Apple Cart


“When discussing all things apple, it’s important to me to not only use apple-related products but complementary flavors that taste incredible alongside apples,” says Lauren Mote, the co-proprietor of bitters and tincture producer Bittered Sling and bar manager at the ultrasleek UVA in Vancouver. For the celebrated Canadian cocktail queen, the Apple Cart is a…

City Style and Living Magazine Cider Apple Cart tasting cider book
/ Courtesy Antonis Achilleos

“When discussing all things apple, it’s important to me to not only use apple-related products but complementary flavors that taste incredible alongside apples,” says Lauren Mote, the co-proprietor of bitters and tincture producer Bittered Sling and bar manager at the ultrasleek UVA in Vancouver. For the celebrated Canadian cocktail queen, the Apple Cart is a liquid embodiment of this stance on true flavors. “It is a combination of great ingredients, topped with a funky, tart, and refreshing cider,” she says of the cocktail. “Bourbon has an inherent baked apple note, sherry’s got a bit of crisp, fresh apple on the nose… and spiced apple on the palate.” For Mote’s tannic syrup, dried hops can be found at a homebrew store or online.

1½          ounces Bulleit bourbon

½             ounce Aperol

½             ounce Lustau East India Solera sherry

¾             ounce lemon juice

¾             ounce Tannic Apple Syrup

2              dashes Bittered Sling Zingiber crabapple bitters

4              ounces Tree Brewing Dukes Cider Dry Apple cider

Bouquet of lemon verbena and mint, for garnish

The Cider

Dukes Cider Dry Apple from Tree Brewing, Kelowna, BC. Cider made from a brewery in the center of British Columbia’s wine country, Dukes Dry Apple is produced exclusively from apples grown in Kelowna—now a hotbed for cider fruit. Dry, tart, and lightly carbonated, this cider does the trick for Mote’s multifaceted sipper.

Directions

Makes 1 cocktail

Combine the bourbon, Aperol, sherry, lemon juice, syrup, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Strain into a tall collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with the cider, stir gently, and serve garnished with a bushy bouquet of lemon verbena and mint.

Recipe by Lauren Mote, Bittered Sling Bitters and UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar, Vancouver, BC. Excerpted from Tasting Cider, © by Sip Publishing. Photography by © Antonis Achilleos. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.


This original article first appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of City Style and Living Magazine..

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