Weeknight Wassail

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Cocktail History

The Weeknight Wassail is a winter cocktail that was created by the editors of PUNCH and was first published in their book Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails. A term that evolved over hundreds of years from an Old Norse phrase meaning “to good health,” the wassail is now known as a mulled cider punch that is served hot usually around the holidays. This weeknight version, made with apple brandy, sherry, cider, and baking spices, is named as such because it’s both easy to make and low proof enough to be an acceptable drink for a school night.

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.

Oloroso Sherry: This is a type of sherry made with white grapes, water, and yeast, which are fermented, fortified with brandy, and then aged oxidatively without flor yeast to develop a full-bodied, nutty 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.

Brown Sugar: This is a sweetener made with refined sugar and molasses that has a soft, moist texture and rich, caramel-like flavor.

Whole Cloves: This is a spice made from the flower buds from the clove tree, which are dried for their strong, slightly sweet-spicy flavor.

Whole Allspice Berries: This is a spice made from the berries from the allspice tree, which are dried for their warm, spiced flavor.

Ginger: The is a root that is used as a spice. I used fresh ginger.

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

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.

Bartending Tools

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

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

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

Saucepan: This is used to warm the ingredients. I used the Cuisinart 3-Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Cover.

Spoon: This is used to stir the ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spoon.

Fine Mesh Strainer: This is used to remove solid ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Warm brown color

• Aroma: Apple and cinnamon

• Taste: Sharp spiced apple-forward flavor with hints of ginger, mulling spices, and spirits

• Finish: Medium-dry sherry and more spices

Kendall’s Take: “I don’t usually go for hot beverages when given the choice, but this one is now on my list of batch cocktails that would be great for gatherings with friends. I tried to pare this one down to two servings, which ended up making the taste quite a bit more spiced than it likely would’ve been if we made ten. It was still delicious, just a little heavy on the ginger burn, in my opinion. The sherry does a great job of muting the apple just enough to make it a unique take on an apple cider. The Weeknight Wassail is definitely worth a try at a fall or wintertime get-together!”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails by the editors of PUNCH.