"Twilight of the Switchel" cocktail (A.Glass 2024)

For the mix:

• Organic Apple Cider, ensure it is "Mother" based
• Organic Honey
• Fresh Sage
• 1 Star Anise
• Cinnamon stick

Alcohol Base:

• 1 ounce of Overproof Bourbon

Garnish:

• Star Anise
• Cinnamon Stick
• Single Sage leaf

Preparation:

In a small cast iron pan (or pot).  Add table spoon of Honey, 2 ounces of water, 4 Sage leaves, 1 Star Anise and Cinnamon stick.  Heat gently, stir carefully.  Ensure that the mix absorbs the flavour of the Honey, Sage and spices.  Leave to cool at room temperature and settle for One hour.  Then strain mix into a glass.   

In a cocktail shaker, add ice, 1 ounce of Bourbon, followed by 1 ounce of Apple Cider vinegar.   Add 1 ounce of the Sage, Honey spice mix. Three splashes of Orange Bitters.  Gentry Stir with a cocktail spoon.  Strain into a highball glass with ice, top with soda/mineral water garnish an Star Anise, Cinnamon stick and Sage leaf.    

Background: 

Based off the 1800's non alcoholic health drink, "The Switchel".  Which was essentially a cocktail minus the alcohol, that used Apple Cider Vinegar as the base, and flavored with honey, ginger and molasses. Topped up with soda/mineral water.  The recipe here is one that I discovered on the internet, also non alcoholic, that was a stripped down version of traditional "Switchel", which used Honey and Sage instead of Molasses and Ginger, whilst recommending a good quality organic Apple Cider Vinegar.  I added the whole Star Anise and Cinnamon to the mix to offer more depth to the flavour of the Sage Honey syrup.  It is essential that you utilize a high quality Organic Apple Cider vinegar, particularly one that is called "Mother", which means it is unpasteurised, using whole organic Apples as a fermentation, so the good bacteria is present and the Vinegar has a light tangy almost fizzy taste.  All the ingredients require 1 ounce, and if you want to taste and feel the Bourbon, it has to be an overproof at 50%.   The glass to use would be a Highball, not a Coup glass (pictures above).

The Cocktail should taste sweet, tangy, with a hint of spice and bitterness (Orange Bitters) to balance out the sweetness.  The (mother) Apple Cider Vinegar works surprisingly well with Bourbon as the alcoholic base, to which the Bourbon with its bouquet aroma and rounded flavour, Apple Cider Vinegar adds an interesting kick to the Bourbon.  I used mineral water for this, as it has a slightly saline taste, again assisting in lifting the drink.  With the Star Anise, Cinnamon stick and Sage leaf aesthetically complementing the cocktail.   The color should be a luminescent green, derived from the Sage leaves and the light brown Bourbon. 

Named "Twilight of the Switchel"  because it is my reinvention of the original recipe, and I drink my cocktails at Twilight. 

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(A.Glass 2024)