Bourbon Apple Cider Old Fashioned

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This festive bourbon apple cider old-fashioned is a delicious way to celebrate fall, Thanksgiving, and the Holidays! It's made with bourbon, spiced apple cider, and homemade rosemary cinnamon syrup. It's warm, refreshing, and full of fall apple cider flavor!

This apple cider bourbon cocktail is easy and has all the best flavors of fall! Use your favorite apple cider, rim the glass with brown sugar, garnish with apples and let the fall festivities begin!

Overhead shot of an apple cider old fashioned garnished with 3 slices of apples, cranberries, cinnamon and rosemary.

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Why this recipe works:
Key Ingredients
How to make this recipe:
Substitutions:
FAQ
Looking for more Fall recipes? Check these out!
Bourbon Apple Cider Old Fashioned

Why this recipe works:

This is the perfect cocktail for festive fall occasions! I love apple cider and try to utilize its flavor in a lot of recipes all season long, and this old fashioned is a classic.

The cinnamon rosemary simple syrup adds subtle flavor and depth to the bourbon and cider and really transforms it into a well-rounded cocktail. The flavors make it the perfect drink to celebrate Fall, Thanksgiving, or Christmas!

This Kentucky Mule with Maple Ginger Syrup and Sparkling Fall Thanksgiving Margarita are a few other cocktails perfect for the fall season.

The ingredients for the old fashioned on a red table.

Key Ingredients

Bourbon: This is a bourbon-based cocktail, and the bourbon flavor comes through, so using a top-shelf and high-quality bourbon is key to a delicious-tasting drink. You can use any bourbon you like! I used Woodford Reserve for this recipe, but Old Forester 1910, Willett, or Angels Envy would also be good with these flavors.

Rosemary Cinnamon Syrup: This is an easy, simple syrup made from sugar, cinnamon sticks, and fresh rosemary.

Spiced Apple Cider: the bulk of this recipe is apple cider so use your favorite! My go-to is the Trader Joe's spiced cider.

How to make this recipe:

Saucepan with prepared syrup and with cinnamon sticks and rosemary.

Start by making the syrup. Combine the water, sugar, rosemary, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and Cook it on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

An old fashioned glass rimmed with brown sugar with a large ice cube in the center.

Add ½ oz of the syrup to a brown sugar-rimmed glass with ice.

Bourbon has been added to the same glass.

Then add 1 ½ oz of bourbon.

Apple cider and garnishes of sliced apples, cranberries, and rosemary have been added to the glass.

And then, top with apple cider, and garnish with apple slices and a cinnamon stick.

Tip: dip the glasses in a bit of the syrup, then roll the edges in brown sugar for a secure and longer-lasting sugar rim.

Substitutions:

You could also rim the glass in cinnamon sugar.
You could easily switch out the simple homemade syrup for store-bought cinnamon syrup.

FAQ

What makes an Old Fashioned?

An Old Fashioned is traditionally made by muddling sugar and bitters together and then adding bourbon and garnishing with an orange slice and a cocktail cherry. This apple cider version omits the orange and cherry for cider.

What bourbon is best for this recipe?

Woodford Reserve, Willet Pot Still, Angels Envy, and Four Roses Small Batch are all great options.

How long will the simple syrup last and how many cocktails will it make?

The syrup will last up to 2 weeks refridgerated in a sealed container and will make about 8-10 cocktails.

Looking for more Fall recipes? Check these out!