Washington Apple
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 oz Canadian blended whisky
- 1 oz Sour apple liqueur
- 1 oz Cranberry juice
Method
Glassware:
Serve in an Old-fashioned glass
Method:
STIR (or shake) all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
Nutrition:
One serving of Washington Apple contains 175 calories
History:
There are over 30 varieties of apple grown in Washington state with by far the majority of them being red-skinned. Established in the late 1880s, Washington's apple orchards nestle in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains, at elevations from 500 to 3,000 feet above sea level.
Apples are big business in Washington with some apple orchards covering 5,000 acres and employing 300 farm workers. Some 40,000 pickers are employed during harvest season across the state.
Urban myth has it, this cocktail was created in the late-1980s after pests decimated much of Washington state's apple orchards leading to mountains of unsellable apples. Seeing this as an opportunity, an entrepreneur named Christof Guycoogan fermented and distilled the spoilt apples to make apple liqueur, which he added to his favourited tipple of Canadian whisky with a splash of cranberry juice.
Turns out, one Randy Woodward has written a whole book about this cocktail, titled Washington Apple Drink and self-published in 2021.
Review:
Classically equal parts but better with a splash more whisky, this is an easy-to-like, fruity, juicy crowd-pleasing Old Fashioned-style late-night sipper.
