Hard Cider Cocktails

Last night I made two cocktails with DeMunck’s Hard Cider.

The first was a recipe I found online here through Liquor.com’s DrinkWire.

The article was a list of cider cocktails to make this fall, curated by Chilled Magazine. This first drink is their recipe and also their picture:

Orchard Flowers
Ingredients:
•1/2 oz. Dry Gin (I used Boodles)
•1/2 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
•Splash Lime Juice
•3 oz. Dry Cider (I used DeMunck’s)

Preparation
Shake gin, elderflower liqueur and lime juice over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with cider. Garnish with a lime wedge.

The drink was good. Sort of like a French 75 in a way, swapping lemon for lime and using hard cider in place of champagne (plus the addition of elderflower liqueur). With that drink in mind, I came up with this next drink using whiskey, dark rum, bitters and ginger liqueur:

Haunted Hayride
Ingredients:
•3/4 oz whiskey
•3/4 oz dark rum
•1/2 oz ginger liqueur
• Dash Angostura Bitters
•Splash lime juice
•3 oz. Dry Hard Cider (I used DeMunck’s)

Preparation
Shake whiskey (I used Knob Creek bourbon), dark rum (I used Meyers), ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton) and lime juice over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with cider and add a dash of Angostura bitters. Garnish with a lime wedge.

New Product — DeMunck’s Hard Cider

There’s a new hard cider on the market, but this one has a local connection to Western New York: DeMunck’s Hard Cider.

According to the DeMunck’s website, the company makes its cider in small batches. Hopefully it’s a year-round product. This stuff’s exceptional — dry and flavorful.

ABOUT DeMUNK’S HARD CIDER
DeMunck’s ferments 100% pure apple juice with its own house Belgian Abbey Ale yeast for a very special hard cider. Made in small batches, DeMunck’s Hard Cider is smooth, easy to drink and naturally gluten-free.

SPECIFICS
•5.0% Alc. by Vol.
•134 Calories
•Naturally Gluten Free
•Fermented with Belgian Abbey Ale Yeast
•Packaged in 12 oz amber glass bottles in high sided 6 packs to help preserve freshness
•Available on draught in 1/6 and 1/2 barrel kegs.

DeMunck’s Hard Cider is produced by the Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, N.Y.