Tag Archives: Apple Liqueur

Review: Hiram Walker Caramel Apple Liqueur

Posted on November 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

30 Proof / 15% alcohol

Suggested Retail Price: $10 to $14 range depending on location

Tasting Notes

Color: Light gold with pumpkin orange highlights

Aroma: Smells like a caramel apple; go figure. Apple notes – white flesh of Honey Crisp apple with faint tartness of Granny Smith apple. Caramel is light rather than overly honeyed. Reminds of silky smooth caramel found in center of gooey caramel covered chocolate candies.

Tasted Neat: Extremely sweet. Almost like straight flavored melted sugar. Lots of apple notes. No burn. Just sweetness of apple. No tart or zing. More honey overlaying the caramel inclusion.

Mouth Feel: Thin

Comparable Spirit: My first thought was Mother’s Apple Pie liqueur, but this isn’t exactly like that. Something close.

Possible Uses, Pairings and / or Cocktails: Definitely for mixing. Might be nice with whiskey and hot tea for a warmed winter drink. Caramel Apple cocktail martini style for sure. Pairs nicely with cranberry juice.

The Big Apple

2 ounces Bourbon or Whiskey

3/4 ounce Caramel Apple Liqueur

1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth

3 dashes Classic Bitters

Maraschino Cherry Garnish

Combine liquids in mixing glass. Stir to chill. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Review sample courtesy representatives of Hiram Walker

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Posted in Fall & Thanksgiving, Reviews

Tagged Apple Liqueur, Bourbon, Classic Bitters, Hiram Walker, Hiram Walker Caramel Apple Liqueur, Manhattan, Sweet Vermouth, The Big Apple, Whiskey

Happy Halloween: Caramel Apple Martini

Posted on October 31, 2011 | 1 Comment

Enjoy a fun filled Halloween!

Caramel Apple Martini – created by Cheri Loughlin

1 part Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka

1 part Apple Pie Liqueur

1 part Butterscotch Schnapps

2 parts Apple Juice

3/4 part Lime Juice

Maraschino Cherry Garnish – optional

Combine liquids in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend & chill. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or strain into highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

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Posted in Halloween Cocktails

Tagged Apple Juice, Apple Liqueur, Apple Vodka, Butterscotch Schnapps, Fresh Lime, Halloween, Halloween Cocktails, Van Gogh Vodka

Jingle My Bells Christmas Cocktails

Posted on December 1, 2009 | 1 Comment

The holiday spirit abounds from the time Thanksgiving weekend begins to the time New Year counts down. Cocktail parties for the office, friends and neighbors provide occasions for gatherings with differing needs. One might need punches and coffees for neighbors stopping in for a moment or two with greetings. Family and friend type holiday parties require classic cocktails and specifically chosen martinis to suit particular palates since the gathering means hours of nibbling finger food and chatting over good times. Office parties might suggest simpler martinis and cocktail recipes with fewer ingredients that still keep within the classic style yet appeal to a broader audience.

Put a little Holiday Cheer into your season with a few of the seasonal drink recipes below. Stay tuned to The Intoxicologist site for more festive cocktail recipes for all your party needs.

Christmas Fizz

2 ounces Right Gin

2 teaspoon Cranberry Jam

1 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 ounce Simple Syrup

1 Egg White

1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters

2 ounces Sparkling Water

Lemon Wedge and Cranberry Garnish

Place all liquid ingredients except sparkling water in mixing glass with ice. Shake vigorously until frothy. Add sparkling water to highball glass over fresh ice. Top with strained cocktail shaker mixture. Garnish with lemon wedge and cranberry.

Jack Frost

2 ounces Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey

2 Tablespoons Cherry Juice or Grenadine

1/4 cup Orange Juice

1/4 cup Sour Mix

Maraschino Cherries Garnish

Combine all liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to chill. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with maraschino cherries.

p.i.n.k. Christmas Cocktail

1-1/2 ounce p.i.n.k. Vodka

1-1/2 ounce Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur

1 ounce Half & Half Cream

Splash of Frangelico

Splash of Chambord

Red Raspberries Garnish

Combine liquids in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until frothy. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with skewered red raspberries.

Holiday Sangria – created by Chef Ryan Scott

1 bottle Dry Red Wine

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Orange Juice

1 Orange, thinly sliced

1 Lemon, thinly sliced

2 whole Pink Grapefruit, peeled, seeded and segmented

1 Papaya, diced

1 Mango, diced

3/4 cup Red Grapes, halved

2 bottles Zipang Sparkling Sake

4 cups Ice cubes

Place wine and brown sugar in large pitcher. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add in orange juice and fruits. Let mixture stand for 30 minutes. Divide between 8 serving glasses. Pour over fresh ice. Top with sake.

Corzo Holly

1-1/2 parts Corzo Reposado Tequila

3/4 part Fresh Lime Juice

1 part Simple Syrup

3 Fresh Strawberries – Quartered

3 Fresh Basil Leaves

1/8 part Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh Strawberry Garnish

Muddle strawberries, basil leaves and vinegar in mixing glass. Add remaining liquid ingredients with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh sliced strawberry.

Cazadorez Mistletoe Margarita

1-1/2 parts Tequila Cazadores Reposado

2 parts Pomegranate Juice

1/2 part Sour Mix

1/2 part Triple Sec

1/2 part Grenadine

Splash Fresh Lime Juice

Lime Wedge Garnish

Salt for Rim

Rim edge of rocks glass with salt if desired. Set aside. Combine all liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

Silent Dos Lunas Night

1 ounce Dos Lunas Silver Tequila

1 ounce Pomegranate Juice

Chilled Champagne

Place tequila and pomegranate juice in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to chill. Strain into chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne. Stir gently.

42Below Holiday Punch

1-1/2 parts 42Below Passionfruit

1 part Fresh Lime Juice

1/2 part Martini Rosso

1/2 part Benedictine

1 part Red Wine

1 part Spiced Syrup* (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, orange peel, clove and star anise)

2 part Pink Grapefruit Juice

Garnish with fruits of choice.

*Spiced Syrup – 2 parts Sugar, 1 part water: Dissolve over low heat with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, orange peel, clove and star anise spices added in. Allow to cool.

Place all ingredients in large pitcher. Stir. Add large block of ice. Serve immediately.

G’ingle Bell

1 ounce G’vine Nouaison

1/4 ounce Lillet Blanc

1/2 ounce Apple Liqueur

1/2 ounce Simple syrup

1/4 ounce Lime Juice

Place ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into cocktail glass.

Sleigh Ride

4 ounces Hot Apple Cider

1 ounce Averna

2 ounces Whiskey

1/2 teaspoon Honey

Cinnamon Stick

Place Averna and whiskey in heat proof mug. Add hot cider and honey. Stir with cinnamon stick. Allow cinnamon stick to infuse into drink for a few minutes before serving.

Christmas Snowball

1/4 ounce Anisette or Pernod Absinthe

1/4 ounce Crème de Violette

1/4 ounce Heavy Cream

1/4 ounce White Crème de Menthe

1 ounce Plymouth Gin

Place all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly to blend and chill. Strain into chilled champagne flute.

Tinsel Bellini

2 ounces HPNOTIQ

1 ounce Limoncello

1 ounce Champagne

Splash of lime juice

Sugar for Rim

Rim chilled champagne flute with sugar. Set aside. Place Hpnotiq, limoncello and lime juice in mixing glass with ice. Stir or shake to chill. Strain into sugar rimmed champagne flute. Top with champagne.

White Christmas

1 ounce Right Gin

1 ounce Baileys Irish Cream

1/2 ounce Bénédictine

1/2 ounce Half & Half

Fresh Grated Nutmeg and Cinnamon Garnish

Place all liquid ingredients in mixing glass with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into cocktail glass or dessert wine glass. Dust with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Candy Cane Swirl

1 ounce SKYY Infusions Raspberry

3 ounces Cranberry Juice

1/2 ounce Grenadine

1/2 ounce Peppermint Schnapps

Sprite or 7Up

Candy Canes

Rim chilled martini glass with crushed candy cane. Combine SKYY Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, Cranberry Juice and Grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to chill. Strain into candy cane rimmed martini glass. Top with splash of Sprite. Garnish with small peppermint candy cane.

Berry Merry Christmas

1-1/4 ounce Right Gin

3/4 ounce Pomegranate Liqueur

2 ounce Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

1/4 ounce Blueberry Syrup

3 dashes Blood Orange Bitters

2 wedges Lime (squeezed)

1 ounce Sparkling Wine

Fresh Strawberries and Blueberries Garnish

Place all liquids except sparkling wine into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to chill. Strain into highball glass over fresh ice. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with sliced strawberries and blueberries.

Cheri Loughlin is a leading cocktail and photography resource for beverage companies, event planners, businesses and individuals. High resolution cocktail and beverage stock photography images are available in downloadable digital format in the newly redesigned Stock Photography Gallery at www.cheriloughlin.com.

Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon – str8upcocktails @ gmail.com – ©2012 Cheri Loughlin-The Intoxicologist, All Rights Reserved. All opinions, reviews and spirits’ coverage are the personal opinion and decision of Cheri Loughlin.

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Posted in Christmas Cocktails

Tagged Absinthe, Amaro, Apple Liqueur, Balsamic Vinegar, Benedictine, Bitters, Blueberry Juice, Champagne, Chocolate Liqueur, Cider, Creme de Menthe, Creme de Violette, Egg White, Fresh Lemon, Fresh Lime, Gin, Grapefruit Juice, Grapes, Grenadine, Half & Half, Hazelnut Liqueur, Heavy Cream, Honey, Hpnotiq, Irish Cream, Lemon Lime Soda, Lillet Blanc, Limoncello, Orange Bitters, Orange Juice, Passion Fruit Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, Pomegranate Juice, Raspberry Liqueur, Raspberry Vodka, Sake, Simple Syrup, Sour Mix, Strawberries, Tequila, Triple Sec, Vodka, Whiskey, Wine

42BELOW Kiwi: Flavor Beyond “Compear”

Posted on February 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

My first impression – Wow! 42BELOW Kiwi vodka really gets the grasp of the kiwi. The aroma is much stronger than expected with the sweetness of the fruit wafting to the nose rather than alcohol burn. Tasted chilled the freshness is clear. Imagery of an unsullied fuzzy kiwi fruit just before slicing instantly comes to mind. However, there is clearly no sweetness to this vodka. As the infused vodka sits for a moment the juicy scent of the kiwi fills the air with pleasant distinction. Ripe, perfect kiwi. The taste buds tickle and the mouth floods with anticipation. If you could only imagine a flawlessly ripened kiwi with its tiny black seeds and succulent emerald flesh waiting to be savored, appreciated for each minute detail of flavor as it converges with the palate; this is the treat your taste buds are in for with 42BELOW Kiwi Vodka.

Asian Garden contains a light sweetness to it, but with a rather odd bitterness that remains long after the liquid has left the tongue. Sip after sip I could not put my finger on the culprit. After all, each of the cocktail ingredients had an agreeable influence on the palate individually. When I finally went back to the original sample shot of kiwi vodka neat the answer became clear. The bitterness lies within the kiwi aftertaste that I somehow missed in the initial sampling.

Asian Garden

1-1/2 measure 42BELOW Kiwifruit

1/3 measure Limoncello

1/3 measure Pineapple Juice

1/4 measure Lime Juice

Lychee Slice Garnish

Chopped Lime leaf

Muddle lychees and lime leaves. Add vodka, limoncello and juice with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Fine strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lychee slice.

The Red Delicious looks in fact like a tweaked up Cosmopolitan with apple liqueur rather than orange liqueur. I happen to like the Cosmo recipe for the sheer fact it is so diverse and can be fine-tuned, modified, altered and topped off into a variety of scrumptious cocktails. The Red Delicious proves this point. The apple liqueur gives ample sweetness while the touch of lime and cranberry bring in the edginess that help take the bitterness out of the kiwi that I noticed before. My only recommendation for this drink is to up the apple liqueur a tiny amount and decrease the lime juice according to taste.

Red Delicious

1 measure 42BELOW Kiwifruit

1/2 measure Apple Liqueur

1/2 measure Cranberry Juice

1/2 measure Lime Juice

Lime Twist Garnish

Combine liquids in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh lime twist.

Beyond Compear

1 measure 42BELOW Kiwifruit Vodka

Dash Amaretto

5 measure Pear Juice

8 Mint Leaves

Mint Sprig Garnish

Place mint leaves, vodka, amaretto in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend. Pour into highball glass. Top with pear juice and additional ice if needed. Garnish with mint sprig.

42BELOW Vodka sample for review courtesy representatives of 42BELOW Vodka representatives. All opinions, reviews and spirits’ coverage contained within are the personal opinion and decision of Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist.