When I was in Washington DC recently, a friend took me to Busboys and Poets – a great little bookshop, cafe, and restaurant. It was a perfect spot to have dinner and drinks and catch up. For my first drink of the evening, I decided to try something a little different – apple cider with bourbon and a ginger simple syrup. It’s not surprising this caught my eye, since I tend to like the combination of ginger and bourbon, which I’ve used to make my hot toddy and a bourbon-ginger-peach (adult) popsicle. I expected this to be a cold drink, so I was a little surprised when I was served a steaming mug of spiked cider. After one sip I was sold – it was a drink so good I could only have one. Seriously – it was so delicious I had finished it within minutes and I had to switch to something that I would drink a bit more slowly.
Almost immediately, I began deconstructing the cocktail and thinking about how I could replicate it at home. While making a ginger-infused simple syrup at home was a possibility, that seemed like a lot of trouble. Instead, I opted to use Domaine de Canton, a lovely ginger-infused cognac (I also use this in my hot toddy recipe). While that ups the alcohol content a little, it’s not terribly strong (56 proof) and pairs really well with the bourbon and apple cider. Just like that I have a new favorite winter cocktail – thanks to Busboys and Poets for the inspiration!
In a small mug combine:
- 6-ounces fresh apple cider (I like to use fresh cider from the refrigerated produce section of the grocery ), heated. (It takes about 90 seconds in my microwave to heat the cold cider.)
- 1.5 ounces good-quality bourbon (I like Buffalo Trace and Knob Creek)
- 1 ounce Domain de Canton ginger liqueur
Optional:
- sprinkle with nutmeg and/or cinnamon
- serve with a cinnamon stick
susanlaury 
good idea im gonna try it
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