Apple Shrub Cocktail
Updated January 14, 2025
By now you’re probably sick of hearing me boast about how magical shrubs are. I apologize, it’s just that when I start talking drinks I tend to go a bit overboard. Guilty as charged. While I won’t go into all the reasons why I’m in love with this beautiful elixir (we’d be here all day) I would like to highlight just one: cocktails. Shrubs are the perfect cocktail ingredient – sweet, tart, bold, delicate, complex, fruity . . . ok, ok, you get the idea. They’re just begging to be stirred and strained. Today I mixed you up something special to put that apple shrub to good use. The acid in the shrub plays nicely off the sweetest of the applejack and the nocino, not to mention keeps you coming back for more. And we both know there’s nothing wrong with that!
If you want to follow along and carve your own big funky piece of ice, do so in advance of mixing your cocktail.
I filled a medium-sized tupperware with water and froze it overnight. The next day, when I was ready to make my drink I went to work with my ice pick and made a few custom rocks.
Now you’re ready to make the cocktail (I love that phrase). Go ahead and grab the apple shrub we made the other day.
Add the apple shrub, applejack, nocino, and bitters to a mixing glass full of ice.
Stir for 45 seconds.
Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube of ice.
No need to garnish this beauty. Kick your feet back, relax, and let the shrub do the talking.
Apple Shrub Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Lairds apple jack
- 1/4 oz nocino
- 1 oz apple shrub
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the apple shrub, applejack, nocino, and bitters to a mixing glass full of ice.
- Stir for 45 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube of ice. No garnish.
(images by HonestlyYUM)