Shaken & Stirred, the New York Times column written by Jonathan Miles, is one of my favorite food/drink reads. I don't know why William Hamilton doesn't do the column anymore, but Miles is good too, and he has a good one up this week. He talks about how we get all this funky drinks during the winter, the ones with seasonal flavors and spices that we don't get the rest of the year: sugar, ginger, cream, eggnog, those sorts of things. He says to just go with the season and try out some of these drinks.
Like the Gingerbread Apple Cocktail, which mixes ginger and cognac liqueur, vanilla vodka, apple cider together in a glass that has honey or cookies crumbs around the rim. Hmmm...it had me until the part about the rim. Cookie crumbs, really? I'm not a fan of cocktails that lean towards a dessert, but this is funky enough to try.
Gingerbread Apple Cocktail
2 ounces Domaine de Canton ginger and cognac liqueur.
1 ounce vanilla vodka.
2 ½ounces apple cider.
Dash of lemon juice.
Agave syrup (or honey) and finely crumbled gingersnap cookies, for rimming the glass.
Orange zest, for garnish (optional).
Spread agave syrup or honey on a plate and dip the rim of a chilled cocktail glass into it to lightly coat the edges.
Spread the crumbled cookies on another plate and dip the coated rim into the crumbs so that they adhere.
Add the liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into the prepared glass and float the orange zest on top.









