Apple Butter Old Fashioned.

Autumn is here, and that means this apple butter old fashioned needs to be on your Sunday to-do list.

If there was ever a fall cocktail to love, this has got to be it. It’s loaded with all things warm and cozy…hello to homemade apple butter, cider, lemon, orange bitters, bourbon, and ginger beer for topping. This has been my go-drink now for the past couple weeks. I first made it when my brother was home last week. My family seems to wander on over to my house come the five o’clock hour, and they somehow always talk me into making them drinks.

Granted it’s not that hard to talk me into it, one, because I don’t use the word no often enough when it comes to making things for them, and two, because I actually love making drinks. Something about making drinks is so fun and just puts me in a good mood…

Anyway, I was in the middle working on another recipe when my brother showed up, so I decided to use everything that I had out on the counter. Surprisingly, everything I had out happened to make a great cocktail.

I grabbed a mason jar and added the apple cider, lemon juice, orange bitters (ok these were not on the counter, but they were an easy grab from the pantry), apple butter, and bourbon (honestly, I had just been doing some fall baking with it!). I shook everything up (and no, I don’t own a cocktail shaker, so mason jars for the win). Poured it over ice and topped it off with just a little ginger beer because I kind of just top off all cocktails with ginger beer.

The verdict? SO GOOD. Actually, he said I should really consider being a bar tender…ahh yeah, no thanks.

I guess that’s a compliment though, and I have to say, the drink was so good. It has all the right amounts of autumn flavor, but it’s not over powering in any way.

The bourbon and apple butter go hand in hand, and using apple butter in cocktails is an easy way to add flavor and sweetness without having to add a simple syrup.

Bottom line? This probably needs to be your drink of fall, and you probably need to make it once…or twice…or you know, how ever many times you need to this weekend. Obviously.

ps. prepare to see lots of smoke leading up to Halloween. Loving the spookiness. <–and there’s the major dork in me coming out. Don’t even care. Love this time of year!