I decided I needed to get on the apple cider train earlier rather than later this year. I’ve been very intrigued with the idea of making sangria with something other than wine – like hard cider. We also had a bag of apples that needed to get used up and I just didn’t have time this week to be creative. Apple cider sangria was clearly the answer.
I’m also moderately obsessed with Wild Turkey’s American Honey Whiskey. I’m not sure how I ended up with this in the liquor cabinet but I’m thinking it was because I needed it for a recipe for barbecue sauce this summer and all the other whiskeys were more expensive than I was willing to pay. Or I hadn’t had coffee yet, started making crockpot barbecued ribs and realized I didn’t have any whiskey and this is what I ended up grabbing at the liquor store. If the latter is the case, the moral of that story is either to always check your recipe before you do your week’s shopping or never buy booze first thing in the morning. Whatever the story is, I really like this whiskey – it’s sweet, making it completely unnecessary to add a sweetener to any drink it’s used in. It also has that smokey whiskey bite that I’m a fan of.
Back to the sangria – I used a hard cider that had a hint of ginger in it, which was a nice touch for this apple cider sangria. Serve this with a hearty stew or a dish with wild mushrooms and watch the leaves fall.
Apple Cider Sangria
Serves 4
1 bottle hard cider
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup honey whiskey or similar
2 apples, sliced into 8 slices each
Combine all the ingredients in a carafe or pitcher. Refrigerate for at least two hours to let the flavor fully develop. Enjoy!
