This Caramel Apple Cocktail is packed with the flavor of Autumn. Tap into your inner bartender and mix one up this weekend!
As I’ve noted before, Laura and I typically prefer our liquors straight. Bourbon and scotch with a drop or two of water is how we like to roll. However, many moons ago (i.e. back when I was ~21), I enjoyed playing bartender. I had a great bartending book with hundreds of drink recipes, and I tried to keep all of the necessary ingredients and mixers in stock. Over time, though, I realized that many of those mixed drinks were just too sweet for me. Nothing against sweeter cocktails, they just aren’t my thing.
That’s where this Caramel Apple Cocktail enters the picture. It sounds like something that would be cloyingly sweet, right? Something that would taste like a dessert in a glass. Not at all! There is certainly some sweetness to this cocktail, but the bourbon is the predominant flavor. We discovered this Caramel Apple Cocktail at a local distillery right around the corner from us. Their bartender is some sort of magical wizard as far as I’m concerned. Either that, or he just likes to mix drinks that match our tastes. I prefer the wizard analogy though.
Laura and I occasionally stop by Yankee Distillers on our date nights. Sometimes we go for a pre-dinner cocktail. Sometimes we go for a nightcap on the way home. I have to admit that the Yankee name gives me pause every time I step foot in the door. I’m a Southern boy through and through, so going anywhere with the name ‘Yankee’ raises a red flag. However, I’m willing to overlook the name because their bartender is a wizard. That and they have two distillery dogs – Barley and Basil – who like to visit you when you stop by.
Caramel Apple Cocktail
This Caramel Apple Cocktail appeared on the slate at Yankee last Autumn, and Laura gave it a try. (I opted for a Smoked Old Fashioned – another cocktail from Yankee Distillers that I shared on the blog.) I told her the Caramel Apple Cocktail might be too sweet. However, the bartender overheard my comment and chimed in to say that the caramel apple flavors were there, but the bourbon was the main flavor. He was right! Despite the apple cider + tablespoon of caramel sauce, this bourbon cocktail is perfect for bourbon lovers!
As we march into mid-Autumn here in upstate New York, we are welcoming back cold evenings, raking leaves and decorating for Halloween. In truth, I’m not sure ‘welcoming’ is the proper term for raking leaves, but we’ll go with it. I can say that one of these Caramel Apple Cocktails tastes even better after a long day of raking leaves!
All you need to make this cocktail is bourbon, apple cider and Torani’s caramel sauce. Note that this caramel sauce is not the same as Torani’s caramel syrup. I find the sauce in the ice cream toppings aisle while the syrup is in the coffee flavorings aisle. The sauce is thicker while the syrup is a clear liquid – the syrup is the same stuff they use at Starbucks. To be fair, this cocktail might work with the caramel syrup, but I’d start with half the amount and increase from there. Tap into your inner bartender and whip up a Caramel Apple Cocktail this weekend. Enjoy the season!
Did you make this Caramel Apple Cocktail at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Cheers!
Caramel Apple Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 oz apple cider
- 2½ oz bourbon
- 1 Tbsp Torani caramel sauce see note
- Cinnamon sugar mixture for garnishing rim (see note)
Instructions
- Using a cocktail shaker, add the apple cider, bourbon and caramel sauce; shake until well combined.
- If desired, garnish rim of the glasses with cinnamon sugar.
- Fill glass with ice and pour cocktail into glass; serve immediately.
Notes
Looking for more caramel apple recipes? Check out these desserts with a delicious Autumn vibe:
I often opt to go for simple cocktails too, but this mixed fall cocktail looks incredibly delicious! Such a fun way to add fall flavours to a drink and bet that it goes over so well at get togethers. Plus, who doesn’t love caramel and apple together?? Pinned! Happy Monday, my friend 🙂
I’m telling ya, Dawn – this Caramel Apple Cocktail is amazing! It channels all of the fall feelings in a glass. 🙂 Thanks so much!
Great photos! I am ready for cooler temps – another couple of weeks here. The cocktail color is on the murky side for me! I’ve got a thing about colors, like when people mix cranberry juice and OJ together – blech! That’s just my weirdness. I’m sure I’d get over it the second I had a sip. These really do sound wonderful!
Yeah, I recognize that we’re a couple of weeks ahead of you in terms of the temperature game – it’s getting downright chilly here at night! I see 33 is forecasted for later this week. Brr! I agree that this drink isn’t the most attractive in terms of appearance – that’s what you get when you mix caramel sauce with apple cider, though. I promise it’s worth a sip, though!
I have the sauce in my amazon cart right now. Trying to fill my cart with $35 worth of ‘qualified items’ to get overnight delivery! I’m sure that won’t be hard. I do not care for sweet cocktails either, so I trust your judgement on this. Last fall, we made apple cider margaritas with mescal and they were good. But the only mescal available here is $75 for a small-ish bottle. I like bourbon cocktails in the fall and winter (Woodford Reserve is what I usually buy), so excited to try this!
Awesome! I do think you’ll enjoy this one, Kim. The sauce is the key – I hope you found enough stuff to get to $35! 🙂 Neither Laura nor I like sweet drinks, and we often (nearly always) drink our bourbon straight. However, this cocktail is a good one! And you can certainly play with the sweetness by reducing the caramel sauce is needed. I have to say that I haven’t played around with mescal much. I think we have a bottle in the cabinet from gosh knows when, and I doubt it’s a $75 version. Bourbon on the other hand? Well, we won’t go down that road! Haha.
The caramel sauce arrived last week, just as I had to move into a hotel due to some work being done in my house. Finally made this last night. So, so good! So good, in fact, that fixed a second one. Then I burned my dinner! These will sneak up on you 😂
Oh no! I hate that this recipe was the cause of a burnt dinner. :-/ But then again, that means that the cocktail must’ve been really good. Glad you enjoyed this one, Kim…and I hope you aren’t feeling too fuzzy this morning! 🙂
That definitely sounds interesting, David. I love apple cider, I love bourbon, and I love caramel … so there’s nothing I don’t love in this drink!
Yup, then this drink is right up your alley, Jeff. Make it, drink it…and then make another one. *Virtual cheers*, buddy!
Thank you for a great share! I agree with you on having a Cocktail after raking garden full of leaves, sure need double dose. Torani caramel sauce is very interesting and new to me, let me search it up. Have a great week David!
Haha, yeah those days of leaf cleanup are rough – cocktails afterwards definitely make things better! 🙂 So you could probably use other caramel sauces in this drink, but the distillery where we learned about this drink used Torani so I did, too. It works well for this cocktail. Thanks, Aarthi!
What a wonderful combination of flavors in this cocktail, David! Such a great way to welcome cooler weather and all the great things of fall.
This cocktail really is perfect for Autumn, Marissa! It feels like sweater weather in a glass. 🙂
This is such a fun and festive cocktail! I really love the art of cocktail making, but it isn’t something I do much at all – I am more a pour myself a glass of wine girl! I am definitely going to give this a try though – it sounds so good!
I’m not gonna lie – we enjoy cocktails, but more often than not we will just pour a glass of wine or bourbon straight. However, if you’re looking for something a bit fun, this Caramel Apple Cocktail is worth a sip or two. 🙂
this sounds very interesting david – and i do love bourbon. autumn leaves for you and cyclone season coming up for us. they say la nina may be on the way so floods, rain and cyclones. oh the joy…
Yeah, I recognize that we are running opposites in terms of weather, Sherry. And I agree that it could be a rough one – they’re saying that it could be especially bad for snow up here in our area this winter. Ugh. That just means I’ll need more bourbon! 🙂
Well, having resided in Bourbon county in Kentucky for a number of years, I also would have been suspect. However, having tasted a couple of Swedish made bourbons that were great, I’d go for Yankee.
I always make our caramel sauce. Do you think that would work?
Wow, Halloween is coming how’s that going to work with Covid around?
So Laura and I have totally gotten into “collecting” rarer bourbons – call it our COVID project. Haha! Kentucky is absolutely on our list of places to go. We want to head down the bourbon trail and visit a bunch of places! Of course, we’ll have to wait for a bit, but one day we can travel again. In the meantime, we’ll continue stalking stores around here!
So I think homemade caramel sauce could totally work here. The Torani sauce is just that – sauce. I would however start small when it comes to the drink. You can always add more caramel sauce, but you can’t take it away if the drink gets too sweet. But, yes, I think it would work. The other question there is whether you can get apple cider in your area? I hope so!
And Halloween. Ah. I hadn’t even thought of that yet. I mean all the kids are wearing masks – does that qualify?? Seriously, though, I have no idea. We’ll have to figure out something.
When you guys get ready for that burbon trail journey let me know and will give you a list of our fav distileries and place to wine and dine.
Apple cider or äpplemust as we call it is not a problem, We can get .005% alcohol to 9%. We do love our hard ciders here.
I hope all the upcoming holidays work out the best they can during there strange times…
That’s a deal for sure, Ron! Might as well go ahead and start typing up that list. 🙂 The bourbon trail trip is definitely going to happen – the only question is when. We have to wait until COVID is over obviously, and then we have to figure out whether we bring Robbie along or make other arrangements. But, yes, I’ll 100% take recommendations!
Ah, I didn’t think about hard apple cider. You’re right – hard apple cider is available all over Europe. I’d never seen it in 2 liter bottles until we ducked into a grocery store in Scotland. Crazy!
Oh wow- only 4 (technically 3) ingredients are all that are needed for this! I gotta admit, I do like sweet cocktails like mudslides, tiger milk, and Palomas – but I also love cidery-type drinks like this! I can imagine how glorious this smells! Lil S was introduced to straight shots of peach brandy recently- I gotta tell her y’all method of adding a few drops of water- I guess that’s the same as ice melting into bourbon or scotch…right? I guess I’ll just leave the straight shots to y’all and take ALL the cocktails like this off your hands! Love this, my friend!
Oh btw saw your comment today and gosh- moving next to y’all so I can come over and grab powdered donuts, strawberry cake, and Oreo everything makes that “long trek “ to the Farmers Market almost worth it! 🙂
So if you like sweeter drinks, then you could totally just up the amount of caramel sauce in this one! This cocktail might not look like much, but it tastes like Autumn in a glass. Seriously. 🙂
So to be fair, we’re not taking the bourbon in shot-form when we drink it straight. It’s a sipping drink. I always thought adding water was just to weaken the bourbon or scotch down, but that’s not the case at all. Adding a couple drops (seriously…that’s all…1-3 drops) and swirling it around really does “open up” the liquor. When you move up here, we’ll try it. Deal? Haha!
David,
What a fabulous cocktail this is, the click itself is so thirst quenching, love the ACV and that rim of the glass! perfect to liven up the long tiring day! Thanks David!
Thank you so much, Hasin! I have to say that this cocktail doesn’t look like much, but the flavors are perfect for the chilly days of Autumn. Cheers, my friend!
I’m impressed David! This apple caramel cocktail is both fancy and cozy: you can easily entertain an eggplant party with it or just get comfortable on a quiet cold night by the cracking fireplace. Also, you used cinnamon sugar for the rim, but I’m quite positive you can stir just a tiny pinch of cinnamon right into the cocktail for even more of autumn vibes.
You know – that’s the perfect description for this drink, Ben. It’s fancy and cozy at the same time. And you’re totally right about adding cinnamon straight into the drink. The apple cider already has some cinnamon in it (I think), but a little extra cinnamon is always a good thing! Cheers, my friend!
I usually go for beer or wine and rarely order a cocktail. I might need to change my mind with this cocktail though. I’m not a sweet drinker either, so this just might be a new go-to for me!
Since you don’t like sweet cocktails, I do recommend trying this one, Kathy! (Of course, you do have to like bourbon…haha.) And you can totally play around with the sweetness with more/less caramel sauce. I personally like just enough to taste the caramel. Either way, cheers, my friend!
I love liquors straight too, specially whiskey and brandy, but once in a while I would love to try cocktails like that.
I’m with ya, Raymund. 9 times out of 10, I’ll just pour my liquors straight…but sometimes it’s fun to play bartender! 🙂
Yankee distilling is selling their apple crisp drinks in half gallons to go. Just friendly FYI.
Half gallon to go? Now that sounds like a party! 🙂