Photo: Lunds & Byerlys
If beer isn’t your thing, have no fear. There are plenty of other delicious drinks to choose from when celebrating Oktoberfest. We like to lean into apple cider for all those fabulous fall flavors and its versatility. Consider some of our favorite fall drinks:
Apple Cider and Bourbon Punch
For the brown sugar and cinnamon syrup:
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup water
For the punch:
- ½ cup brown sugar and cinnamon syrup
- 3 cups bourbon
- 4 cups unfiltered apple cider
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup orange juice
- 4 cups ice
- 2 cups club soda, or to taste
- 1 orange, cut into wheels, for garnish
- nutmeg, to taste
To make the syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and cinnamon sticks with 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered until the sugar has completely dissolved, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the syrup cool. Discard the cinnamon sticks. (Leftover syrup may be kept refrigerated for a week.) To make the punch: Combine syrup, bourbon, apple cider, lemon juice and orange juice in a pitcher. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Strain the chilled punch into a punch bowl. Add 4 cups of ice and club soda. Garnish with orange wheels. Generously grate nutmeg on top. Serve over ice.
Apple Cider Cocktails: Three Ways
Cider Shandy: Mix 1 part cider to 3 parts beer.
Apple Cider Mimosa: Mix 1 part apple cider to 3 parts sparkling wine.
Bourbon Apple Cider: Pour 2 oz. of bourbon into a Tom Collins glass with ice. Top off with apple cider.
Katie Tomsche is the content manager for Lunds & Byerlys. Sip more at lundsandbyerlys.com
