This Apple Butter Old Fashioned is a delicious and seasonal twist on the classic cocktail. Apple butter and cider additions make this already perfect cocktail even better.
Call Me Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned cocktail is a traditional cocktail that has been around for 140 years. Combining whiskey, bitters, sugar, and water, this drink’s distinct garnish of either an orange slice or peel and a maraschino cherry make it recognizable to cocktail lovers.
Making An Apple Butter Old Fashioned
While the classic recipe calls for sugar, my version substitutes apple butter and apple cider to lend a seasonal and modern sweetness. All other classic components are included, which results in a sweet sipper to enjoy before or after a big meal.
What Is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a concentrated and robustly flavored version of apple sauce. It’s much darker in color than apple sauce, and has a distinct spiciness to it. Apple butter is something that reminds me of my childhood, when I would often enjoy it smeared over saltine crackers.
Using this ingredient in a more “grown up” way has been something I’ve wanted to do for some time. Using it in an Old Fashioned was a no brainer, especially in the Fall when apple is all the rage.
Using Apple Butter In An Old Fashioned
Apple butter is rather thick, so you only need to use a small amount in one cocktail. I suggest starting with 1-2 teaspoons, and increasing from there. You’ll be shaking the cocktail mixture before straining it, which will combine the apple butter in to the drink, but note that this still make the drink thicker than the classic Old Fashioned.
Apple cider is also added in a conservative amount, knowing that it is already so sweet. That said, you won’t need to add any additional sugar!
Apple Butter Old Fashioneds For All!
This modern take on the already well-loved classic is sure to impress. Serve these at your next gathering: they make a fabulous pre-dinner cocktail! Enjoy!
Apple Butter Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 tsp apple butter
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1 oz apple cider
- 2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Orange twist, for garnish
- Apple slice, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine apple butter, bourbon, apple cider, and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Shake without ice, to combine ingredients.
- Strain in to a low ball glass filled with ice. Garnish with orange twist and apple slice.