Apple Pie in a Glass
This VERY LARGE BATCH recipe makes just under 2 and a half gallons of moonshine. If you’re using the 5-ounce bottles I suggest below, you’ll have enough to fill 60 bottles with about 2 cups left to spare.
1 bottle (750-ml) of Everclear (I used Total Wine’s Emerald Springs 190 because I couldn’t find Everclear anywhere)
2 cups Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
2 cups vanilla vodka or whipped cream vodka
1 gallon apple cider (you can substitute apple juice if you can’t find cider)
1 gallon apple juice
3 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
12-15 cinnamon sticks
In a large stock pot, add your apple juice, apple cider, and cinnamon sticks. Bring it to a simmer and then add in the brown sugar and the white sugar.
Stir slowly for about 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and let the liquid cool to room temperature. This will take several hours. I like to cover mine and leave it overnight. It is very important not to rush this step — if the mixture is too warm when you add the other ingredients, some of the alcohol will evaporate (and we don’t want that!).
Once the mixture has reached room temperature, pour in the Everclear, Captain Morgan, and vanilla/whipped cream vodka and mix well.
Now you just need to bottle it however you’d like. Some people like mason jars, but we like to use these bottles from Amazon. (I like to wash my bottles in the dishwasher and let them dry on the counter overnight prior to filling.) They’re actually hot sauce bottles, but I like that I can seal them with shrink capsules using a hair dryer or heat gun and make them look less homemade. I like to make a pretty label and print it on full sheet label paper, then cut the labels and apply to the bottles. (I found a free stock photo online and made my own labels in Photoshop.) In the past, I’ve also made little recipe cards with cocktail recipes and attached them to the necks of the bottles.
Caramel Appletini
1 1/2 oz. Apple Pie in a Glass
1 oz. caramel vodka
1 1/2 oz. whipped cream vodka
1 oz. ginger ale
In a shaker with ice, add ingredients, shake and strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed in caramel and graham cracker crumbs.
Hot Apple Pie
3 oz. Apple Pie in a Glass
1/2-1 oz. Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
In a shaker with ice, add ingredients, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Apple Pie with a Cherry on Top
3 oz. Apple Pie in a Glass
3 oz. apple cider
1 oz. Amaretto
Pour into coffee mug and heat for 45 seconds. Top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.
