We’ve got the new star of your Thanksgiving celebration, and there’s no brining, baking or basting involved! If you’ve been looking for the perfect autumn cocktail, the search is over–Daniella of Wishing Well Liquors has you covered. Harvest Gold, named for it’s rich golden color and the season’s bounty, is perfectly crisp and slightly sweet with all the flavors of fall. And with only three ingredients and no fancy gadgets required? We’ll drink to that!
Harvest Gold
Recipe from Daniela of Wishing Well Liquors
Infuse Apple Cinnamon Vodka
Disaronno Italian Liqueur
Austin Eastcider’s Texas Honey Cider
Cinnamon sticks
Apple slices
In a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice, pour 1.5oz (2oz if you want a strong one!) of Infuse Apple Cinnamon Vodka, and half an ounce of Disaronno Italian Liqueur to stir. Grab a cinnamon stick, and stir continuously, gently tossing ice to chill mixture for 20-30 seconds (or shake if you prefer). Strain into a cocktail glass, top with a healthy pour of Austin Eastcider’s Texas Honey Cider to fill, and apply freshly cut apple slices to garnish.
From Daniela of Wishing Well Liquors: Harvest Gold is a strong and aromatic cocktail, named in part because of the color, but also as a friendly reminder that the bounty of seasonal harvest is best when enjoyed in all it’s splendor. For us that means sweet but nuanced aroma and flavor, inviting booze, and easy drinking! Honestly, naming the drink was the hardest challenge of this 3-part crowd pleaser, and I have Eric Kemp (part-time Wishing Well employee and freelance bartender) to thank for that.
Less is more. It often seems that in the search for new and exciting drinks to share, we expect the creativity and complexity of something quaffable to pull us in with extraordinary technique and exotic ingredients. We might even overlook the fundamental aspects of a successful cocktail: sincere, high-quality ingredients, and a pleasant flavor profile. Sure, challenging recipes are always fun (throwing in guava nectar, egg whites, thyme, or using a hand-torch to singe or brulee tree bark or brown sugar is quite the experience), but autumn is about bringing people closer together. This cocktail is our answer to the season’s best promise, better than pretty leaves and warm sweaters, a beautiful and simple drink made from great ingredients means taking time to enjoy the fall, one sip at a time.
Whether cozying up by the fire, or entertaining a crowd, more time should be spent sipping with friends and family than behind a blender or struggling to find ingredients in a long list of drink instructions. This is why we decided to use Infuse Apple Cinnamon Vodka, Disaronno Italian Liqueur, and Austin Eastcider’s Texas Honey Cider.
Double Gold and Best-in-Show winner at the San Francisco World Spirits competition, this flavored vodka is the best representation of what “flavored” should mean–pure and honest flavor. Infuse uses no artificial preservatives, colors, flavor additives, high fructose corn syrup or any other type of additional sugar at all, there is no dye, and every bottle is a little different because of it. The base vodka is 80 proof (40% abv) and is 100% corn-based and gluten free. Each bottle is hand-stuffed with quality ingredients (yes, they make other flavors!) and set to infuse for a minimum of 30 days. This vodka has an infinite shelf life, and a lot of versatility–serve it warm or chilled, in a cocktail or a nice punch. Infuse Apple Cinnamon is a pretty great addition to any at-home bar this season, and so affordable!
Our next ingredient, Disaronno Originale is an amaretto-like Italian liqueur. This means that although it has the same qualities as amaretto (a popular cordial made from almonds) it uses no actual nuts, and bodes well for any guest with that particular allergy. The recipe itself is a longstanding secret, but the base is comprised of oil from the stone of certain fruits (apricot to be exact), burnt sugar, and the essences of seventeen specific herbs and fruits. A lot of complexity and easily recognizable, Disaronno remains virtually unchanged from about the year 1525, and is a great addition to a cocktail of this simplicity because it adds dimension, balances the sweeter elements, and supports all the earthy spice that cinnamon has to offer. Check the website for interesting facts and additional recipes.
Our final ingredient is Austin Eastciders Texas Honey Cider. A personal favorite, Austin Eastciders is a beautiful little cidery based in, you guessed it, Austin, Texas! Founded by Ed Gibson, an Englishman and former cider bar owner across the pond, Austin Eastciders is a far cry from the super sweet standards many cider drinkers have become familiar with. Made with regionally sourced Texas honey, and derived of a combination of European cider apples (unlike culinary apples, they impart astringency and tannin) and bittersweet apples from the Pacific Northwest, the cider is fermented with white wine yeast, giving it a pleasant and comparatively dry finish. Their entire lineup boasts the promise of all natural and no artificial ingredients. If you don’t use the whole 6 pack for cocktails, they make fantastic additions to your craft beer or spirits fridge, or for a mild version of the cocktail we made, feel free to top off your cocktail halfway through and prolong the enjoyment a little more.
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