This might be the first summer I am ready to see come to an end. I am ready for fall –– the change in temperature, wearing jeans and boots, and cooking and baking with cooler seasonal ingredients. Though I am eagerly awaiting fall, I am not team pumpkin spice latte before fall actually starts. To gradually ease myself into autumn and close out another summer, I plan to drink this grüner and apple cocktail well into September. This recipe serves one but can easily be batched to serve you and a few friends. Grüner is one of my favorite white wines, but if you prefer sauvignon blanc you can use instead. The apple cider and fresh apples complement the wine’s apple notes and the fresh thyme balances the natural sweetness of the wine with earthy and herbaceous flavor. The recipe uses more wine than apple cider, but if you want more apple flavor feel free to add more cider to your preference. If fall being here now makes you happy, then put on your boots and get to shaking!  ––Justin Burke 

Grüner & Apple Cocktail 
Serves 1 

Ingredients
4 ounces Grüner Veltliner
1 ounce apple cider
1 small sprig of thyme, plus more for garnish
½ honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced 

 

 

Directions 

1. Using a cocktail shaker, combine wine, cider, thyme, and half of the apple slices. 
2. Fill the shaker with ice and place the lid on top; shake vigorously for 30 seconds. 
3. Fill a rocks glass with a few pieces of ice and remaining apple slices wedged between the ice cubes, then strain the cocktail into the glass. 
4. Garnish with a small sprig of thyme; enjoy immediately.

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