Return to Avalon
Recipe by Christopher GaliciaCocktail and Spirits Director, Las Ramblas in Brownsville“The coming of fall brings with it a revival of the senses. The aromas, tastes, sights and sounds are the most alluring of all the seasons.Return to Avalon combines four of my favorite autumn flavors: cinnamon, ginger, rosemary and apple. It’s layered with flavors that, even when the fall season has passed, will automatically transport you to a time filled with the sounds of rustling leaves and aromas of warm apple pie. Sip and enjoy.”
Ingredients
COCKTAIL
- 1½ ounces (44.4 ml) apple brandy
- 1 ounce (29.6 ml) lemon juice
- ¾ ounce (22.2 ml) cinnamon syrup (recipe below)
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- Ginger beer
- 3 sprigs rosemary
CINNAMON SYRUP
- 4 3-inch-long cinnamon sticks
- 1½ cups (355 ml) filtered water
- 2 cups (402 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
COCKTAIL
- Combine all ingredients but ginger beer, including 2 sprigs of rosemary, into a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Hard shake the ingredients with ice for roughly 5 to 7 seconds. Strain the cocktail using a Hawthorne strainer over ice into a Collins glass. Top with ginger beer of your choice.
- Lightly torch the top of a sprig of rosemary with a match or lighter. Insert this sprig into the drink so that the torched end protrudes above the rim.
CINNAMON SYRUP
- Makes about 2 cups
- Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. (You can also do this in a kettle if available.)
- Add cinnamon sticks to the hot water and steep for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove cinnamon sticks from water.
- Combine the cinnamon water and 2 cups of granulated sugar in a pot on the stove over low heat. Keep the ingredients below a simmer and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat and store.