Recipe Revision: Caramel Apple Martini

This was on point. For realz.

When I post links on Friday, they are usually some interesting technique, tip, or piece of gear that I want to try. When I post recipes, I have not always tried them before posting but am interested in what they have going on and think maybe they are worth a shot. 

This was the case with the caramel apple martini I posted this past Friday. I posted it and planned to make it Saturday. And I did.

And it was awful. 

Awful like already-drunk-sorority-girl-shots awful. 

Even when I went to buy the two boozes for the drink, the liquor store lady looked at me and said, “Um…are you putting these two together?”

So while apple vodka and butterscotch schnapps make perfect sense on paper, on the palate they are cloying, nauseatingly sweet. Did it taste like a caramel apple? Yes, but with an extra coating of syrup.

Envisioning the headache and illness that would occur were I to finish the drink, I dumped it out. 

I also had yoga in a winery (with a wine tasting) on Sunday morning, which makes for the booziest weekend (with the beer at a party and the glass of wine with a friend Saturday night) I have had planned in awhile.

Sunday I vowed to do better. For the three people that regularly read the blog, I made another recipe, one that is not GODAWFULLY SWEET but still tastes like  a caramel apple. Don’t get me wrong: it’s sweet. If you have issues with sugar, stay away. Just sip your whiskey neat and watch everyone else play. It’s cool.

But if you want a drink that acts like dessert, tastes like a boozy fresh apple slathered in caramel, this drink’s for you.

I am listing the ingredients in ratios because A) I used a shot glass to measure with, and your shot glass may be larger or smaller, and B) I am newly obsessed with ratios due to the book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman (review later this week!).

And, for those of you who would take umbrage with Buffalo Trace being used in such a fashion, stuff it. Julia Child said don’t cook with anything you wouldn’t drink, and I am following that credo here. Life’s to short to drink rail bourbon, in any form. 

At least I didn’t use the Pappy.


(Full disclosure: I did also make this with one part Tito’s vodka instead of bourbon, and that was okay, too. I like the slightly fuller, richer taste of the drink with the bourbon, but if you have some good vodka in the house, that works, too.)

Caramel Apple Martini (serves 1)

One part Buffalo Trace bourbon 
One part Dekuyper Buttershots (butterscotch schnapps)
Two parts fresh apple cider (no sugar added. Jesus.)

Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker and shake until very, very cold. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a  fresh apple slice. You could also rim the martini glass with caramel and dip it into chopped peanuts if you want some protein with your drink.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

And if anyone wants a bottle of Smirnoff Sour Apple Vodka with one shot missing, just let me know.