OMG Appletinis!

From Dish Amelia:

Ok, well not Appletinis exactly, but much better. Last year I really thought I had appled out and would never want to see one again, but apparently I’ve come around. I had a pile of Honeycrisps from apple-picking a few weeks ago, and if you are not aware of this varietal, than you should know that it is a good eating apple, and by good, I mean that it is what every apple wishes it were. I am not a bartender, but I love thinking of cocktails like I think of food (such is the way in Brooklyn these days, la la la…) and this drink is lovely and you should make it. Or come over and I’ll make it.

2+ oz Honeycrisp Apple Vodka
1/2 oz Calvados (apple brandy)
2 Teaspoons lemon juice
2 tsp rosemary syrup
ice
Apple chip garnish/rosemary sprig

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Vodka:

Wash and cut up 2 or 3 Honeycrisp apples into small pieces. They are often large. Put these in a large mason jar and pour in a 750 ml bottle of vodka of your choice. seal and keep in a dark place for at least 3 weeks, turning every day or two. When you want to start drinking it and quit rotating it, strain it through paper towels or cheesecloth and a strainer into a quart container. Throw out the apple pieces unless you are in college.

For the Rosemary Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
leaves from 5 or 6 rosemary sprigs
heat ingredients in a saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved and rosemary has lost its green color. Syrup should be slightly amber and taste like sweet rosemary. Cool.

For the Apple Chip Garnish:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. slice an apple on a mandolin so it is about an eighth of an inch thick or less. Slice all the way through, including the stem and seeds. Dip these thin slices in the rosemary syrup and lay flat on a silpat. Bake in a slow oven for a long time, (more than an hour) until completely dry and golden. When they are done they might still have some give, but take them out and they will immediately become brittle. They are fragile, so when they are totally cool, gently bend the silpat away from them to lift them off. If you really don’t want them to be golden, you can add crushed vitamin C to the syrup. I did not do this, since everything would be a pretty golden color anyway.

For the Cocktail Already:

Fill a shaker with ice. Add vodka, Calvados, lemon juice and rosemary syrup. cover and shake. Strain into awesome vintage wheelcut martini glass. Float apple chip and sprig on surface, and toast the big apple. Salud!

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