fermented grains or potatoes and water, which are distilled and then filtered to develop a clean, neutral flavor.

Apple Cider: This is a beverage made with fresh-pressed apple juice that’s typically unfiltered to produce a sweet, slightly tangy fruit flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water, which are heated into a syrup with a sweet flavor.

Maple Sugar: This is a sugar made with the sap from a maple tree.

Apple: This is a type of fruit grown on apple trees that has smooth red, green, or yellow skin and a mild, sweet to tart flavor.

Cinnamon Stick: This is a spice made from dried and rolled bark of the cinnamon tree that has a warm, sweet-spicy flavor.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Apple Corer: This is used to core and slice apples. I used the OXO Good Grips Apple Corer, Slicer, & Divider.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Ziploc Bag: This is used to hold the apple cubes. I used a Ziploc Snack Bag.

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Orange-brown color

• Aroma: Maple, cinnamon, and apple

• Taste: Bright and tart apple flavor mixed with sugary maple, tangy citrus, and spices

• Finish: Slight brandy burn and more apple

Kendall’s Take: “This was the first apple-flavored fall cocktail I ever tried, and I still absolutely love it. The recipe in the book was a little too lemon-y, so I did adjust the specifications a bit to make the Apple Crush more palatable. Now I’d say it perfectly encapsulates that feeling of snuggling after a long day of apple-picking while a crisp breeze softly blows in the smell of a bonfire all wrapped in a cup. It’s also quite boozy, which I liked, but be careful how many you have in quick succession.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails by Nick Mautone.